ABC's new Wednesday is going to top NBC's Thursday in quality laughs--partially because they don't have Jay Leno fucking up the night at 9. ---

Now that ABC has put forks in Hank and Eastwick, the net is filling 7-8 pm with back-to-back episodes of The Middle, a no-laugh-track sitcom that didn't make much of an impression in the fall, but has since become a contender to almost match later neighbors (and critical darlings) Modern Family and Cougar Town. The brittle little lady from Everybody Loves Raymond and The Janitor from Scrubs--who knew?

At 9, Ugly Betty moves from the Friday dead zone and takes on Eastwick's old slot--whether Betty's lost her spark or not, she's still better than a MILF-y rehash of Charmed. This all adds up to three hours of solid comedy; NBC's Thursday flow of Community, Parks & Recreation, The Office and 30 Rock is fine ... until it crashes into The Chin, totaling only two hours.

Summing up: ABC is where it's at on Hump Day. A clip from The Middle--I'm now a believer in Patricia Heaton: