ABC's 'V' remake a highlight of November sweeps

November means Thanksgiving, retailers trying to get you to shop more, cooler weather and, to TV, sweeps.

Sweeps is when TV networks revise their advertising rates. They do this by running more interesting and ratings-friendly programming, which artificially inflates viewership and generates a higher cost for advertising space.

ABC rolled out its high profile remake of the 1980s miniseries "V" on Tuesday, and the result was highly watchable.

Admittedly, the pilot moved way too fast, shorting characters on development. But the "V" remake's glossy production values and interesting plot twists could lead to a solid science fiction series.

ABC plans to run "V" every week through November with an eye toward expanding it into a formal series, which would begin in March. With a debut audience of almost 14 million viewers, unless the show's audience drops dramatically by the end of the month, "V" will likely become a series.

The "V" remake will probably end up one of the highlights of this November's sweeps. Other networks aren't trying anything like "V," but they are trying.

The CW is pandering to its teen-girl demographic as much as possible by having Lady Gaga appear on "Gossip Girl." And it's going for broke with old "Melrose Place" fans by adding Heather Locklear to the remake's cast.

Fox, meanwhile, is trying out a variety show with "Family Guy presents Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show." Yes, it's probably going to be as bad as it sounds.

NBC will continue to pretend "The Jay Leno Show" is a success, and that its new shows aren't awful.

CBS is going to try reversing the ratings slide of "CSI" by doing crossover episodes with the other "CSIs."

So unless "V" falls apart in its subsequent weeks, it will be one of the few sweeps programming choices worthy of its ratings.