Pick up or cancel: Fall TV 2009

Should these new fall TV shows sink or swim?

By Michael O'Connell, Special to Metromix

It's time to trim the fat.

Not all of the fall season's numerous freshman offerings can stick around for the whole year—and plenty of them don't deserve to (just ask "The Beautiful Life," which was cancelled after only two Kutcher-riffic episodes).

Using the powers of both numbers (Nielsen ratings) and words (our own), we're translating what the ratings mean, and we've got our predictions for which shows networks will give a full order and which will quietly disappear before we head into 2010.