Written By Rick Ellis, Friday, March 28th, 2003

It's that time of the year--when the broadcast networks start making their final decisions on which new shows to cancel, and which programs to bring back for a second season.

Here are six shows that are headed towards cancellation, but which we believe deserve a second chance. Some of them have been hurt by a tough timeslot, some of them haven't been promoted properly, and in one or two cases, the viewers just haven't found the show quite yet.

Here's our list, in particular order:

Veritas: The Quest (ABC) (Mondays, 8:00pm ET)
The show was dismissed by a lot of TV critics as an Indiana Jones knock-off, although that description would be a positive one in my eyes if it were accurate. In reality, the show is closer to much more complex. Imagine if Alias was about archeology rather than the CIA and you get a sense of what's going on. Each week brings frantic action, some healthy flirting, a stellar cast and a conspiracy that dwarf's anything else on television.

Unfortunately for fans of the show, ABC stuck it on Monday nights once the football season had ended. Not a positive sign, since the last time the network had a hit on Mondays other than football, Richard Dean Ansderson was heading up the cast (MacGuyver). The show seems to be a much better fit with Alias than Dragnet, but even this timeslot would have been workable if ABC hadn't stuck the faltering drama The Practice in-between this show and itrs companion series Miracles. Here's a thought...rather than airing those filler hollywood movies on Saturday, why not air a block of Veritas, Miracles and Alias? Double-pumping all three shows would get some new fans tuning in, and would finally make ABC competive on a night where it has struggled since the 1980's.
(Current status: On hiatus, although ABC plans to air the remaining nine unaired episodes at a later date).

Abby (UPN)
This has been a tough year for new comedies. Particularly for NBC, whose new lineup of sitcoms such as A.U.S.A., Good Morning, Miami, Hidden Hills and In-Laws is the weakest set of offerings in recent years.