By now, it's safe to say that the recession has affected us all. Everyone's tightening their belts -- and television networks and production companies are no exception. Sure, Kelsey Grammer and Ray Romano can be confident that their huge per-episode salaries will remain in place, but any new shows that have a shot at a season-long commitment had better be cost-effective -- built around cheap stars, produced on an inexpensive set, and with the lowest possible production values. For a change, Fametracker has travelled to the near future -- fall 2002 -- to get a look at the newest, most fiscally responsible series.

Whose Fucking Line Is It, Bitch?, hosted by Andrew Dice Clay, Fridays at 10 on Cinemax

The brilliance of Whose Fucking Line Is It, Bitch? is manifold. First, it uses as its jumping-off point the proven premise of an existing, and successful, series -- namely, Whose Line Is It, Anyway?, the British import now hosted by Drew Carey on ABC. Second, instead of employing an MC with a high Q rating and commensurate high salary, it's hosted by Andrew Dice Clay, whose career highlights of the past five years primarily involve his participation in various installments of the E! True Hollywood Story. Third, transplanting the premise from early network primetime to later pay-cable primetime means that hilarious improvisational sketch comedy and constant profanity are together, at last! (And don't forget the female frontal nudity the Cinemax setting affords! It brings a whole new meaning to the "Hoedown" segment.)

Cooking With Kraft, hosted by Marilu Henner, Mondays at 8 on The Food Network

One-time Taxi co-star Marilu Henner has almost entirely given up her acting career in order to educate the public about health and well-being in books like The 30 Day Total Health Makeover and Healthy Kids: Help Them Eat Smart and Stay Active -- for Life!. While the thrust of Henner's dietary advice has always been that refined sugars, caffeine, bovine dairy products, and processed foods are the most harmful foods a person can consume, the opportunity to return to television with a weekly cooking show has helped her to re-evaluate the message she wishes to send to parents and fans. The fact that the sole sponsor of the series is Kraft -- and, therefore, that every dish Henner prepares is built around at least one commercially available Kraft Foods product -- has also contributed to Henner's nutritional change of heart. If you were put off by the stridency of Henner's gustatory proselytizing the last time you saw her on a talk show, you might have a very different view when you see her demonstrating exciting new ways to liven up a package of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, singing the praises of Kraft Foods all the while!

Boston Private!, Wednesdays at 9 on FOX

Television's most prolific and inventive producer -- David E. Kelley -- is back this fall with a new and innovative series. Mind you, that depends on how you define "new"! In the fall of 1999, Kelley -- aware that fans of his beloved dramedy Ally McBeal couldn't possibly be sated by a mere hour of Ally's adorable mugging and finger-sucking each week -- came up with a new spin-off series, cheekily titled simply Ally. As the title suggests, Ally was half as long as Ally McBeal; rather than going through the hassle of producing entirely new material, Ally was made up of scenes and plots that had been filmed for, but cut from, existing episodes of Ally McBeal. It was a bold move on Kelley's part, and one that reflected his genius as a producer: it was a tragedy that all these comedic gems were going unused, when they could just as easily be repackaged and spoon-fed to FOX's teeming legions of Ally fans! Unfortunately, the experiment failed, probably because it was so far ahead of its time. Three years later, audiences may finally be ready to embrace the concept: enter Boston Private!, an exciting new series composed of previously unseen footage filmed for Boston Public. Surely this thrilling concept will be a runaway success where Ally was a dismal failure!

America's Proudest Moms, hosted by Rip Taylor, Fridays at 8

If you're allergic to confetti, stay away! Perennial TV personality Rip Taylor hosts this heartwarming peek into the lives of proud mothers across this great nation. Unlike the edgier America's Funniest Home Videos -- in which participants are financially rewarded for happening to videotape painful accidents and unplanned moments of public nudity, APM takes as its source material happy, cute, and not terribly eventful videos sent in by doting mothers -- videos of first steps, messy feedings, birthday parties, school concerts, Little League games, and the like. The only mandate is that the videos show joyful moments that would make any mother smile. And there's no cash prize -- how could you pit such wonderful children against one another in a contest to decide who's the cutest? Instead, APM merely collects and broadcasts the videos, giving proud moms a new platform from which to show off their marvelous, perfect offspring. America, America -- this is really you!

Endurer, hosted by Peter Tomarken, Tuesdays at 8 on UPN

After an unfortunate first foray into the world of reality TV (known to some of you as Chains of Love), UPN is re-entering the arena with a bold and shockingly original series called Endurer! It's like nothing you've ever seen before! We take fourteen Americans, divide them into two clans, maroon them in the middle of nowhere (though what the participants don't realize is that they'll be somewhere in the continental U.S.) with just a few rations and subsistence tools, and challenge them to create their own society. Every two days, the clans will meet up with series host Peter Tomarken, who presides as they face off in physical and mental dares; the losing clan will have to take the ignoble trip to Clan Court, and cast ballots to remove one of their clansmen. At the end of twenty-four days, only two Endurers remain, and the dismissed clansmen cast ballots as to which will go home with the grand prize of $20,000! Who will be the ultimate Endurer? Tune in to UPN to find out! [Note: Series debut delayed by court injunction pending the ruling in a lawsuit brought by CBS.]