The biggest midseason ratings battles

Soon new battles will wage in primetime: ABC's hit thriller "Lost" against Fox's new crime drama "Lie to Me." NBC's comedy favorite "The Office" vs. Fox's reality hit "Hell’s Kitchen." And Fox's sci-fi drama "Dollhouse" competing with CBS" Canadian import "Flashpoint," to name a few.

Below are some of the most intriguing new time-period face-offs on the midseason schedule, along with predictions on which show will emerge victorious.

These are not the easy calls (you can probably figure out who will win Wednesday's duel between "American Idol" and "Knight Rider"), but the potential squeakers that could tilt the odds on a series' chance of survival and its networks' overall performance.

 Let's take a walk through the week, complete with a winter/spring chart for each night, starting with Monday ...

Battleground 1: Mondays: ABC's “The Bachelor” & “True Beauty” vs. NBC's “Superstars of Dance” & “Momma's Boys”

Analysis: This war begins tonight. CBS and Fox will slug it out for first and second place with scripted shows, while ABC and NBC will fight for third with reality fare. “Bachelor” has ebbed in recent years while new show “Superstars” (where dance troupes from around the world perform demonstrations) brings the “American Idol” producers to NBC. But insiders are skeptical that "Superstars" will break NBC out of fourth place. “People in the United States do not care about performers in other countries,” one observer said. Then, new show “Beauty” (where 10 contestants are told they're being evaluated for their looks but are actually being judged by their civility) will face “Momma's Boys,” which has had a modest December run.

Likely winner: The reality is ... ABC remains the favorite.

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Battleground 2: Mondays at 9 p.m.: Fox's “24” vs. NBC's “Heroes”

Analysis: This is a rematch, not an unprecedented bout. But it's unique because "24" was off the air for two years due to the writers strike. When they last wrestled during "Heroes'" first breakout season, the red-hot NBC comic book drama surprised Hollywood by out-drawing the Fox veteran in the ratings. Since, "Heroes" has fallen sharply while "24" has ... well, who knows what "24" has been doing. It's recent two-hour movie performed solidly, but the series went AWOL for longer than any other show.

Likely winner: Peter Petrelli has a date with Jack Bauer and some jumper cables. Time won't hurt absent "24" as much as the present-yet-lackluster "Heroes."

>>> NEXT: TUESDAYS AT 8 P.M.: "HOMELAND SECURITY USA" VS. "BIGGEST LOSER"

                                            -- JUMP TO --

>> Tuesdays: “Homeland Security USA” vs. “Biggest Loser”
>> Wednesdays: "Lost" vs. “Lie to Me” vs. “Criminal Minds”
>> Thursdays: "Bones" & "Hell's Kitchen" vs. NBC comedies // “Harper's Island” vs. “Kings”
>> Fridays: “Dollhouse" vs. “Flashpoint”
>> Weeknights: ABC's new 10 p.m. drama lineup vs. grizzled veterans

MONDAY: WINTER/SPRING 9-9:30 9:30-10 10-10:30 10:30-11 Dancing With the Stars Samantha Who? True Beauty / Castle Big Bang Theory How I Met Your Mother Two and a Half Men Worst Week / TBA CSI: Miami Superstars of Dance / Chuck Superstars of Dance / Heroes Momma's Boys / Medium House 24 No programming Gossip Girl One Tree Hill No programming

Comments

[Zac]

Monday nights suck for me:

The Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother
Chuck
Heroes
House
24

[jane]

Zac: watch one net, DVR the other two; or catch the CBS shows online later; or catch the NBC shows at Hulu.com; same for Fox; with new media, never a reason to miss anything

[Mike Medeiros]

In consideration of the Heroes/ 24 match up you can't ignore their respective lead-ins. With House on Mondays at 8:00 it doesn't seem like much of a contest.

[Terry]

I love Heroes and 24 so I record one and watch the other - then watch the other show bypassing all the commercials (saves me about 15 minutes - sorry to all the sponsors!). Jack and Peter are both great and worth my time to do it this way!