television

Pam and Robert Allyn kept their word.

Gordon Solie's daughter and son-in-law promised the legendary pro wrestling announcer that two books he wanted to write would be published after his death in July 2000. Nine years later, the project is finished.

"The Jay Leno Show" is getting a week's jump on the official start of the fall season.

Debuting 10 p.m. Monday, "Jay Leno" has been dubbed the most anticipated new show of the season. Perhaps that's true only because of its novelty -- Leno hosting an hour-long comedy show Monday through Friday.

The most notable change in prime-time television this fall is also the biggest change to the broadcast network landscape since upstart rival Fox launched in 1986. NBC will forgo its mantle as a home for adult, quality 10 p.m. dramas ("ER," "L.A. Law," etc.) in favor of stripping "The Jay Leno Show" at 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Stefan Salvatore has bloodshot eyes, mangled teeth, terrible sleeping habits and a severe drinking problem. In other words, he has a good chance of becoming TV's hottest heartthrob.

PBS bets that its youngest viewers will love them together in "Dinosaur Train," a new computer-animated series from Jim Henson Productions that premieres Monday with a two-hour marathon of episodes (8-10 a.m. EDT).

"Glee" -- one of the best new offerings of the fall -- serves up its long-awaited second episode (9 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Fox).

The pilot aired in May after an edition of "American Idol," and it was repeated last week. Now, after months of anticipation, we finally get to see if "Glee" can live up to its promise.

So does "Glee" sing as well this time?

Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro won't be the only familiar faces on the new "Melrose Place." Josie Bissett, who played Jane (Syd's sister), and Daphne Zuniga, who played photographer Jo, will also make appearances this fall. Producers have also been talking with Grant Show, who played Jake in the original series.

Set aside that a remake of "Melrose Place" just 10 years removed from the original seems like too much too soon. The CW's new version of the 1990s soap begins with a surprisingly well-made pilot that's better than either the 1992 first episode of "Melrose Place" or last year's "90210" reboot.

Unfortunately, the death of daytime drama couldn't be more evident than at the 2009 Daytime Emmys (8 p.m. EDT Sunday, CW).

Oh, the irony: These Emmys should be a celebration of the genre. Instead, the show is a sad reminder of what's all wrong these days.

Have a sandwich, Twiggy. In fact, go ahead and down a 6-foot sub. With cheese. Fat is suddenly fabulous, at least on TV, a realm once thought to be the exclusive playground for stick figures.

"Drop Dead Diva," a dramedy about a rail-thin model reincarnated as a plump lawyer, is scoring the highest ratings for a new Lifetime series since "Army Wives" debuted in 2007.