'Band' Together

Fox is hoping to capture the next wave of reality phenomenon tonight with the debut of "The Next Great American Band" at 8 p.m.

My question is, what took them so long?

You'd think this project would have occurred to the network that brings us "American Idol" two or three times a week. Instead of trying to find the next great American singer, finding the next great musical group would seem like a logical progression.

Sure, there's a battle-of-the-bands kind of feel to it, but I think this is actually more challenging than "AI," since everyone in the band has to be on their game and they have to be able to play instraments in addition to singing, plus have the charisma of an actual band.

I'm also wondering why Fox would put this on Fridays, when most of the target audience will likely be out listening to real bands in clubs across the country, because in theory, most of the "AI" audience should be checking "Band" out, at least initially.

AROUND THE DIAL: What is it about "Big Bang Theory" that you people like? Seriously. Someone please explain to me why this show is popular. It's not plausible, and it's not funny.

But the ratings are very good and CBS awarded the show with a full-season pickup on Friday. In addition, CBS is also picking up "The Unit."

Meanwhile, despite it being something of a disappointment both creatively and in the ratings, "Private Practice" will also get a full season's worth of episodes, probably not much of a surprise. ...

Sci-Fi announced Friday that it will produce the backdoor pilot, "Revolution," which begins production in January. The concept is of a space colony named New America that has a lot of the same problems we contemporary Americans do. The new colony considers seceding from good, old planet Earth.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: I mentioned "Women's Murder Club" (ABC, 9 p.m.) last week as something that is slightly amusing, but apparently people thought even more of it than I did as it pulled in strong ratings for a Friday. Having seen Episode 2, the show settles more into what will be its presumed format each week. It's based on the crime novels of James Patterson, about four women who band together through their jobs to solve crimes. It's followed by the premiere of "Men In Trees."

CBS is all-new, with "Ghost Whisperer" (CBS, 8 p.m.) kicking things off, followed by the continuing-to-disappoint "Moonlight." At 10 p.m., "Numb3rs" takes on a Da Vinci Code-like plot.

Please, please, please tune into "Friday Night Lights," (NBC, 9 p.m.) which delivers a pivotal episode that will advance the Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) storyline as the Panthers become divided over the team's new coach (Chris Mulkey). (Fans of the series will especially enjoy the scene between Tim Riggins and Buddy Garrity). It's followed by a new "Las Vegas."

On Saturday, pretty much the only new thing of note is "Torchwood" (BBC America, 9 p.m.).

Sunday brings a plethora of new things, but the best bet is Showtime, which delivers new installments of "Dexter" at 9 p.m. and "Brotherhood" at 10 p.m.