NBC's mid-season schedule has a little Hmm... ("Harry's Law") and a dash of Huh?!? ("The Cape").

"The Cape" may surprise us all, but it looks downright silly. A cop is framed for a crime and disappears, presumed dead by his family and coworkers. He then takes on the identity of a comic book hero to fight crime anonymously. Okaaaaay... "Harry's Law" is another legal drama from David E. Kelley. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of his shows ("Boston Legal," "Private Practice," "Ally McBeal") and this one could be good -- it has Kathy Bates, after all. Kelley isn't afraid to build shows around older actors ("Boston Legal" starred William Shatner and Candice Bergen) and Bates looks good as a burned out, hot shot patent lawyer who starts over as a defense attorney. This feels like a show I will like, but one I maybe shouldn't get attached to. (VIDEOS BELOW)

NBC announced their new fall schedule this weekend and released some trailers for upcoming shows. As everyone knows by now, they have canceled their 20-year veteran "Law & Order," but are launching a spin-off called "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (aka LOLA). "Outlaw," a legal drama with Jimmy Smits is on Friday nights at 10pm, which isn't exactly a vote of confidence. Looking better is "Undercovers," about a husband-and-wife spy team who come out of retirement. But if it's good, that usually means NBC will cancel it (pardon my cynicism).

There's more. Check below for the schedule (not including five shows that will air mid-season - more about those here) and videos of extended trailers.

NBC canceled its 20-year veteran "Law & Order" this week so they could make room for some new pilots. Here's the first promo picture released from one of those pilots, called "The Cape." It's about a cop framed for murder who goes into hiding and is presumed dead, and then starts dressing like a comic book hero and fights crime. Sigh.

Here's a breakdown of other new shows ordered by NBC.

Note: This recap of Season Four's second episode ("After the Fall") originally ran here in November 2009, when the episode first aired on DirecTV.

Coach Taylor must face the aftermath of last week's forfeiture. His lawn is covered by white flags that say "Quitter," and the team stops showing up to practice. They're upset and embarrassed he didn't let them finish the game. Even complacent, agreeable Landry says he's done.

SPOILERS ahead...

I told someone earlier, amidst all of today's cancellation news, that NBC's "Heroes" should sleep with one eye open tonight. The poor show didn't even make it to bedtime.

Entertainment Weekly says it's gone. There's no real surprise here. In its first season it averaged 14.5 million viewers. The show's last episode on NBC, back in February, pulled in just 4.4 million.

"Heroes" had as great a freshman season as almost any show I can recall. In my opinion, it was on par with the first season of "Lost." Sadly, none of the subsequent seasons were nearly as good. It lasted four seasons.

With the blood of "Law & Order" still on their hands, NBC execs also canceled medical shows "Trauma" and "Mercy" today.

Frankly, I don't think the mediocre "Mercy" should exist in a world without "Law & Order," so I'm good with that one. But the "Trauma" cancellation hurts. I liked that show a lot, and not just because of my undying love for Rabbit (left). NBC actually canceled this show last year and then un-canceled it for a short season. Ratings weren't great, so I am not at all surprised it didn't last long after this second mini-run. The best I can hope for now is that Cliff Curtis (aka Rabbit) gets his own show, preferably on another network.

If you like numbers: "Mercy" was getting about 1.4 million viewers, "Trauma" a little over 2 million, and "Law & Order" averaged around 7.3 million this season. 

There was a lot of back-and-forth and hemming and hawing last night about the news of the possible "Law & Order" cancellation. At bedtime, media outlets were reporting that the show would likely return next season for a short 6-to-8 episode run.

Well, it's not to be. The official word from NBC today is that the 20-year-old cop drama will not return, and there will be no chance to wrap up any loose ends for the characters.

Stay classy, NBC.

Fans of "Friday Night Lights" were  thrilled last week when the show's fourth season returned to NBC after a first run on DirecTV.

In that debut episode, we got our first glimpse at what life has in store for Coach Taylor since getting fired from his job at Dillon High. WarmTV has a great recap of that episode from Sadia Latifi, written when the show first premiered in October 2009. 

On tonight's episode, titled "After the Fall," the East Dillon Lions snatch a star player from West Dillon after a controversy that puts Tami in an awkward position. Also, Matt Sarecen begins working with an eccentric local artist, and Riggins has to find a new place to live.

"Friday Night Lights" airs at 8pm on NBC. 

As if I needed another reason to despise NBC, those evil bastards have reportedly gone and canceled my beloved "Law & Order." 

There's a ton of confusion and speculation right now, with "people close to the show" saying it's canceled but NBC not confirming the reports. Could it all be a negotiation tactic? 

But there's hope! Variety insists nothing is definite, and New York Times says that even though the "Law & Order" actors have been told it's not coming back, the show's creator and executive producer Dick Wolf is still having conversations with NBC.

UPDATE: Showbiz411 blog says (citing anonymous sources) that L&O may come back next year for a "mini season" of 6 to 8 episodes, in order to break the "Gunsmoke" record. But it's clear that whatever happens, NBC is not really interested in keeping it around.

You know why Jim is still cool? He can slip in a wink to the camera while blinking messages in Morse code to Pam to drive Dwight crazy.

And do you know why Dwight is still crazy? He thinks that the best way to prove that Michael's new girlfriend is cheating is by attempting to seduce her at her gym with some inappropriate moaning as he works out his inner thighs on the Cybex machine.

The moral of Thursday's episode, though, is that you don't send Dwight and his skeevy tanktop undercover to solve a mystery that Facebook can unravel in five seconds. That, and don't expect to buy Andy's silence with a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card.