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TV's Class of 2008 failed worse than the economy. Starting in September, the five major networks premiered 21 new shows, and after last week's upfronts, only four of them are coming back for a sophomore season. This was a lot worse than the 2007 Fall shows, which had 10 of 26 return. It's even worse than this year's mid-season crop, which sees five shows returning in the Fall.

Part of this can be blamed on the writers' strike, which caused a rushed and premature pilot season to produce such gems as Kath and Kim and the CW's outsourced Sunday lineup. Now that the networks have announced their fall schedules, we have a new group of freshman shows to judge. Which ones should you spend time getting excited for and which ones should you not even bother with? Let's predict the winners and losers of the fall season.

WINNERS:

Community: Anyone who's seen The Soup knows Joel McHale is very funny, so this might be the next gem in the Thursday night comedy lineup.

The Cleveland Show: Seth MacFarlane has successfully made FOX his bitch, so much like American Dad, this show will be around for a long time.

Flash Forward: Already the critical darling of the Fall, this confusing, Lost-esque serialized sci-fi drama will leave some people rabidly excited and others aching to change the channel. Right now it's too early to tell which half will be the majority, but like Lost, the scales may tip in the show's favor at the beginning.

Eastwick: A weird blend of comedy and drama in an hour-long form works well for ABC, just ask Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty. It also works poorly, just ask Pushing Daisies. This will be more like the former, and once they move it to a more appropriate night, it will have a chance for mild success.

The Vampire Diaries: For everyone who wants a Twilight TV show, this is as close as you'll get, and with New Moon hitting theaters in the Fall, vampire love will help make this show a nice hit.

LOSERS:

Trauma: With a name that generic, this medical drama should flatline by mid-season.

Brothers: If this sitcom starring NFL pro Michael Strahan lasts more than three episodes, I will eat my hat.

The Forgotten: I already can't remember what this show is about or why anyone would watch it. They should've stuck with the original title: Canceled by November.

ABC's Wednesday Night Comedies: Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton each get another chance to fail like they did with Back to You, only now it's separately in Hank and The Middle. Modern Family is already the low-rated critical darling that gets a full season just because it earns the network some good press.

And Cougar Town might actually find success if America can be convinced that the 45-year-old Courtney Cox is both funny and sexy.

Melrose Place: If you thought 90210's ratings went down faster than Brenda Walsh at a lacrosse players' convention, wait until the new Melrose Place arrives to help kill the CW's Tuesday nights.

Make your picks for who will go home on your favorite reality shows and compete against other fans with BuddyTV's Fantasy TV.

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