TV stations' lackluster efforts in buying new syndicated shows for next year reveal a few clues to current market conditions--among them, that marginal programs have a better chance of succeeding.

Network apologies, non-apologies, a near-graphic death video, a Far East wardrobe malfunction, and a "force"-full parade in Pasadena, California. These are the foundations in which we start the initial hours of the 2007 TV Watch....