Visionary Prognostication

Fall is in the air and on the airwaves.

This week, Recess debuts The Ratings Game, our seasonal play-by-play of the new network television series. (For the rules, see story.) With a schedule of stinkers on the way, we've decided to track the regression--err, progress--of fall's offerings, from the kitschy (WB's "young Superman" series Smallville) to the potentially palatable (Fox's collegiate drama Undeclared).

Below are our editors' picks for the seaon's best bets. These may be likely ratings winners, like NBC's Inside Schwartz (hammocked nicely between Friends and Will & Grace), or buzzworthy trailblazers, like Fox's secret-service drama 24. From the flops to the smashes, we'll be keeping track. Play along, if you can bear to watch. For a full list of the fall season's new shows, visit tv.zap2it.com/shows/01-02/fall. To submit your picks, e-mail recess@chronicle.duke.edu.

Tim Perzyk

1. Inside Schwartz (NBC)

2. Philly (ABC)

3. Undeclared (Fox)

Beth Iams

1. The Amazing Race (CBS)

2. Inside Schwartz (NBC)

3. 24 (Fox)

David Walters

1. The Runner (ABC)

2. The Tick (Fox)

3. Undeclared (Fox)

Cary Hughes

1. Undeclared (Fox)

2. The Runner (ABC)

3. Temptation Island 2 (Fox)