The current climate in prime-time television is one of extreme uncertainty. It might not be an actual state of panic, but it’s sure getting close.

Although the 2006-07 television season is only a month old, jittery programmers have ordered a dizzying array of schedule changes over the last two weeks.

OK, change is inevitable. And no matter how much these programmers preach patience each year, they typically develop itchy trigger fingers as the ratings pour in. Still, what makes this young season so unusual is how fast and furious the changes are occurring.

Indeed, the tinkering started even before the season officially began Sept. 18. During the weeks leading up to that start date, ABC moved “Ugly Betty” from 8-9 p.m. Friday to 8-9 Thursday, CBS switched the Monday time periods announced for “The Class” and “How I Met Your Mother,” and NBC switched the Wednesday time periods announced for “30 Rock” and “Twenty Good Years.”

Since the middle of August, changes have been ordered involving a staggering 52 percent of the 27 new shows announced by the five broadcast networks in May. You can smell the fear behind all these moves.

Just in the last two weeks, nine of those freshman series have been dropped, moved, slated for a move, delayed or put on the road to sure extinction.

CBS gave a quick hook to “Smith,” the 10-11 p.m. Tuesday crime thriller starring Ray Liotta as a master thief leading a double life. Its prime-time life lasted just three weeks. The last episode was Oct. 4.

CBS also again switched the Monday time periods for “The Class” (back to 8:30) and “How I Met Your Mother” (now leading at 8).

NBC banished the critically acclaimed “Kidnapped” to the Siberian night, Saturday, announcing that the drama starring Dana Delany and Timothy Hutton would leave the air after 13 episodes.

Fox is sending its own kidnap drama, “Vanished,” to Fridays on Oct. 27, when the network’s post-World Series schedule takes the field. This is a ratings-challenged night for Fox, so “Vanished,” despite rave reviews, is certain to live up to its title. Victor Garber’s “Justice,” another newcomer, will get the 9-10 spot of the vanquished “Vanished.” And Fox’s Tuesday dramas will trade places, with the new “Standoff” shifting to 8-9 and “House” moving to 9-10.

The CW, the network formed from the merger of UPN and the WB, already has moved its entire 7-9 Sunday lineup of comedies – “Everybody Hates Chris,” “All of Us,” “Girlfriends” and fledgling player “The Game” – to 8-10 Monday. The Monday shows, “7th Heaven” and the new “Runaway,” get the vacated Sunday spots.

And ABC is delaying “The Knights of Prosperity,” a series that follows a group of Manhattan dreamers planning to rob Mick Jagger’s Central Park West apartment.

I know, it’s bewildering. To recap, the nine rookie shows issued new marching orders over the last two weeks are: CBS’ “Smith” and “The Class”; NBC’s “Kidnapped”; the CW’s “The Game” and “Runaway”; Fox’s “Vanished,” “Justice” and “Standoff”; and ABC’s “The Knights of Prosperity.”

And this won’t spell the end of the network jitters. NBC is nervously eyeing the ratings for writer-executive producer Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” which has lost viewers each week since its debut Sept. 18. Kevin Reilly, NBC’s entertainment president, says he’s nowhere close to giving up on this critics’ darling, but the trend is disturbing.

The fall lineups announced by the networks in May seemed overstocked with serial dramas – series, such as “24” and “Lost,” with season-long stories that continue week to week, rather than programs, such as “CSI” and “Law & Order,” with self-contained plots in each episode. Again and again, network executives were asked if viewers would set aside this much time for appointment viewing, particularly since so many already were following such serial dramas as “Lost,” “24” and “Prison Break.”

Amid all this uncertainty, one thing seems certain: There is a limited appetite for serial dramas in the prime-time network realm. “Smith,” “Kidnapped” and “Vanished” are serial dramas, and each hit the critical list with alarming speed.

“Studio 60” is being closely watched. And you can be sure that ABC is monitoring the ratings for two of its new serial dramas, “The Nine” and “Six Degrees.” The early numbers for “The Nine” have been good, but it still lost about 37 percent of the “Lost” lead-in audience. If that number climbs above 40 percent, “The Nine” will be doing about as well as the serial drama ABC tried at 10-11 Wednesday last season, “Invasion.”

So far this season, no serial drama is making Nielsen Media Research’s Top 20. The front-runners among new shows are ABC’s “Ugly Betty” and the CBS legal drama “Smith,” starring two-time Emmy winner James Woods. NBC’s “Heroes” also is posting a strong, if not heroic, number.

Everything else is in jeopardy. That’s because, rather than show patience with a fall lineup stocked with quality, the networks have reverted to form and started hitting the panic button – with a sledgehammer.