THR's Fall TV calendar; Baldwin bashing; Burnett's 'Tank'

>> THR runs down all the key dates and news events you can expect for the fall season. Such as

Wednesday, Oct. 1 -- ABC's "Pushing Daisies" 2.0 unveiled. After creator Bryan Fuller's protracted negotiations with ABC this summer over just how weird "Daisies" should be, the network agreed to a style that's, oh, about 31% less confusing to viewers who are just waiting around to watch "Private Practice." Side effects might still include uncontrollable bouts of bemusement.

Sunday, Sept. 28 -- Showtime shows off. Showtime is gunning for HBO, scheduling the returning seasons of "Dexter" and "Californication" up against "True Blood" and "Entourage." Couldn't the pay network pick another night of the week besides Sunday? Showtime is like the guy who comes into an otherwise empty movie theater and sits right next to you.

You get the idea. It’s useful (sort of) and funny (sort of).

Also:

>> Mark Burnett sells new reality show “Shark Tank” to ABC. Unfortunately the show does not involve sharks or a tank

>> “My Name Is Earl” creator responds to Alec Baldwin’s “30 Rock” whine/rant: “Alec Baldwin is funny as long as someone else is writing his words. When left to his own devices, he sounds like a psychotic narcissist who whines about being rich for eight pages in The New Yorker”

>> TV Guide ranks the best pilots ever. All are pretty good and No. 1 is spot-on. Missing: “Mad Men.” There was a reason that its pilot script was good enough to get Matt Weiner a “Sopranos” writing gig and then, years later, his own show.

>> David Letterman seems semi-convincingly disappointed that NBC is replacing his biggest competition for more than a decade

>> In a self-induced-shot-to-the-head combo, Emmy Academy pairs up Kathy Griffin and Don Rickles

>> TNT’s “The Closer” is being spun off. Which for movie fans means yet another actress shining a flashlight around their TV screens while they’re trying to watch “Titanic”

>> “30 Rock” tries to downward skew its median age

>> Jon Stewart on Sarah Palin; GOP operatives forget their MSNBC mikes are on; Josh Schwartz Q&A