"You get a message from the American viewership that says, 'You know what? You're losing your audience year after year, because we're not interested in what you're showing us,'" Tolan says. "And so there's the initial idea of, 'We gotta change what we're putting on the air,' but talking about change and actually changing takes a very long time. There's this glacial movement, and that's not a bad thing. That's just the way the business moves--very slowly. Here's another shot, and if it's too early, then we'll be sunk, God knows.

"There's no such thing as a build for this stuff, especially for a show like this, where it's a risk. You'd better perform early, and perform often, or you're screwed. The guys at ABC, though, they certainly are recognizing they have to do something different. These are the guys who brought you Millionaire and continue to bring it to you ad nauseam at this point, but nevertheless, that was probably the biggest programming decision of the year except for Survivor for quite a while. Obviously, they recognize they need to do something different, and this is their response. And you know what? They hope, they hope, they hope that this works."

But if it doesn't, don't be surprised. It just might be your fault.