Television networks launch into their midseason lineup this week. Here are five new shows that are

Television networks launch into their midseason lineup this week. Here are five new shows that are among the most promising, with network and premiere date:

v “Napoleon Dynamite” (Fox, Jan. 15): Recent animation series on Fox (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Allen Gregory”) haven’t fared well, but those efforts didn’t have the entire cast of a sleeper movie lending their voices. Film-based series are a risk, but this is worth checking out if only to find out how Pedro is handling his stint as class president.

v “Alcatraz” (Fox, Jan. 16): “Lost” producer J.J. Abrams returns to a mysterious island, but this one is just a mile off the West Coast. Turns out the past inmates of the water-bound prison, thought to be dead, are popping up in the present day and wreaking havoc in San Francisco.

v “Luck” (HBO, Jan. 29): Dustin Hoffman. Nick Nolte. Jill Hennessy. Dennis Farina. Joan Allen. Has there ever been a more star-studded cast attached to a series?

v “Smash” (NBC, Feb. 6): Debra Messing is part of a team attempting to get a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway. The even bigger challenge: Seeing if music-fueled drama can survive outside the halls of “Glee.”

v “Life’s Too Short” (HBO, Feb. 19): Can Ricky Gervais do it again? His latest collaboration with Stephen Merchant follows the somewhat real-life adventures of dwarf actor Warwick Davis.

“mobbed” (9 p.m., fox): Don’t look now, but we’re about to be “Mobbed” again. The reality series that combines hidden-camera elements with splashy musical messages returns tonight, ready to embarrass even more unsuspecting people.

tv listings, B6

entertainment news

‘M*A*S*H’ diner deal falls through

TOLEDO

The sale of an Ohio hot dog diner made famous on TV’s “M*A*S*H” has fallen through, with the potential buyer saying he will not complete the $5.5 million deal because of a bank-required change.

The news surfaced Tuesday as two Tony Packo’s Inc. officials pleaded not guilty to stealing from the company.

The owner of the private restaurant group that planned to buy the chain says his decision came after the bank holding the loan to the chain required changes. Media outlets report those changes included an increase in the loan interest rate.

Packo’s executive vice president Tony Packo III and another company official pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three counts each of aggravated theft.

The diner was referenced in episodes of “M*A*S*H.”

Model railroad flea market set

Niles

The Youngstown Model Railroad Association will have its annual Winter Flea Market from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday at McMenamy’s Banquet Hall, 325 Youngstown-Warren Road.

Admission is $5 (children under 12 will be admitted free).

The show will include 185 dealer tables of merchandise and equipment for all model railroad scales and interests.

An operating three rail “0” gauge layout will be set up, courtesy of the Western Reserve Modular Railroad Club.