• by Don Seaman , Featured Contributor, May 19, 2010

There are certain signs of the season that tell you we're very much in springtime. The familiar jingle of the ice cream truck. Showing some faith that the person who just sneezed on you indeed does only have allergies and not some raging Ebola-driven plague. And the sudden invasion of giant balloons in midtown Manhattan.

Fox likes balloons. Big, "Glee"ful balloons. They also like perky "Glee"ful cheerleader types to hold them. And apparently they have a show that they are fond of that's based on a high school social activity.

So in case you haven't noticed by now, Fox likes people to sing. By this time next year, we'll be talking about a certain third X member that will be factored into the trio, but for right now, it's all about the "Idol" and the "Glee."

NBC had been hoping that their "open bar" policy at their luncheon would create enough inebriated buyers who would flat-out miss the Fox upfront. Doesn't NBC know that's what the Fox upfront party is for?

So, with a song in my heart, I now present to you the majesty that is the 2010 Fox Upfront.

Which should be starting any time now.

Any minute.

Right...

Now.

Fox was running a little late. For those who actually got there early and found our assigned seating somewhere around the second summit, that time just allowed the attendees to get some more work done (have BlackBerry, will get around to work right after one more game of Solitaire) and to enjoy the light-headedness that thinner oxygen levels provide.

So Fox finally brings the lights down -- way down -- to start the show. It was so dark in the theater that this paper-and-pen note-taking purist has notes that vaguely resemble some combination of Cyrillic, toddlerscript, and Chinese tattoo characters. But I'll muddle through as best that I can for you. Thankfully, they let most of the presentation speak for itself.

The burning question that needed to be answered right away was who would now be promoted to "First Star" -- the elder statesman Fox headliner, played by Kiefer Sutherland for several of the past few upfront presentations. The torch has been passed now, to Hugh Laurie. He welcomes and thanks us for being the benevolent humanitarian buyers that we are, and because he's doing it in some classy fake British accent, which makes it that much more sincere. Nice acting there, Hugh. Next you'll be lobbying for Simon's job.

Hugh introduces Jon Nesvig, President of Sales for Fox Broadcasting. Jon is happy to be here.

Fox, he tells us, is becoming more upscale. (Taking "Til Death" off your schedule will do that, Jon.)

Peter Rice, Fox Entertainment Chairman, follows Jon to say that they are cheering for network TV. Fox follows NBC in each extolling the virtues of fresh, creatively risky programs such as "Glee," "Big Bang Theory," and "Modern Family," as well as human story-driven shows like "Idol" and "Undercover Boss."

Let's not forget, as Peter points out, that the first big splurge for a household is usually a big HD TV (or 3D, with the tech emerging), so nothing connects us more than TV. Nothing, of course, other than the shared gift... of song. He then belts out a mesmerizing version of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

No, actually, he tells us that Fox dominates social media on such sites as Hulu, iTunes, Twitter, etc. with "Glee," "Idol," "Fringe" and "Bones."

Peter gives way to Jane Lynch, who emotionally cripples Kevin Reilly, who brings us through the schedule, but not after zinging another network about being complacent. That is one thing that Fox claims it will never be. And this other complacent network probably doesn't have 7 million iTunes downloads and 2 gold records to its credit, as does "Glee." I wonder if the complacent network will have a comeback for that statement...

In any event, we were told about Fox's "laser focus" on their new shows, each bolstered by a strong supporting show. Two new shows are debuting in the summer: "Good Guys, a buddy cop show, kind of an action-comedy type series starring Colin Hanks (scion of Tom) and Bradley Whitford and his best friend, his 70's cop mustache. The other new series on tap for summer is "Masterchef," which is sort of an "American Idol" for cooking.

In the fall, "House" will be followed on MONDAY by the dramatic rookie "Lone Star," a cheatin' heart soap about a man who leads two lives and how he works his long con between two families.

TUESDAY leads off "Glee"fully, followed by the new Greg Garcia sitcom "Raising Hope," about a downscale, idiot-based family raising a baby together. Following "Hope" is "Running Wilde," a sitcom from the brains behind "Arrested Development," which stars Will Arnett as a trust-funded rich guy who tries to win/buy the heart of the liberal activist girl-who-is-the-daughter-of-the-former-family-maid, who got away.

WEDNESDAY has "Lie to Me" and "Hell's Kitchen," and THURSDAY returns Bones and Fringe. On FRIDAY, Fox seeks to reclaim some male demos with "Human Target" and "The Good Guys."

SATURDAY sees the same old, same old, same old community service programming.

SUNDAY remains pretty much the same. There's football overrun and the animation block.

The most high-profile change to the current lineup is the rejiggering of "Idol": a 90-minute performance show Tuesday followed by a 30-minute results show on Wednesday. Set your DVRs to 37 minutes, just in case...

Midseason throws in rookies "Ride-Along" (a cop drama) and "Mixed Signals" (guys in their relationships' stages sitcom), along with the "save the world by becoming dinosaur food" sci-fi drama "Terra Nova." Fox also plucks another hot animator from Adult Swim (before someone else thinks to start their own network animation plans), resulting in "Bob's Burgers."

And in the end... the cast of "Glee" reportedly takes the stage to perform a show-closing song. This reporter is busy trying to regain some sense of sight, as the gaffers strategically placed lights BEHIND the cast onstage, pointed directly at the upper balcony. Because when you're sitting at a high altitude, the one thing that you DON'T want is the ability to see where you're going. It didn't matter, as there was apparently a broken-down attendee in one of the stairways, which caused buyer-to-buyer traffic in all outbound approaches.

Later that night, we were finally freed from our canid prison, following the balloons, off to relax on the pure white couches at the Fox upfront party. With a song in our hearts, of course.