BY DAVID KRONKE >TV Critic

A few years ago, Fox announced a wildly ambitious schedule that would incorporate original series year-round. Alas, so many of its fall shows imploded that year, and so quickly, and the network got so busy patching holes that its all-originals-all-the-time schedule never came to fruition.

So one is forgiven for not taking NBC's even more ambitious 2008-09 schedule - announced this week, also promising 52 weeks of predominantly original programming - all that seriously.

But NBC has a couple of things going for it, and one of those things is something that's going virulently against it - the network's ratings are so wan that not only can it afford to be patient with some shows, necessity dictates that it must.

The network can't afford to spackle over every hole in their schedule, so they might as well sit back and try to understand precisely why something is or isn't working.

Come fall, NBC, despite its anemic ratings, will only introduce four new series: "Crusoe," an update of the original Daniel Dafoe story; a remake of "Knight Rider"; a remake of a hit Australian comedy, "Kath & Kit"; and a new show it's billing as a modern-day Jekyl-and-Hyde, "My Own Worst Enemy," which also boasts shades of the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle "True Lies."

Sure, all are remakes or retreads in one way or another, so the network gets few points for originality. Other new shows forthcoming from NBC in 2008 are similarly derivative: a reworking of both the "Merlin" myth and the David-and-Goliath story in the Bible, as well as a spinoff of "The Office" and a prime-time iteration of "Saturday Night Live."

NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman issued an edict for feel-good programming this year - during a Wednesday press conference, Silverman, acknowledging the "cacophony of bad news," insisted that audiences needed to "have some fun and enjoy their lives watching our shows." Silverman's other co-chair, Marc Graboff, told Variety this week, "Ben's programming strategy is to find some shows where people can tune in and then mentally tune out."

That sounds suspiciously like a creative retreat, and NBC's 8 p.m. family hour sounds positively quaint in an era of target-demo cable channels, of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon for the kids, and FX for the adults. But if you consider the dismal fates of the myriad dark and/or complex series NBC has tried in recent years, this reaction, while aesthetically disappointing, actually seems rather sane.

Where NBC does score points for creativity is on the financial side. "Crusoe" and "Merlin" are British co-productions; another upcoming series, "The Listener," is a Canadian co-production; and "Friday Night Lights" will return midseason with DirecTV paying some of the bills. And the network is entering into relationships with advertisers that haven't been seen since the early days of TV: Ford will sponsor "Knight Rider," as the souped-up car KITT is now a Mustang, and "Kings," the David/Goliath retelling, will receive underwriting from an insurance company. The network is seeking similar deals for other shows.

In the past, I would have dismissed much of this as untenable creative compromises. In the current devastated economy, however, it's clearly a case of NBC doing the best with the lousy hand it's been dealt. Here's hoping Silverman has an ace up his sleeve.

David Kronke
(818) 713-3638
david.kronke@dailynews.com
www.insidesocal.com/tv/