The Comedy network brings more laughs with five new series buys for fall. New original series pickups are Alice, I Think, a half-hour 13-parter based on Susan Juby’s books, George Street TV, an interactive combo of party hopping, streeters and dares from Canada’s East Coast and Girls Will be Girls, a half-hour about girl power. More new purchases include Brit import Craig’s Sushi TV, featuring the best of Japanese game shows. Finally, for ultimate laughs (or is it tragedy?), catch rocker Tommy Lee in Tommy Lee Goes to College.

Fall arrives with a crash and a bang on Discovery Channel with the network’s purchase of eight new hour-long properties. Canada’s Worst Driver takes a look at dangerous drivers en route to road rehab. Some build it. Others blow it up. Mega Builders captures some of the biggest and most dangerous engineering projects worldwide. Meanwhile, the Blasters blows the lid off of demolition blasting. Mean Machines counts down the toughest machines in history and Greatest Ever takes a cheeky look at modern technology, featuring advocates who spark debate and defend their faves. For crime nuts, there’s On the Run, a look at how law officials track down baddies and True Crime Scene for CSI fans who just can’t get enough. Finally, Breaking Vegas uncovers casino tricks. Time slots will be finalized next week. The channel’s programming is aimed at adults 25-54 with a male skew.

Toronto’s Outdoor Life Network’s (ONL) hit dirt and come back with nine new series for fall. WPCA Half-Mile of Hell is a behind-the-scenes half-hour reality show featuring Chuckwagon racing. Then it’s time to hit the dirt on Dirt Riders, a countdown of the toughest cowboys and rodeo women. Man Trackers is a cat-and-mouse reality chase through the Rocky Mountains. Fearless is an Emmy-nominated OLN original series set to make its Canadian debut. The series profiles people pushed to the limits. Then, follow Ewan McGregor (Star Wars) and Charley Boorman (Deliverance) as they hit the open road in The Long Way Round. The half-hour Countdown highlights the most dangerous places on Earth, hardest animals to hunt and more. For living room globetrotters, there’s Globe Guides, a half-hour series that looks around the world in search of the most exciting festivals. Outdoor Investigations looks at the greatest outdoor puzzles in North America and finally, Nature Brigade takes 30 minutes to follow the lives lead by modern-day environmental gladiators. OLN targets adults 25 to 54.

Toronto-based Vision TV’s got two shows behind the pulpit, one that has the network searching for passionate, charismatic church leaders and another that seeks out seekers. Candidates from all over the continent are invited to compete in a series entitled Preach For The Top, designed to showcase their talents from behind the pulpit and within the community. Seekers, a new doc series is scoping for five individuals to travel with host and exec producer Ralph Benmergui. The show follows the group on a three-week journey to spiritual hotspots across North America. Both shows are set to air in 2006. The network’s primary target demo is women 50+ though its fastest growing group is women 18-49, says David Todd, marketing and communications at Vision.

Global’s announced its new fall programming yesterday at an event at the Carlu, attended by Mr. Apprentice himself, Donald Trump. The standing-room only event was punctuated by the ringing of cell phones as part of Global’s new promotion entitled ‘Global’s Calling – If you’re in, you win.’ With phones hidden under select chairs, CanWest’s top brass gave away prizes of $1000 each throughout the event to a handful of lucky attendees.

This was a taste of a wider consumer promo engineered to net and keep eyeballs. The contest works like this: Viewers are invited to register their info online and to watch Global nightly for a code word. Prizes range from $500 up to $10,000 for viewers who know that word when called. Global’s Calling starts July 11 and runs for eight weeks. The network will also utilize trucks in the Vancouver and Toronto markets wrapped with contest details. The trucks will be visiting neighbourhoods to catch viewers at home who may be in the know.

Toronto-based CHUM TV is rebranding their youth lifestyle and music video channels as Razer and PunchMuch. The new channels will debut June 30. Razer grabs 12- to 24-year olds with its lineup of music, TV, movies, anime and gaming. Program titles include World Famous for Dicking Around and Cops, Cars and Superstars to name a few. PunchMuch is a fully-automated, all-request music video service that allows fans to punch in requests for videos, join in on SMS chats and more via their mobiles. Razer and PunchMuch will occupy the spots formerly taken by MTV and MTV2.