'Ed' and other returning shows look to the future

Television often seems formulaic, an endless repetition of hackneyed story lines and stock characters. But most of the good shows aren't put together that way. Most highly rated programs know how to keep their audience's interest with innovative story lines and characters who are true originals. That's why fans can't wait for fall. Take "Ed," one of several established shows that will have new episodes in the coming weeks. This quirkily romantic series is about a lawyer who hangs his shingle in a bowling alley. Last year NBC launched "Ed" on Sunday nights to a wave of critical accolades and Nielsen ratings that were "eh" at best. But after the network moved the show to Wednesdays, just before "The West Wing," audiences warmed up and NBC had a hit. For the two men most responsible for "Ed's" success, most of last season was a blur. With 22 episodes to write, budget and supervise - from filming through the final edit - Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman didn't have much time to toast their good fortune. "There was just a never-ending, gobbling mouth that needs to be fed material," Beckerman said in a phone interview this summer. The two men fed the maw as best they could, but by season's end they found they'd left many good ideas on the editing floor. They spent their summer vacation picking through the pieces and working the abandoned story lines into the scripts for the upcoming season. "We're taking more of the long view of this season than last year," Beckerman said. "When we started we didn't know what would work and what wouldn't. We were flying by the seat of our pants." So while there was plenty of action in the show's main relationship between Ed (Tom Cavanagh) and high-school teacher Carol (Julie Bowen), other characters did little more than appear in scenes, like Carol's tart-tongued friend Molly (Lesley Boone), his friend Mike (Josh Randall) and Mike's Type A wife Nancy (Jana Marie Hupp). Both women, Burnett said, "had story lines that were bumped that we want to get to next year." "Ed" returns Oct. 17, after the reality show "Lost" clears out of its time slot. @ART CAPTION:Boone @ART:Photo