LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- While over 50 new projects are set to debut over the course of the 2004-05 season on the six major broadcast networks, nearly twice that amount that were in development won't ever see the light of day.

One of the most commonly asked questions now that the upfronts - when the networks announce their 2004-05 season plans - are over is what are the chances one of the various pilots that weren't picked up will get a midseason order?

Realistically the chances are pretty slim. To illustrate our point we've gone over the upfront presentations from last season of ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN and the WB and compared them with what eventually made it to air.

Aside from additional reality series, the development of which generally doesn't follow that of scripted programming, only seven comedies or dramas were given series orders by the broadcast networks beyond those announced at their respective upfront presentations:

"The Big House" (ordered by ABC on 6/27/03)
"The D.A." (ordered by ABC on 11/24/03)
"Becker" (ordered by CBS on 6/17/03)
"Century City" (ordered by CBS on 7/8/03)
"Come to Papa" (ordered by NBC on 8/13/03)
"Game Over" (ordered by UPN on 6/27/03)
"Summerland" (ordered by the WB on 8/18/03)

Overall, here's a comparison of what did and did not appear in each network's upfront presentation's midseason plans:

ABC (announced at upfront) - "Line of Fire," "Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital"

ABC (eventually ordered) - "The Big House" (6/27/03), "Celebrity Mole: Yucatan" (3/17/03), "The D.A." (11/24/03), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (11/13/03)

CBS (announced at upfront) - "The Stones"

CBS (eventually ordered) - "Becker" (6/17/03), "Century City" (7/8/03), "Star Search" (11/25/03)

FOX (announced at upfront) - "American Idol 3," "Banzai," "Cracking Up," "The Ortegas," "Still Life," "Wonderfalls"

FOX (eventually ordered) - "Forever Eden" (12/22/03), "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" (1/5/04), "Playing It Straight" (8/21/03), "The Simple Life" (2/11/03), "The Swan" (10/9/03), "Totally Outrageous Behavior (12/19/03), "World's Craziest Videos" (12/19/03)

NBC (announced at upfront) - "The Apprentice," "Crossing Jordan," "The Tracy Morgan Show"

NBC (eventually ordered) - "Average Joe" (4/23/03), "Come to Papa" (8/13/03), "The Restaurant 2" (11/13/03)

UPN (announced at upfront) - None.

UPN (eventually ordered) - "Game Over" (6/27/03), "I'm Still Alive" (3/16/04)

The WB (announced at upfront) - "Fearless", "Gilmore Girls Spin-Off", "Make My Day", "The Help," "The Mayor", "High School Reunion 2," "The Surreal Life 2"

The WB (eventually ordered) - "Summerland" (8/18/03), "Superstar U.S.A." (4/15/04)

It's also worth mentioning that a half-dozen of the projects announced for midseason at the upfronts were never made or shelved completely - "The Ortegas," "Still Life," "Fearless," "Gilmore Girls Spin-Off," "Make My Day" and "The Mayor." In addition, "The Stones" and "Fearless" were both targeted for fall bows however over the course of the summer CBS and the WB respectively opted to go with a new season of "Becker" and the then new drama "One Tree Hill" in their place.

Nevertheless, despite such odds more than a few projects that didn't make the cut last week have been mentioned as being considered for midseason orders: "My 11:30" (NBC), "Nevermind Nirvana" (NBC), "Point Pleasant" (FOX), "Beck and Call" (UPN) and "The Bad Girl's Guide" (UPN). Also more than a few pilots are being shot or are potentially in the works for early 2005: "Nice Guys" (CBS), "Vinyl Cafe" (CBS), "Washington Street" (CBS), "The Perez Family" (FOX), "Spellbound" (FOX), "Untitled Chris Rock Project" (FOX), "Never in My Wildest" (NBC), "Untitled R. Lee Fleming Jr. Project" (NBC), "I Do, I Did, Now What?" (UPN), "Two Kings" (UPN), "Global Frequency" (WB), "Rocky Point" (WB) and "Untitled Schimmel/Stern Project" (WB).

Fans of any of the projects that didn't get picked up should also note that the options on the cast of the majority of the pilots shot generally expire by late July or early August.

Click here to read ABC's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read CBS' original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read FOX's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read NBC's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read UPN's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.

Click here to read the WB's original 2003 upfront presentation press release.