I am – Hercules

Will science fiction rule this fall?

Fox’s “Fringe,” CBS’ “11th Hour” and ABC’s “Life On Mars” -- sci-fi freshman all -- are likeliest to be the coming season’s top-rated new shows, according to Horizon Media, an entity that handicaps such things for ad buyers.

The firm has “low expectations” for NBC’s “Knight Rider,” however, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This despite the huge ratings the "Rider" TV-movie pilot scored earlier this year.

Horizon predicts “90210” as The CW’s top-rated new show.

UPDATE: James Hibberd, who wrote the Reporter piece, indicates that Horizon's track record is imperfect:

Now-canceled shows such as Fox’s “K-Ville,” “New Amsterdam” and “Back to You” and CBS’ “Cane” and “Viva Laughlin” and NBC's "Life" and "Journeyman" were predicted to lose their time periods in the demo against major competitors. Yet ABC’s returning “Pushing Daisies” and “Private Practice” were expected to win their slots.

Slips: CBS’ “Moonlight” was thought to become CBS’ highest-rated show on Fridays, Fox’s renewed “Kitchen Nightmares” was foretold to perform at CW-like levels and ABC's "Carpoolers" was expected to shine. Keep in mind, such early forecasts cannot take into account how a show evolves after its pilot episode.

Last season’s new shows, ranked by Nielsen's 18-49 demo ratings:

The Moment of Truth (Fox; ranked 7 among all shows)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox; 19)
Bionic Woman (NBC; 26)
Samantha Who? (ABC; 27)
Private Practice (ABC; 27)
Oprah's Big Give (ABC; 31)
American Gladiators (NBC; 34)
Chuck (NBC; 39)
Pushing Daisies (ABC; 45)
Here Come The Newlyweds (ABC; 45)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS; 49)
Big Shots (ABC; 54)
Life (NBC; 59)
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC; 62)
Don’t Forget the Lyrics Thursday (Fox; 62)
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox; 64)
Lipstick Jungle (NBC; 64)
New Amsterdam (Fox; 64)
Eli Stone (ABC; 69)
Journeyman (NBC; 69)
Dance War (ABC; 72)
Cavemen (ABC; 83)
Kid Nation (CBS; 83)
Back To You (Fox; 87)
Cane (CBS; 87)
Phenomenon (NBC; 87)
Cashmere Mafia (ABC; 87)
Unhitched (Fox; 96)
Welcome To The Captain (CBS; 98)
Moonlight (CBS; 102)
The Singing Bee (NBC; 102)
Dexter (CBS; 106)
K-Ville (Fox; 106)
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (NBC; 106)
Carpoolers (ABC; 115)
Women’s Murder Club (ABC; 115)
Don’t Forget The Lyrics Friday (Fox; 123)
Secret Talents of the Stars (CBS; 127)
Amnesia (NBC; 131)
Canterbury’s Law (Fox; 131)
Just For Laughs (ABC; 131)
Power of 10 (CBS; 131)
Next Great American Band (Fox; 139)
Monk (NBC; 142)
Reaper (CW; 142)
Gossip Girl (CW; 142)
Return of Jezebel James (Fox; 142)
Viva Laughlin (CBS; 142)
Psych (NBC; 149)
Duel (ABC; 149)
Farmer Wants A Wife (CW; 151)
Nashville (Fox; 152)
Crowned (CW; 157)
Aliens In America (CS; 158)
Life Is Wild (CW; 159)
Online Nation (CW; 160)
CW Now (CW; 160)

Last season’s new shows, ranked by Nielsen's total viewer ratings:

Moment of Truth (Fox; ranked 13 among all shows)
Samantha Who? (ABC; 25)
Oprah's Big Give (ABC; 30)
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox; 34)
Private Practice (ABC; 34)
Dance War (ABC; 42)
Bionic Woman (NBC; 43)
Pushing Daisies (ABC; 49)
Cane (CBS; 55)
American Gladiators (NBC; 55)
New Amsterdam (Fox; 55)
Women’s Murder Club (ABC; 58)
Chuck (NBC; 59)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS; 63)
Don’t Forget the Lyrics Thursday (Fox; 64)
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC; 69)
Life (NBC; 69)
Here Come The Newlyweds (ABC; 69)
Eli Stone (ABC; 69)
Kid Nation (CBS; 78)
Big Shots (ABC; 80)
Moonlight (CBS; 81)
Journeyman (NBC; 84)
Dexter (CBS; 87)
Lipstick Jungle (NBC; 87)
Back To You (Fox; 92)
Phenomenon (NBC; 92)
Cavemen (ABC; 95)
Viva Laughlin (CBS; 98)
The Singing Bee (NBC; 98)
Welcome To The Captain (CBS; 102)
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox; 107)
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (NBC; 107)
Canterbury’s Law (Fox; 107)
Cashmere Mafia (ABC; 116)
K-Ville (Fox; 118)
Monk (NBC; 122)
Power of 10 (CBS; 123)
Carpoolers (ABC; 123)
Amnesia (NBC; 129)
Just For Laughs (ABC; 131)
Don’t Forget The Lyrics Friday (Fox; 132)
Unhitched (Fox; 133)
Secret Talents of the Stars (CBS; 133)
Psych (NBC; 139)
Duel (ABC; 140)
Return of Jezebel James (Fox; 143)
Next Great American Band (Fox; 146)
Reaper (CW; 148)
Nashville (Fox; 149)
Gossip Girl (CW; 150)
Farmer Wants A Wife (CW; 153)
Aliens In America (CS; 155)
Crowned (CW; 155)
Life Is Wild (CW; 159)
Online Nation (CW; 160)
CW Now (CW; 160)

Interesting, no, how NBC’s top-rated new show “Bionic Woman” got the boot after only eight episodes?

Read all of The Reporter’s story on next year’s rankings here.

Season Eight: Volume Three!!

The Book About The Book!!