CliqueClack TV » Big Love

I have seen the future, and I think I know how Big Love is going to end

Aryeh S. — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:00:08 +0000

I know that ‘Big Love’ only just aired its season four finale, but a number of varied events have started me thinking about how the series might end. And it’ll be a doozy.

A lot of people were unhappy with Big Love this past season. Which is fair. Personally, I loved watching Bill slowly drift into funny farm territory by ramping up the velocity at which he has visions for the future of his family. And in general, it’s tough to take issue with anything that Bill Paxton does, because he’s a terrific actor.

But the major downside that I do see with a shift of focus from Bill the businessman to Bill the politician is that a new vocation will bring with it a new cast of characters. Or more specifically, leave behind the old ones. We actually already experienced it when Bill shifted his focus from Home Plus to the Blackfoot casino. Where the hell has Don (Joel McKinnon Miller) gone? Oh sure, we’ve seen him here and there, but he’s no longer a regular player in the drama that makes up the show. Or is he?

I’ve been thinking back recently to the many injustices that Don’s been forced to suffer at the hands of Bill. There was the time he had to baby-sit the defaced highway billboard. Or when he had to lie-in-wait as Bill tried to get the Greens and Roman arrested. Or the countless occasions when Bill has shoved business decisions down Don’s throat. And he just stands there and takes it.

And then there’s his personal life. We’ve certainly never gotten the impression that Don’s doing as well financially as Bill is. At least I haven’t. And two of his wives ran off with most of his children — the implications of polygamy aside, that’s tough. And while Don should have shared that with Bill instead of letting it jeopardize their presentation to Jerry, I think Don knew Bill well enough to decide that he shouldn’t rush to share that information with Bill. Because Bill’s never been there for Don.

Asking him to take the fall for the Home Plus health insurance scam, thereby outing himself as a polygamist, was horrible. I mean, it was excruciating to listen to Bill ask, as well as to hear Don do it. It’s no wonder his kid threw something through Bill’s window in the finale; I’d actually call that a tame, restrained reaction by Don’s family. This guy, who’s living high off the hog with a business chain and a casino, and is running for political office, destroyed their lives to save his own. I’m amazed that there’s yet to be an assassination attempt.

Which actually leads me to my vision of the future. I know Don’s a gentle man, and I know we saw relief and pride splashed across his face when Bill, during his victory speech, revealed that he was a polygamist. But Don’s troubles are far from over, and Bill is definitely not finished stepping on Don’s neck to reach ever higher. One of these days, Don’s going to snap.

And slaughter Bill.

I’m not talking about long-range sniper stuff, neither. I’m talking slaughter. Brutal, ugly, vicious stuff, the likes of which The Sopranos didn’t dare show us. The kind of thing that would send the gals from Sunshine Cleaning running for the hills. Or that would turn Hannibal Lecter’s stomach, and possibly make him go vegan.

It’s going to be painful. It’s going to be hard to watch. The FCC will fine and censure HBO for years to come. But Don Embry’s going to get his due. He’ll have his pound of flesh … and then some.

And when he’s all finished, and justice has been served, he’ll go back to court and fight for custody of his kids. Because that’s what a good man does.

And because that’s where a good series finale ends.

Photo Credit: HBO

Ratings Clack – How do you beat Idol? Oscar.

Brett Love — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:55 +0000

The Academy Awards was the big winner for the week, managing to top the ‘Idol’ juggernaut. ‘Idol’ was still huge for FOX, while CBS had great showings from ‘2 ½ Men’, ‘Big Bang’, and ‘NCIS’. ‘SVU’’s return to 10 PM was a bright spot for NBC.

As has been the pattern lately, the big awards shows continue to impress. At least, where the numbers are concerned. We’ll leave the discussion of the Oscar dancefest for another time. Looking at just the numbers, the show was a huge win for ABC. Or, the complete opposite of what the return of Scrubs meant for the network. Scrubs joined the big Wednesday comedy block and was quickly put on life support. Perhaps they’ll bump into the folks from Trauma while they recover. That one also took a jack-boot to the crotch in returning to the NBC fold. In happier news, if that really was the last episode we’ll ever see from Numb3rs, the show went out on top.

ABC - The Academy Awards (41.7m/13.3) were huge, and easily the number 1 show of the week. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to use that success to boost any of the other nights. Things were a little slow on Monday. The Bachelor special for Jason and Molly’s wedding (9.3m/2.8) did all right, but was well off the pace for where the regular series has been lately. Without the full Bachelor lead-in, Castle (9.11m/2.4) is back to its early season pace.

Lost (9.49m/4.2) seems to have found its number, and looks to dominate its hour in the demo for the remainder of the season. The Forgotten (4.85m/1.5), meanwhile, is just waiting to disappear. The big news on Wednesday was the addition of Scrubs (4.28m/1.5) to the comedy block. I’m tempted to say that those sub-Hank numbers put the final nail in the coffin, but you have to consider the According To Jim angle. Syndication money could make it worth foisting another crappy Scrubs season on viewers. The Middle (6.3m/2.3) and Cougar Town (6.1m/2.5) were also off the pace on Wednesday, but Modern Family (9.02m/3.8) has solidified itself as a genuine hit.

Thursday, Grey’s Anatomy (10.94m/3.9) still managed to win the hour in the demo, but the recent struggles are starting to look like a trend. Those struggles aren’t doing any favors for Private Practice (7.66m/2.8) either. Things wrapped up Friday with a double-shot of Supernanny (4.86m/1.4 – 4.17m/1.2) and 20/20 (5.58m/1.7).

CBS - The Amazing Race (8.11m/2.6) was the only show that dared face down the Oscars, and it took the expected hit. No worries there though. Things were much better on Monday with How I Met Your Mother (10.06m/3.9), Rules Of Engagement (10.07m/3.6), 2 ½ Men (17.61m/5.8), Big Bang Theory (16.32m/5.9), and CSI: Miami (11.93m/3.3). Notable is that Engagement is edging HIMYM in viewers. It doesn’t speak well for Accidentally On Purpose.

More good news on Tuesday with NCIS (19.58m/3.8), NCIS:LA (16.99m/3.5), and The Good Wife (13.95m/2.8). As we’ve seen in the past, Gibbs is nearly immune to Idol, and the LA team is holding up very well faced with Lost. Comedy remains a problem on Wednesday, with Old Christine (7.67m/2.2) and Gary Unmarried (6.68m/2.2). Criminal Minds (13.29m/3.4) hasn’t been hurt by that, but it looks like CSI:NY (11.07m/2.6) has suffered a hit from the return of SVU to 10PM.

Thursday was mostly as expected. Survivor (12.12m/3.6) was solid against Idol, and CSI (15.25m/3.3) is still popular, if not what it once was. The most interesting bit came from The Mentalist (16.02m/3.4), which again topped CSI in both measures. Finally, Ghost Whisperer (7.84m/1.9), Medium (8.15m/1.8), and Numb3rs (8.74m/1.8) all won their hours on Friday. If that was the series finale of Numb3rs, it went out as the most watched show of the night. And it was also a very well done series finale episode.

FOX - House (12.82m/4.8) kicked off the week, returning to the top spot at 8. 24 (8.86m/2.8) was up just a bit, but is starting to show where those final season rumors are grounded. American Idol took over with shows on Tuesday (22.75m/8.2), Wednesday (20.7m/7.5), and Thursday (19.34m/6.3). More interesting than those numbers was the results for a repeat Glee (7.55m/2.9) that followed. That bodes well for the show’s return. Human Target (7.83m/2.4) was able to win the 8PM hour on Wednesday, and Kitchen Nightmares (7.19m/3) was solid on Thursday.

NBC - The week started with another Chuck (6.37m/2.3) that looked just good enough to get the show renewed. It’s not a slam-dunk, but the show is looking like the best option among the network’s bubble shows. Trauma (4.76m/1.4), on the other hand, doesn’t look good at all. Those numbers are really bad, but you do have to wonder how pulling the show, possibly canceling it, and then bringing it back fed into it. Law & Order (5.21m/1.5) wasn’t much better.

By comparison, things were much better on Tuesday. The Biggest Loser (7.91m/3) continues to slip versus Idol, but is still better than everything except The Office. Parenthood (6.09m/2.6) took a pretty sizable hit in week two, so the jury is still out on that one. On Wednesday, Mercy (6.31m/1.5) can say that it beat Scrubs. Unfortunately, neither of them can say that they beat Next Top Model in the demo. And if a CW show beats a big network show in the adult demo, that show should be done. There was better news from the L&O: SVU (8.53m/2.6) return to 10PM. That’s still off the pace of what the show once did, but it tied CSI:NY for first in the demo.

With Thursday, I just keep asking, “They renewed all of this?” Community (4.6m/1.9) and Parks & Recreation (4.55m/2.1) continue to be a black hole anchoring the night. For some perspective on that, the 8PM numbers from 3/05/09 were My Name Is Earl (5.45m / 2.2) – Kath & Kim (4.09m/1.8). The Office (7.43m/3.8) is still solid. Second in the demo on Thursday at 9 is hard to argue with. 30 Rock (5.77m/2.9), on the other hand, continues to only (marginally) succeed when Michael Scott hands off a ready-made audience. Friday, Who Do You Think You Are (7.15m/1.8) continues to look like a solid bit of Friday programming. That was followed up with two entries from Dateline (7.8m/1.7 – 8.29m/1.8).

CW – Finally, after weeks and weeks, there was something resembling a schedule from the little network. Life Unexpected (1.94m/.9) moved to 8, to make way for the return of Gossip Girl (1.74m/1). Gossip Girl has a large lead where the young female audience is concerned, but it is notable that LUX topped it in viewers. Likewise, LUX also bested 90210 (1.7m/.8) and Melrose Place (1.16m/.5) in both measures. The big news though, was the return of Next Top Model (3.66m/1.6). That 1.6 was good enough for third place at 8PM. The week finished with the premiere of High Society (1.26m/.5), which looks to continue the CW tradition of squandering the valuable Top Model lead-in.

CABLE - USA wrapped up the goofy split seasons for White Collar (4.04m/1.4) and Psych (2.95m/1.1) this week. The other successful note from the world of cable came from E!’s Red Carpet Special (3.54m/1.4). Not only is that a good number for E!, the show should also serve as a huge source of embarrassment to ABC. Their pathetic red carpet train-wreck doesn’t begin to compare. Other cable numbers:

Big Love (1.71m/.8)
Secret Life Of The American Teenager (3.21m/1.1)
Make It Or Break It (2.5m/.8)
Greek (1.03m/.4)
Damages (.92m/.2)
Southland (2.06m/.7)
Hannah Montana (6.32m/1.3)
How To Make It In America (.48m/.3)
Blue Mountain State (.8m/.4)
Sarah Silverman Program (.58m/.3)
Archer (1.08m/.6)
American Pickers (4.55m/1.8)
Pawn Stars (5.82m/2.5 – 5.41m/2.3)
Ghost Hunters (2.21m/1)
Project Runway (2.54m/1)

Photo Credit: ABC

Big Love’s Bill Henrickson has become an unlikable character

Meredith O'Brien — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:00:48 +0000

After the way he sacrificed everyone and everything close to him in pursuit of elected office, Bill Henrickson has become an unlikable leading character.

So the season finale in the way too short and wildly overstuffed fourth season of Big Love concluded on Sunday — facing stiff competition from the Oscars — and we saw, once again, Bill Henrickson selfishly betray the people who he professes to love in order to pursue elected office.

And as Bill raced around trying to put out one scandalous fire after another so they wouldn’t sink his chances on Election Day, he officially transformed into an unlikable character.

It’s been depressing to watch Bill — a character who once seemed like a benevolent-yet-harried family and businessman who was trying to live his unorthodox/illegal lifestyle under the radar — turn into a deluded narcissist with absolutely no grasp of reality and desperately lacking empathy for those closest to him.

By the time the finale, “End of Days,” concluded, Bill had coerced his three wives to stand in the scalding glare of the public spotlight in front of a bank of cameras and declare that they were in a polygamist marriage together. Bill didn’t care that Barb and Margene vigorously objected to doing this, that they didn’t want to jeopardize the security of their family by going public because he, the man who was vain enough to start his own Church of Bill, no longer seemed to listen to anyone or care about anyone else’s feelings. He believes he’s on some kind of holy mission to shed light on his religion and he’s gonna take that journey, no matter the cost. Once in office, he believes, he’ll be able to change the way people think about polygamy.

During this season, here’s how Bill has let down those around him in the name of this insane mission:

He sent his 18-year-old son away after learning that Margene had kissed Ben.

He didn’t tell Nicki that Joey killed Roman and was indifferent to Nicki’s emotional angst about being unable to get pregnant while at the same time, learning that her mother, who’d be involuntarily married off to Nicki’s ex-husband, was now pregnant.

When Bill discovered that he’d fathered a love child with Ana, he tried to buy her off. (Paging John Edwards.) Margene tried to help by marrying Ana’s fiance in order to keep him (and Ana and the baby) in the country, but soon began to rethink the union only to have Bill order her to remain married.

Bill threw his best friend to the wolves, outing Don Embry as the only polygamist working for Home Plus, after a reporter caught wind that there was a polygamist working there. He fired Don and caused the Embry family to suffer public ostracism.

He summarily axed two of his business partners at the casino without talking with them or consulting Barb, who was running the place for him.

Bill went ahead with a political campaign none of the wives wanted and which prompted his eldest daughter to flee to Portland. After news that a Kansas polygamist sect had committed serial incest had worsened the climate for all things polygamy, Bill remained undeterred about going public.

Even when Barb – so desperate to prevent Bill from winning and going public – handed over to a reporter the paternity test proving that Bill had fathered an out-of-wedlock child, Bill killed the story and made a clearly pained Barb, his “first love,” stand in front of the world to announce that she’d allowed her husband to marry other women.

I, frankly, can’t wait for the recall effort to begin and hope that in the next season Barb will leave Bill, disturbed Nicki will get psycho Bill all to herself and that Margene will somehow find happiness (though not with Ana and Goren, ick) seeing as though her TV career is likely kaput thanks to Bill. But hey, maybe she’ll land a reality show.

Do you think Bill was unlikable this season?

Photo Credit: HBO

Ratings Clack – We now rejoin your regularly scheduled programming

Brett Love — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:16 +0000

With the Olympics out of the way, our TV schedules were once again filled with new episodes. ‘American Idol,’ as usual, clobbered everyone. The week also brought three premieres for NBC and the first new ‘Southland’ episodes on TNT.

The Olympics wrapped up last Sunday, and that means two things. First, we’re now just four short years from the next time NBC actually wins a week in the ratings. And more importantly, new episodes everywhere. The week also brought the premieres of three new shows for NBC in The Marriage Ref, Parenthood, and Who Do You Think You Are. The first two premiered to time-slot winning numbers, but still have a ways to go before we crown them hits.

FOX - With the Olympics gone, American Idol easily pushed FOX back to the top of the heap. With three showings on Tuesday (23.53m/8.6), Wednesday (23.56m/8.5), and Thursday (19.42m/6.5), the singing kids did the heavy lifting for the week. Also joining the party, 24 (8.63m/2.5) is anxiously awaiting the return of Dr. House. Kitchen Nightmares (7.89m/3.3) finished the week with another strong outing.

CBS - Undercover Boss (15.15m/5.1) is in no hurry to come back to Earth. Facing the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, the numbers were outstanding. That came on the heels of another solid outing for Amazing Race (10.21m/3.2). Cold Case (9.83m/2.4) wasn’t up to that pace in finishing off Sunday night. Monday also brought good numbers from How I Met Your Mother (10.37m/3.9), Rules Of Engagement (9.73m/3.4), 2 ½ Men (16.86m/5.7), and Big Bang Theory (15.73m/5.9), and CSI: Miami (12.07m/3.4). Those Rules results make things very curious where Accidentally On Purpose is concerned.

Tuesday was successful as well, opening with NCIS (19.62m/4). NCIS: LA (14.84m/3.1) took a bit of a hit up against Idol and Lost, while The Good Wife (13.32m/2.7) fell just short of the Parenthood demo. Old Christine (5.56m/1.6) and Gary Unmarried (5.57m/1.8) remain the weak link in the schedule on Wednesday. You have to think something will be done with that comedy block next season. Criminal Minds (13m/3.4) and CSI: NY (12.35m/3) were both solid following.

The first full Thursday of programming in quite some time looked good as well, with Survivor (12.72m/3.8), CSI (15.59m/3.7), and The Mentalist (14.87m/3.2). Ghost Whisperer (7.39m/1.7), Medium (7.88m/1.9), and Numb3rs (8.1m/1.7) finished things off winning all three hours Friday night.

ABC - Desperate Housewives (10.89m/3.7) and Brothers & Sisters (7.92m/2.5) have not done well against event programming, and the closing of the Olympics was no different. I’m still looking for them to bounce back when everything is back to normal. Not needing a rebound was The Bachelor (15.15m/5.3), and the companion show After The Final Rose (13.91m/5.3). You can look forward to more Bachelor in the future.

The final season of Lost (9.29m/4.1) continued on Tuesday, and the show was down while going against NCIS:LA and Idol, but that is still a very good demo number. 20-20 (5.2m/1.7) stepped into The Forgotten’s spot, with similar results. Wednesday was a little odd. Modern Family (8.01m/3.4) held up despite being against SVU, Criminal Minds, and Idol. The Middle (5.89m/2.1) and Cougar Town (5.35m/2.3) didn’t handle it nearly as well. Oprah’s Oscar Special (4.34m/1.3) failed to find much of an audience.

Thursday, the struggles for Grey’s Anatomy (11.83m/4) and Private Practice (7.57m/2.7) continued. Those aren’t bad numbers, but they’re down. I’m chalking that up to the baby episode of The Office and looking for those numbers to go up in coming weeks. The week ended with Supernanny (4.36m/1.2) and 20/20 (6.28m/1.4 – 6.73m/1.6) on Friday.

NBC - The last blast of the Olympics (21.4m/5.5) kicked things off on Sunday, and made for great premiere numbers from The Marriage Ref (14.45m/4.9). Things slowed down on Monday where Chuck (6.7m/2.4) held steady while Law & Order (7.76m/2) moved over to fill in. The Biggest Loser (8.27m/3.2) continues to feel the effects of Idol, but is holding strong on Tuesday. The bigger news though was the premiere of Parenthood (8.1m/3.1). That’s a good number, but you could argue it’s a little soft given all the promotion the show received during the Olympics. It will be interesting to see what the next couple outings bring.

Thursday, Community (5.02m/2.3) and Parks & Recreation (4.61m/2.3) were at their usual leisurely pace. The Office (9.02m/4.7), on the other hand, again proved that a baby episode still commands eyeballs. That gave a nice push to the second outing of The Marriage Ref (7.71m/3.4), but I’ll be very curious to see what following 30 Rock does to the numbers. Friday brought the premiere of Who Do You Think You Are (6.85m/1.6). Not great, but not bad for a really cheap Friday show. Things wrapped up with a double dose of Dateline (6.6m/1.4 – 7.74m/1.9).

CW – Working in scheduling at CW must be a great gig. There’s so little to do. And so much time off. The week brought exactly one new hour of programming. Life Unexpected (1.78m/.8) continued to fall just short of numbers that would offer confidence about a second season. It’s not done, by any means, but it’s firmly on the bubble.

CABLE - The big news on cable was probably the premiere of Southland (2.49m/1). TNT has finally burned through all of the episodes that NBC aired, and brought out their first ‘new’ episode. I have to think that number is a bit of a disappointment. And it kind of supports NBC’s case for cancellation. Certainly, you can’t expect a cable show to do network numbers. But if this really was a big mistake that NBC was making you could expect it to at least be competitive with The Closer and Leverage. And it’s not. Other cable numbers:

Big Love (1.92m/.9)
How To Make It In America (.72m/.4)
Secret Life Of The American Teenager (3.14m/1.1)
Make It Or Break It (2.14m/.7)
Greek (.94m/.4)
Damages (.97m/.3)
Southland (2.49m/1)
White Collar (3.48m/1.1)
Nip/Tuck (1.88m/.9)
Psych (2.87m/1)
Burn Notice (4.32m/1.6)
American Pickers (3.86m/1.5)
Pawn Stars (4.93m/2 – 5.34m/2.3)
Ghost Hunters (2.41m/1)
Project Runway (2.38m/.9)
LA Ink (1.28m/.7)

Photo Credit: NBC

Big Love & the compromises of Barb

Meredith O'Brien — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:00:17 +0000

The costs of Barb’s sacrifices are starting to wear on her, particularly under the glare and weight of Bill’s state senate campaign.

You had to feel for Barb during the latest episode of Big Love. No matter how sanctimonious she can be, no matter how mean she sometimes is to Margene, I’ve continued to have a soft spot for the first wife who was pushed into polygamy because she thought her cancer was going to kill her and leave her children motherless. And I don’t think she’s ever fully gotten over Bill’s betrayal.

Despite the fact that she’s called “Boss Lady” by her sister-wives and that she’s the manager of the Henrickson’s casino, this latest episode showcased how lost Barb has come to feel, how she believes she has no control over her life, that Bill has hijacked it. When Bill fired her for hiring a slimy Washington, D.C. lobbyist against his express wishes, that, it seemed was a breaking point for Barb.

Bill (who I think suffers from diagnosable delusions of grandeur and a severe detachment from reality) humiliated Barb for being duped by Marilyn Densham, the only person who actually has a glimmer of understanding about the sacrifices Barb has made when she demoted herself from being Bill’s partner to being his subordinate even though Marilyn doesn’t know about that polygamy thing. Barb, still stinging from Bill’s criticism, went on to make rather intemperate remarks in front of a women’s political organization:

“There’s something unique about Utah women. We never stop serving our faith or our husbands, our children and our communities. We do it all, don’t we? And we expect ourselves to do it perfectly. We’re not always comfortable admitting we’re overwhelmed. But maybe it’s okay to not feel like we have to be perfect all the time … Maybe we’d be better off admitting that we’re not Superwoman instead of running off to our medicine cabinets for our sedatives and our antidepressants. We all know what I’m talking about. We turn to our Prozac and our Xanax and our Benadryl.”

As Barb, and by extension Bill, was pilloried in the media and by Bill’s state senate opponent for characterizing Utah’s women as weak-minded drug addicts, she dug in her heels when Bill — who pitches aside anyone and everyone to get his way (poor Don) — demanded that she retract her statements. But after a cartoonist depicted Barb as swigging Benadryl and Bill’s working mom opponent made Barb a political issue, the defeated Boss Lady threw up her hands, put on her sensible shoes and agreed to sublimate herself. Again. “Fine, I’ll retract,” Barb said. “I’ll retreat, apologize. You write out whatever you want me to say and I’ll say it because I certainly have no voice of my own.”

It was that phone call at the end of the episode that got to me, when Marilyn, who’d seen Margene and Bill kissing and believed them to be having an affair with Barb’s knowledge, told Barb she pitied her. “What kind of a woman are you that your husband fooled around like that, that you cave in to his appetites?” Marilyn asked. “What kind of message does that send to your daughters?”

Now that Barb knows that Bill slept with Ana and Margene before they got married, Marilyn’s comments were salt in the wound. And given that neither of Barb’s daughters want Bill to go public about the polygamy — Teenie doesn’t want to be ostracized with her LDS friends and Sarah is fleeing to Portland with Scott — what message indeed does Barb’s tacit acceptance send?

I know I’m overlooking a whole bunch of other stuff from this massively overflowing episode, like Nicki’s evolution, the compound weirdness (Alby, Adaleen’s spying, Wanda’s muteness, what, no mention of one-armed Hollis?) and Margene being forced by Bill to remain married to Goran even after Margene wanted to back out. (Tetherball anyone?) What’d you think of “Next Ticket Out?”

Photo Credit: HBO

Ratings Clack – Idol, Olympics, and the Kardashians

Brett Love — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:00:59 +0000

Big winners for the week of 2/21 – 2/27 were American Idol, the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, Kevin Martin, and… surprisingly enough… Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

It was another largely dark week for the big networks. NBC’s Olympic coverage brought another boatload of repeats from its competitors. That did make for another very nice week for NBC. Although, a third night of Idol did throw a bit of a wrench into things. After the surprising loss to the Olympics in the previous week, you can now assume that another very long win streak is under way for the singing kids. Meanwhile, over on cable, Keeping Up With The Kardashians made news with a very successful finale. Also, Kevin Martin won the gold!

NBC - Another week of Olympic coverage brought in good numbers every night. Now it remains to be seen whether all of those promotions for The Marriage Ref and Parenthood (and the one Chuck commercial…) will do anything to the numbers going forward. Here are the numbers for the Olympics:

Sunday (23.29m/5.9)
Monday (20.93m/5.4)
Tuesday (21.28m/5.5)
Wednesday (19.81m/5.5)
Thursday (22.92m/6.1)
Friday (23.47m/6.1)
Saturday (19.73m/4.5)

FOX - The week started with a little programming sleight of hand. A repeat of Family Guy (6.32m/3.2) was slipped in the middle of The Simpsons (5.98m/2.9), Cleveland (5.59m/2.8), and American Dad (5.66m/2.8) and still managed to lead the night for FOX. 24 (8.83m/2.8) followed up on Monday, with another decent outing. Then, American Idol took over. Tuesday (24.21m/9), Wednesday (22.96m/8.7), and Thursday (18.03m/6.5) outings gave the network quite the answer for the Olympics. Kitchen Nightmares (7.43m/3.4) returned to Thursday, and the week wrapped with the 41st Annual NAACP Awards (2.87m/.8) on Friday.

ABC - Extreme Makeover (7.99m/2.5), Desperate Housewives (10.92m/3.7), and Brothers & Sisters (7.85m/2.5) took another hit from the Olympics to start the week. Things were better for The Bachelor (11.27m/3.9) on Monday. It continues to hold up very well. Tuesday, Lost (9.95m/4.6) remained strong. Unfortunately, that boost at 9 didn’t do much for The Forgotten (5.02m/1.7). The Deep End (3.87m/1.1) finished its run on Thursday. And despite what ABC is claiming, I think we can consider this one canceled.

CBS - Another three hour week brought good news for The Amazing Race (9m/2.9). And great news for Undercover Boss (13.76m/4.8). I still don’t get how that gimmick can hold up for long, but it’s hard to argue with those numbers. Especially against the Olympics. Survivor (11.6m/3.7) finished the CBS week on Thursday, with another solid outing.

CW – As with CBS, CW also had a three hour week. One Tree Hill (2.23m/1.1) rebounded from an off week. Life Unexpected (1.94m/.9) was up week-to-week as well, but just barely. I’ll be very curious to see what CW decides to do with that one. Finally, Smallville (2.53m/1.1) continued to do the hard work on Friday.

CABLE - As I mentioned before, the finale for Keeping Up With The Kardashians (4.81m/2.7) was very successful for E!. How successful? How about the most watched program the network has ever aired? All I know about the show I learned from Chelsea Lately and The Soup, so I probably have a very warped picture of what it actually is, but that’s an impressive number. Also worth noting, the first USA vs Canada hockey game (8.22m/3.4) did very well on MSNBC. Other cable numbers for the week:

Hannah Montana (4.5m/.8)
Big Love (1.71m/.8)
How To Make It In America (.6m/.3)
Secret Life Of The American Teenager (3.03m/1.1)
Make It Or Break It (2.05m/.7)
Greek (.87m/.4)
Damages (.82m/.2)
Southland (1.37m/.4)
White Collar (3.57m/1.2)
Nip/Tuck (1.52m/.6)
Psych (3.57m/1.3)
Burn Notice (4.5m/1.6)
Archer (.87m/.4)
Spindustry (2.54m/1.4)
Ax Men (2.55m/1.1)
Dirty Jobs (1.39m/.7)
16 and Pregnant (3.1m/1.6)
Shear Genius (.87m/.4)
The Real Housewives of Orange County (2.34m/1.3)
Police Women of Maricopa (1.34m/.6)
LA Ink (1.44m/.8)

Photo Credit: curling.ca

Big Love: Teeming with pregnancies, threats, blood, lies & politics

Meredith O'Brien — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:00:13 +0000

‘Big Love’s’ new episode, Blood Atonement, was filled with so much insanity, that if any of it came out in public, Bill Henrickson’s campaign for senate would be over.

Guns. Disputes with Mexican police. Lies. A sham marriage. A bomb scare. A grandmother pregnant with a baby via her granddaughter’s father. Political skirmishes and protests over the morality of gaming. A really big knife dripping with blood.

As insane as the twists were in Big Love’s recent episode, “Blood Atonement” — and the twists were seriously twisted — I’ve got to admit that it was damned entertaining watching this whacked-out three-ringed circus, probably because I’ve abandoned looking for realism and decided to just go along for the ride. (Maybe if I applied the same mindset to Lost, I’d be a whole lot happier.)

As these far-flung stories unfolded, I kept thinking about each event from the perspective of a reporter covering politics, because Bill’s still running for office, something I think the character forgets as he goes charging off from place to place. Imagine if only one-tenth of the stuff he or his family has done in the past two episodes was made public? In the age of cell phone cameras, YouTube, political blogs and scores of fallen politicians all over the place, you’ve got to believe that these shenanigans will eventually catch up to Bill and not just in the form of an old mug shot.

What about the fact that Bill disappeared from the campaign trail just as he’d been appointed interim UEB trustee in the wake of Dale Tomasson’s tragic suicide? While Bill did do a radio interview via his cell phone from inside a Mexican police station (though he didn’t mention that to the host), what if someone found out that he’d been in that police station, threatening the police chief and saying he had pull in Washington and that the authorities needed to find his parents and son who’d been abducted and held captive by a violent polygamist sect? Or that his parents — notably Lois who introduced him at his campaign kick-off rally — had been smuggling guns and birds and brought Bill’s son along? How would any one of those items play with the electorate? Or the minor detail that Lois sliced off Hollis Green’s arm?

Simultaneously back in Utah, there is a foreign-born waitress who’s pregnant with Bill’s love child whose fiance was facing deportation and she planned on going with him. As if those facts aren’t damaging enough on their own, Bill’s third wife committed fraud by marrying the fiance in order to keep him from being deported and keep the baby mama from leaving. If Bill’s ultimate goal is to mainstream polygamy — to make it seem like a holy, spiritual calling — how can this particular situation possibly advance that argument? (Answer: It can’t.)

Speaking of pregnancy, how would it look to voters if they learned that Bill’s mother-in-law is pregnant with a baby conceived with Bill’s second wife’s ex-husband?

Throw in the fact that an evangelical conservative group, with oodles of resources and political contacts, has been aggressively picketing the Henricksons’ casino and, related or not, a bomb was discovered at the casino, and there’s so much material for reporters to delve into that I can’t wait until the Big Love writers pen an episode where the Utah media finally stumble upon at least one of these little nuggets of information. It’ll be fun to watch how Bill “I’m an Action Hero Now” Henrickson (seriously, see him with that gun?) handles the fall-out.

Are you, like me, waiting for this campaign to blow up in Bill’s face and to have the insanity that’s been the Henrickson family’s life for the past few episodes, come to light? Or do you think Bill will somehow be able to keep a lid on it all?

Photo Credit: Lacey Terrell/HBO

Ratings Clack – The Olympics destroy the schedule

Brett Love — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:00:22 +0000

NBC took over this week, with the 2010 Winter Olympics dominating all but one night of the week. That one loss came at the hands of ‘American Idol,’ which remains a ratings juggernaut. Elsewhere, repeats of ‘The Mentalist’ and ‘CSI’ swapped time slots at CBS. Is that a peek at the future of the CBS Thursday?

Chances are that you spent a fair bit of time watching the Olympics last week. You surely had plenty of time to do so, considering how light the schedules were on all of the other networks. ABC, CBS, FOX, and CW combined to take about 37 hours off last week. And I’m not even counting The Deep End and Past Life in that total. It all made for a great week for NBC, with the Olympics scoring big every night. Although… it is worth noting that American Idol was able to stand the test of the games on Tuesday, winning the night.

NBC - The numbers were all big. The Olympics scored well every night. While Idol did, in fact, beat the Olympics on Tuesday, it’s worth noting that the Wednesday installment of the Vancouver games topped Idol. That’s something that hasn’t happened for a very long time. Here are all seven days of results:

Sunday (26.37m/7)
Monday (25.22m/7.1)
Tuesday (20.33m/5.5)
Wednesday (29.42m/9)
Thursday (24.78m/7)
Friday (23.22m/5.4)
Saturday (25.4m/6.8)

FOX - Things started off slow, with The Simpsons (5.85m/2.6), Cleveland (4.87m/2.4), Family Guy (6.44m/3.3), and American Dad (5.25m/2.5). Those are all off the pace, but we’ll give them all a pass because they are going against the games. Much like 24 (8.58m/2.8) on Monday. As mentioned earlier, American Idol had no trouble with the games on Tuesday (23.92m/9.2). Wednesday (18.63m/7) was a little rougher, but that’s still awfully impressive. Human Target (7.21m/2.1) took the expected hit. The week was finished by what appears to have been the last episode of Past Life (3.5m/1.1).

ABC – More good news for The Bachelor (11.53m/4.1). Despite the increased competition of the games, it kept all of its demo from the week before. Lost (9.82m/4.5) didn’t have quite that retention, but that’s still a very good number, all things considered. The Forgotten (4.97m/1.7), meanwhile, continues to struggle. It could be worse though, they could be The Deep End (4.26m/1.1). We give leeway because of the games, but that’s just bad any way you look at it. Grey’s Anatomy (10.27m/3.7) and Private Practice (7.59m/2.8) finished things up with solid, if not impressive, performances.

CBS - The network came flying out of the gate with a solid enough premiere for Amazing Race (9m/2.8) and a very surprising result for Undercover Boss (15.45m/5.2). Things slowed considerably after that. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all repeats. Thursday, Survivor (11.97m/3.9) was solid, but that was it for the week. The one other bit to make note of was the experiment that has The Mentalist and CSI swapping time slots. Could that be a glimpse at the future of the CBS schedule?

CW - Look at that, CW had as many new shows as CBS last week. There were no surprises, as One Tree Hill (1.86m/.9), Life Unexpected (1.8m/.9), and Smallville (2.42m/1) were all right about where you would expect. Off just a bit, but against much tougher competition. And that’s it for the week on the networks. Expect more of the same next week. Finally, some cable numbers from the week:

Big Love (1.5m/.6)
How To Make It In America (.64m/.3)
Secret Life of the American Teenager (3.18m/1.1)
Make It Or Break It (2.22m/.7)
Greek (.96m/.4)
Damages (.87m/.2)
Men Of A Certain Age (2.07m/.6)
Blue Mountain State (.81m/.4)
Southland (1.44m/.5)
Nip/Tuck (1.49m/.7)
Leverage (2.85m/.9)
Psych (2.94m/1)
Archer (.87m/.4)
Burn Notice (4.12m/1.4)
NBA All-Star Game (6.85m/2.9)
Keeping Up With The Kardashians (3.75m/2.2)
American Pickers (3.02m/1.1)
Pawn Stars (3.89m/1.5 – 4.11m/1.7)
Westminster Dog Show (2.66m/.6 – 2.26m/.5)
16 and Pregnant (3.36m/1.8)
Shear Genius (.93m/.4)
Project Runway (2.29m/1)
L.A Ink (1.87m/1)

–

Photo Credit: vancouver2010.com

Is Margene a Big Love feminist?

Meredith O'Brien — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:00:30 +0000

Is Margene a Big Love feminist? The Henrickson sister wives embodied very different versions of feminism and independence during the “Under One Roof” episode.

Who you callin’ a Big Love feminist? While none of the wives on Big Love would deign to label themselves “feminists” — it’d be a dirty word in their home(s) — they made several decisions in the recent “Under One Roof” episode which suggest that there’s more feminist in them than their random independent streaks might suggest, despite the whole all three of ‘em being married to one guy thing.

From Margene’s inspiring working mom “You go girl!” speech, to Nicki’s “Hey this is the REAL me” duds she donned as she rescued her daughter in a way she wished her own mother had rescued her, to Barb’s decision to sign the contract to hire the Washington, D.C. lobbyist for the casino, the Henrickson sister wives embodied very different versions of feminism during this episode.

Margene’s been evolving rapidly throughout the third season, in spite of her slip of the lip with Bennie Boy. The more money she’s made, the more confidence she’s developed and, for the first time in her life, she’s realizing that she’s developed the means to survive on her own, without Bill. The fact that she joined Toastmasters (without telling anyone), is in public making speeches and talking about her power as a “single” working woman has been slowly creating a rift between herself and the Henrickson family, whose members prefer to see her as a self-doubting, non-threatening naif.

While giving a talk to folks from VSN in her ruffled, gray business suit, Margene seemed like a different woman from the one we’ve seen in previous seasons. She said: “I’ve never wanted to have it all, I just wanted to be happy … Don’t you think it’s strange that men own businesses and have families but they’re not accused of trying to have it all? I’m not a feminist or anything, but I don’t think that doing something that makes us feel less dependent on others and increases our self-respect could possibly be bad for society.”

When Nicki discovered Margene’s speeches, she was outraged at what she called the fantasy “fairy tale” nonsense Margene’d been peddling. “You are not independent; you are one of us,” Nicki declared. ” … You could not do the things that you do without us. We are the women behind the woman. We take care of your children, cooking, cleaning.”

Meanwhile, Nicki continued to demonstrate her unique brand of off-beat independence, not only showing up at her mother Adaleen’s “sealing” to her ex-husband wearing an outrageous 1980s outfit — which she said revealed the “real” Nicki who was robbed of her teen years because Adaleen forced her to marry J.J. — but saved Cara Lynn from suffering the same fate. While Adaleen used to seem as though she was a powerful woman who used piles of cash and loads of influence to get her way, with Roman gone she’s powerless and submissive especially in the humiliating face of an abomination like her wedding night with her former son-in-law, the father of her granddaughter.

Barb — who has exhibited glimmers of independence in the past (Remember when she left Bill and enrolled in grad school? What happened with all that going back to school business?) — took it upon herself to sign off on having a lobbyist represent the casino, against Bill’s explicit wishes, as she’s been taking a more active role in running the casino. While I’d like to think that she signed the contract because she thought it made good business sense, in reality, it was simply an emotional reaction to learning that Bill got Ana pregnant during a premarital interlude.

Do you think Margene’s independent streak is temporary or will create a growing wedge between herself and her sister wives?

Photo Credit: Lacey Terrell/HBO

Ratings Clack – Football and Olympics take over

Brett Love — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:55:07 +0000

If anything was going to topple M.A.S.H. from the top spot of being the most watched program ever, it was bound to be a sporting event.

You didn’t have to be a faithful follower of the numbers to know what was going to come out on top last week. Of course, Super Bowl XLIV was going to be huge. It wasn’t just huge. It finally knocked off the M.A.S.H. finale as the most watched program ever. That made for a great start to the week for CBS. With more great numbers for the Monday comedies, the NCIS duo, and the return of Survivor, the good news lasted all week. At the other end of the week, NBC took over. The opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics were well below Super Bowl levels, but rather impressive all on their own.

CBS - Super Bowl XLIV (101.43m/38.2) managed to top 100 million viewers. Jiminy. With that many people tuned in, even a trainwreck like Undercover Boss (38.65m/16.2) can look like a world beater. Round two of that one is obviously going to take a huge hit. The question now is how much it will drop. Can Undercover Boss stand on its own? Monday night, with How I Met Your Mother (10m/3.8), Accidentally On Purpose (9.1m/3.3), 2 ½ Men (17.67m/5.7), Big Bang Theory (16.26m/6), and CSI: Miami (13.53m/3.9) looked to have received a bit of a Bowl boost as well. Check out that 6 in the demo for Big Bang. I’m sure it makes the Belarusian rip-off a little easier to swallow.

Things were good on Tuesday as well. NCIS (19.75m/4.1) remains virtually unphased by Idol. And NCIS:LA (17.91m/4.1) managed to keep all of Jethro’s demo for the first time, even while airing against Lost. The Good Wife (14.75m/3.1) was strong as well. Wednesday wasn’t as exciting to start, but Old Christine (8.1m/2.3) and Gary Unmarried (7.5m/2.4) were both up. Criminal Minds (14.33m/3.6) remained steady versus Idol while CSI:NY (12.98m/3.3) easily won its hour. Thursday brought the return of Survivor (14.15m/4.5), and it looks like people like the Heroes vs Villains. That two hour premiere led to a nice performance from The Mentalist (15.86m/3.7).

NBC - The week started on Monday, with Chuck (6.6m/2.2) slipping a bit more while Heroes (4.43m/2) limped through a season (series?) finale. The Biggest Loser (8.89m/3.5) looked better on Tuesday, although it has taken a sizable hit from the return of Idol. Wednesday, Mercy (6.78m/1.8) continued to struggle. That’s good for a 4th place, losing to the 834th repeat of the Charlie Brown Valentines episode.

Community (5.15m/2.3), Parks & Recreation (4.98m/2.3), The Office (7.44m/3.7), and 30 Rock (6m/2.8) were all about where one would expect on Thursday. The big news came Friday, as millions of people tuned in to see Catriona Le May Doan light the flame in the opening for the Winter Olympics (32.6m/7.7). The Olympics made for an oddly active Saturday night as well, with NBC reporting an average of 26.2 million viewers for the night.

FOX - House (13.6m/5.1) was again on top to kick off Monday, followed by another solid outing for 24 (10.27m/3.3). American Idol took over from there, with “Hollywood Week” bringing good numbers on Tuesday (27.89m/10.1) and Wednesday (25.17m/9.5). Past Life was just ok, following Idol on Tuesday (8.32m/2.8), and then collapsed completely standing on its own on Thursday (5.31m/1.4). Human Target (8.91m/2.5) again led off Wednesday, with a number that puts it squarely on the bubble.

ABC - The Bachelor (12.35m/4.1) wasn’t the number one show on the network, but it might have been the most impressive, given expectations. Castle (9.54m/2.5) followed, and was down, but still looks good considering the rest of the 10PM schedule. Round two for Lost (11.05m/5) looked very good on Tuesday. That wasn’t too far off the premiere number, and it was the #1 demo for the network. That made for a small boost to The Forgotten (5.92m/2).

Wednesday, The Middle (7.83m/2.9) continued to grow, and Modern Family (9.84m/4.1) put up great numbers against Idol. Cougar Town (6.41m/2.7) didn’t stand up nearly as well against the increased competition. Ugly Betty (4.68m/1.6) seems to have found its Wednesday level. On Thursday, the bad news continued for The Deep End (5.7m/1.5). And, while not bad news, Grey’s Anatomy (12.74m/4.4) remained off the pace. Private Practice (9.04m/3.1) was solid at 10.

CW - It was more of the same from the three night CW schedule. Monday, One Tree Hill (2.17m/1.1) was normal and Life Unexpected (2m/.9) took another small dip. Thursday found Vampire Diaries (3.51m/1.5) and Supernatural (2.51m/1) down a bit against the return of Survivor. And Friday, Smallville (2.48m/1) continued to plug along.

CABLE - There’s good news, and bad news. The good news is that White Collar (3.83m/1.3) and Psych (3.57m/1.3) both bounced back after an off week. The bad news comes from Caprica (1.13m/.4). The numbers are in from the February 5th episode, and the show took another sizable hit. Other cable numbers for the week:

Big Love (1.31m/.6)
Secret Life Of The American Teenager (2.99m/1)
Make It Or Break It (2.29m/.8)
Greek (.98m/.5)
Damages (1.08m/.2)
Southland (1.29m/.4)
Nip/Tuck (1.73m/.9)
Leverage (2.78m/.8)
Burn Notice (4.66m/1.7)
Blue Mountain State (.81m/.4)
The Sarah Silverman Program (.61m/.3)
Archer (.76m/.3)
American Pickers (3.31m/1.1)
Pawn Stars (4.44m/1.7 – 4.68m/1.9)
Dirty Jobs (1.78m/.8)
Shear Genius (1.1m/.5)
Project Runway (2.92m/1.2)

Photo Credit: NBC

Big Love – Bill Wins One, Loses One

Meredith O'Brien — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:44 +0000

Big Love delved deeper into parallel storylines in “Sins of the Father.” Bill’s campaign for State Senate achieved a milestone, while his campaign to overcome his “Lost Boy” background hit a speed bump as the family tried to come to terms with his encouraging Ben to leave home.

Before a bestselling book like Game Change detailed the behind-the-scenes chaos of John Edwards’ 2008 presidential bid, closely followed by the release of another expose — The Politician, written by a former aide (think of him as a future Don Embry) that provided even seedier details of Edwards’ family-related campaign drama — an episode like Big Love’s “Sins of the Father” might’ve seemed preposterous.

Certainly multiple facets of a candidate’s life – marriage, personal backstory and the lies surrounding it, plotting with a colleague who’s going to sacrifice himself for his mentor’s political career — that stuff doesn’t all implode simultaneously, right? If you were a candidate you wouldn’t get into a huge, intensely personal argument with your spouse right before you’re supposed to present your best face to the political media and party delegates, would you? Well the answer is apparently yes, especially in Bill Henrickson’s case.

I remain convinced that Bill is living in Fantasy Land if he thinks he can continue to campaign for a high profile elected office while keeping his polygamist marriages under wraps. After all, on the night when he was supposed to be preparing for a run-off vote to secure the GOP nomination for State Senate, Bill was at his casino trying to stamp out fires with a U.S. congressman, a D.C. lobbyist, his three wives, his ragtag polygamist parents (including his father’s latest wife who dresses conspicuously in compound-wear) and his polygamist brother all under one roof, while also dealing with the fall-out from the fact that he’d given his son Ben the boot from the house because of the kiss Ben had with Margene, which she initiated. Bill topped this off by physically tossing his father out of the casino, then throttled him in the parking lot. How long all this insanity can be kept a secret can likely be clocked with an egg timer.

It came as no surprise to see Bill’s mug shot plastered across the hallway leading to the convention hall, forcing Bill to admit that there were things he did when he was living on the streets, after having been dumped out of a truck at age 14, that “haunt” him to this day. His criminal background is just one of Bill’s many, many secrets that could cripple his political career, little land mines waiting to explode, such as the inconvenient fact that while Bill was standing at a podium in front of Republican delegates waxing on poignantly about his personal experience and saying that society needs to protect and care for the “Lost Boys” who are run off from polygamist compounds, he had told his own son to leave the house because he perceived Ben to be a sexual threat to his relationship with Margene.

Bill even tried to play politics with Ben, saying that he never really told him to leave the house for good, and attempted to make it seem as though Ben was mistaken. “I know what you said to me and I know what you meant,” Ben said, clearly not buying his father’s feeble attempt to recast his actions in a more favorable light. Ben then made a choice that cut Bill through the heart: He decided to flee Sandy, Utah and go to Bill’s mother Lois, who’s currently allying herself with Bill’s father, the man who exiled Bill decades ago.

Bill’s decision to encourage Ben to leave, along with Margene’s honest admission that she’d had feelings for Ben, put immense strain on the three wives. (Loved the Nicki/Daphne/spy moments in this episode.) Barb took this news hard and lashed out all over the place, calling Margene’s dead mother a “floozy” and Margene a “flirt” (though we all know she meant worse) before she kicked down Margene’s jewelry table. (And, interestingly, the Congressman was the one to help a teary-eyed Margene pick things up afterward. Hmm.) Barb loudly argued with Bill about Ben within possible earshot of the media, walked out on Bill during a pivotal moment during the Utah state GOP convention and later took a long steam in a sweat lodge with Tommy Flute, the handsome widower from the casino who has taken a shining to her. Any one of Barb’s actions could easily blow up in Bill’s face.

Do you think Bill will actually get elected or will his campaign be derailed by the skeletons in his closet? How much will Ben’s exile continue to affect the family?

Photo Credit: HBO

Ratings Clack – The Grammy Awards beat Idol

Brett Love — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:44 +0000

The Grammy Awards had their best numbers since 2004, knocking off American Idol for the number one spot for the week. Elsewhere, the final season of Lost returned as the number one scripted show in the adult demo.

American Idol has become such a ratings juggernaut that it’s always a little surprising when something actually tops it. The Grammy Awards were able to do just that last week, thanks to the best ratings for the show since 2004. The other big event for the week was the return of Lost on ABC. It didn’t approach the Idol or Grammy numbers, but it did finish the week as the number one scripted show in the adult demo. Granted, it was the season premiere, but knocking off Grey’s, House, 2 ½ Men, and Big Bang Theory is always worth noting. On cable, the big surprise was probably the performance from USA’s White Collar and Psych. Both were well down from last week.

CBS - I was surprised by the numbers for The Grammy Awards (25.87m/9.9). I watched most of it, and just didn’t think the show was that good. That could just be that my musical taste has aged beyond what works for television. Whatever the case, it made for a great start to the week. The success continued on Monday with How I Met Your Mother (9.28m/3.7), Accidentally On Purpose (8.43m/3), 2 ½ Men (16.51m/5.1), Big Bang Theory (15.51m/5.4), and CSI: Miami (13.44m/3.7) teaming up to win the night in viewers and demo.

The news was good on Tuesday as well, despite the crazy competition. NCIS (19.23m/4.3) held up to Idol, and the boost ABC saw from the Lost recap. Even better than that, the more impressive number came from NCIS: LA, which faced much stiffer competition this week. Week to week, ABC, NBC, and FOX were up 8.14m viewers and 4.7 in the demo. Despite that, NCIS: LA only dropped .49m viewers and .1 in the demo. The Good Wife (12.81m/2.6) also held up well, considering the increase from Lost over The Forgotten.

Things kept rolling on Wednesday, with the Superbowl Commercials Special (10.99m/2.9) and CSI: NY (14.16m/3.4) winning their hours while Criminal Minds (14.75m/3.8) held strong against Idol. Thursday was also solid, with the Surviving Survivor (8.11m/2.4) special, CSI (14.49m/3.2), and The Mentalist (14.68m/3.3). Friday, as usual, brought easy wins in all three hours for Ghost Whisperer (8.77m/2.2), Medium (9.1m/2.2), and Numb3rs (9.18m/2).

FOX - The week started off slowly, with The Grammys taking their toll on the animation block of The Simpsons (4.95m/2.4), Cleveland (4.5m/2.2), Family Guy (6.19m/3.2), and American Dad (5.06m/2.5). Business picked up on Monday, thanks to House (13.38m/4.8). 24 (9.96m/3.1) was down, but remains above the Lie To Me numbers. Tuesday, American Idol (24.71m/9) won the night, and Kitchen Nightmares (8.99m/3.8) made its debut at 9.

Wednesday was rather curious. After the ratings dive that Lie To Me took last year when the network moved Idol to 9, I didn’t think they would do it again. But they did, and the results were as expected for Human Target (7.8m/2.4). The surprise this time was that Idol (21m/7.8) took a hit as well. It’s not hard to make the case that if those two were swapped, both would go up. Bones (12.37m/3.3) and Fringe (7.4m/2.6) wrapped up the week with another strong Thursday. It will be interesting to see what happens with these two when they return and Survivor is back in full swing.

ABC - As we saw with the Golden Globes, the ABC Sunday takes a hit from awards shows. That was the case with The Grammy Awards, with Extreme Makeover (8.54m/2.2), Desperate Housewives (11.44m/3.7), and Brothers & Sisters (7.65m/2.4) all down. The news was better on Monday, with The Bachelor (11.73m/4.1) finishing second in the 8pm and 9pm hours. Tuesday was all about Lost. The recap (9.97m/4.1) was well above what Ted and Scrubs have been offering, and the premiere episode (12.09m/5.5) was the number one scripted show of the week in the demo. It’s a great start to the final season.

There was good news on Wednesday as well. The Middle (7.32m/2.7) seems to have found its legs, and Modern Family (9.19m/3.9) weathered the relocation of Idol to 9 very well. Cougar Town (6.26m/2.9) was off a bit, and Ugly Betty (4.03m/1.4) is now just finishing out the run. Thursday, the news wasn’t good for The Deep End (5.08m/1.3). That’s a fifth place finish in the demo. Grey’s Anatomy (12.55m/4.5) and Private Practice (9.25m/3.3) looked good by comparison, but those numbers are low for both of them. Friday finished things off with Supernanny (5.39m/1.5), Shark Tank (4.66m/1.4), and 20/20 (8.66m/1.8).

NBC – Not even trying to compete with The Grammys, NBC rolled out another SNL Special (3.06m/1.2) to start the week. Chuck (6.73m/2.4) brought better news Monday, holding fairly steady against a full complement of competition. Heroes (4.42m/2) was again a distant fourth at 9. The Biggest Loser (9.48m/3.7) moved to 9 on Tuesday, and had a very good night against heavy competition.

Mercy (6.21m/1.6) was flying solo on Wednesday, and still hasn’t found any traction. Thursday, Community (5.23m/2.3) and Parks & Recreation (4.88m/2.3) were both up slightly, but remain well off the pace. The Office (7.37m/3.8) was much more competitive, moving up to number two in the demo. 30 Rock (5.79m/2.9) was okay to wrap the night. Dateline (6.49m/1.5) finished things off on Friday.

CW - Another short week started with One Tree Hill (2.14m/1) and Life Unexpected (2.07m/1) down on Monday. At these levels, and considering that it is repeating better than other shows, Life Unexpected should be very interesting when renewal time comes around. Vampire Diaries (3.99m/1.9) remained the network’s big hit on Thursday, bumping ABC for fourth in the demo. Supernatural (2.28m/1.1) was down for the week. Friday, the big Smallville (2.77m/1.2) movie event made a good showing.

CABLE - There were curious numbers for White Collar (2.89m/.9) and Psych (2.86m/1.1) this week that might have USA rethinking that new schedule. Burn Notice (4.25m/1.7) didn’t suffer the same fate. You can make a pretty good guess that the Lost premiere could have hurt White Collar, but I have no idea what to make of the big drop for Psych. Elsewhere, and late, the numbers for the second episode of Caprica (1.41m/.5) are in. It’s in the same ballpark as where Stargate Universe ended its winter run (1.34m/.5). Other cable numbers for the week:

Big Love (1.52m/.7)
Secret Life Of The American Teenager (2.89m/1.1)
Make It Or Break It (2.16m/.7)
Greek (1.07m/.5)
Damages (1.02m/.2)
Men Of A Certain Age (2.26m/.6)
Southland (1.21m/.3)
Nip/Tuck (1.54m/.8)
Leverage (2.91m/.9)
The Sarah Silverman Program (.77m/.4)
Archer (.62m/.4)
NFL Pro Bowl (12.3m/4.2)
Keeping Up With The Kardashians (2.84m/1.6)
Ax Men (2.26m/.9)
American Pickers (3.4m/1.1)
Pawn Stars (3.85m/1.5 – 4.12m/1.6)
Dirty Jobs (2.15m/1)
Teen Mom (3.11m/1.7)
Shear Genius (1.1m/.5)
Project Runway (2.75m/1.2)

Photo Credit: ABC

Big Love’s Bill Henrickson = John Edwards

Meredith O'Brien — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:00:05 +0000

While watching the tail-end of the latest episode of Big Love, “The Mighty and the Strong,” all I could think about was John Edwards.

Maybe it’s just that Edwards has been in the news a lot lately, given that he and his long-suffering wife Elizabeth have separated and a once-doggedly loyal political aide, who was willing to destroy his own reputation in order to help promote Edwards’ political career, has just released a tell-all book.

Or maybe it’s just that, in the span of a handful of episodes, Bill Henrickson has seamlessly morphed into a slimy politician even before he even officially announced his candidacy for the state Senate.

Just how far into the ethically muddy waters has Bill waded?

First, he told his second and third wives – Nicki and Margene, along with the children he had with them — that they have to be kept out of the spotlight while he runs for elected office, a bid he naively thinks will eventually lead to polygamist families such as his own to live openly. Um . . . sure, Bill.

After a political rival tipped off federal immigration officials that Bill’s home improvement stores were employing illegal aliens (they weren’t) and the feds started reviewing Home Plus’ books, Bill decided to boot from the company’s health insurance roster not only Nicki and Margene and their kids, but Don Embry’s estranged second and third wives and their children so as not to raise any red flags and open himself up to more scrutiny because his and Don’s additional wives were listed as employees.

Lastly, when Bill heard that his chief political opponent was going to push the story that there were polygamists working at Home Plus, Bill asked the big-hearted Don to fall onto the public relations grenade and publicly out himself and his wife as polygamists, then resign from Home Plus. “We have to give them something or we’re all going down,” Bill said. Dutifully, Don told a TV reporter that he had manipulated Home Plus’ books to put four of his five wives (he included Nicki and Margene) on the payroll in order to get them health insurance and apologized for leading a double life. The look on Don’s face as he stood behind the cheering crowd while Bill launched his Senate campaign was heartbreaking; he was a symbol of someone who’d been brutally run over in the name of political ambition.

Throw in the fact that the self proclaimed “proud family man” Bill is turning his first-born son Ben into a “lost boy” by agreeing he should leave the Henrickson home because Ben and Margene are attracted to one another (Bill himself was “run off” from Juniper Creek, as was his half-brother for coveting a girl designated for an older man), Bill seems as though he’s willing to do anything to prevail, and not just in the political arena.

Pitching aside his values, his friends and his family and exploiting their loyalty and affections will be Bill’s undoing. When it eventually comes out that Bill’s a polygamist — and you KNOW it will — wh0 let his friend just hang out there on a hook, shamed, just like John Edwards’ aide who claimed to have fathered a baby out of wedlock who was actually Edwards’ child, the label of “hypocrite” is going to weigh heavily around Bill’s neck. Isn’t that the take-away from seamy political tales like Edwards’, that if you sacrifice the people closest to you in order to climb to the top, you’ll eventually fall? (By the way, loved the visual of the “elephant” in the room with Margene literally dressed as a GOP elephant.)

I’ve never been a big fan of Bill’s character, but this episode made me dislike him even more.

Do you think Bill will pay a price for tossing Don overboard? And what’s the over-under for how long until Bill’s outed as a polygamist?

Photo Credit: HBO

Ratings Clack – Everybody loves football, and Bones

Brett Love — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:00:52 +0000

It was a bit of a slow week of television. Football on FOX sent all the other networks scrambling on Sunday. Then Obama took over all the channels on Wednesday. Add in an oddly quiet Thursday and we had three pretty weak nights of numbers. Not to worry though, there was still the occasional cause for celebration. To call the NFC Championship a success would be a terrible understatement. How terrible? How about it more than doubled the Idol numbers? In non-gridiron results, FOX took advantage of the quiet Thursday, garnering some very good results for Bones and Fringe. Castle managed to grow their numbers again. And Vampire Diaries tied for second in the demo!

FOX - It’s hard to start a week off better than having the NFC Championship (57.93m/21.3). That success carried over to Monday and the return of House (14.21m/5.2). 24 (10.81m/3.4) followed up the good doctor with another solid hour. American Idol took over next, with big numbers for Tuesday (24.45m/9) and Wednesday (25.7m/9.5). Human Target (9.26m/3.1) was just okay following Idol. And that really doesn’t bode well for the series. For reasons I don’t really understand, Human Target will switch to 8PM next Wednesday, leading into Idol. Granted, the Wednesday at 8 competition is weak, but we already saw how that experiment works with Lie To Me last season.

There was more good news on Thursday. Bones (12.33m/3.6) has really taken advantage of the Survivor break to build its numbers, and last week was probably the weakest competition it has faced. It will be interesting to see how much of that audience remains when Survivor gets back into full swing. If I was betting, I’d say Survivor will return to #1, but Bones is now the solid #2 show at 8. Fringe (8.98m/3) had a similar night. That’s a great number for the show, but came against repeats on ABC, NBC, and CBS. We’ll have to see how it holds up next week, when everything is new at 9. Finally, Friday brought the series finale of Dollhouse (2.16m/.8), and the premiere of Kitchen Nightmares (3.28m/1.4).

CBS - With Sunday and Monday in repeats, the week didn’t get started until Tuesday. Jethro and the gang at NCIS (20.22m/4) teamed with NCIS: LA (16.91m/3.7) to make it a very good night. Wednesday was also out, with the SOTU, and Thursday might as well have been. The only new offering was Jeff Probst’s Live For The Moment (4.56m/1), and the tribe has really spoken on that one. That’s a fifth place in the demo right there. Friday brought the usual wins in all three hours from Ghost Whisperer (8.34m/1.9), Medium (7.98m/1.8), and Numb3rs (8.7m/1.8).

ABC - It was a fairly quiet week for ABC as well. The biggest news came with The Bachelor (11.47m/3.9) and Castle (10.55m/3) on Monday. The win in the 10PM hour for Castle did come against a repeat of CSI: Miami, but it’s very encouraging that the show has continued to build its audience since DWTS went on break. After that, the news wasn’t so good. Scrubs (3.16m/1.2) and Better Off Ted (2.52m/1) continued to struggle on Tuesday, and round two of The Deep End (6.09m/1.8) dropped a million viewers from the premiere on Thursday. Things wrapped up with Supernanny (4.72m/1.3), Shark Tank (4.38m/1.5), and 20/20 (8.07m/1.7) on Friday. Next week will be much more interesting, with the return of Lost.

NBC - Also with limited scheduling, NBC started with Chuck (6.97m/2.5) and Heroes (4.3m/1.9) on Monday. The good news is that Chuck was up in viewers and steady in the demo against the return of House. Heroes was up from last week, but that was a series low, so being up .32m/.1 isn’t exactly great. The Biggest Loser (9.71m/3.8) was solid on Tuesday, and will be moving next week. Leno will get the boot so Loser can go head to head with Lost from 9 to 10. Dateline (7.35m/1.4)wrapped up the new programming on Friday.

CW – The network is finally back to three nights a week, with One Tree Hill (2.2m/1.1) and Life Unexpected (2.17m/1.1) starting things off on Monday. That was a fairly big drop from the premiere for Life Unexpected, but it’s still in the ballpark of reasonable CW numbers. We’ll need a few more weeks to see how it all shakes out. Thursday, Vampire Diaries (3.7m/1.8) continued to impress. It was against a rather weak night for the big networks, but any time a CW show can get to second in the demo, it’s worth noting. Supernatural (2.71m/1.2) was solid following it at 9. Smallville (2.52m/1.1) returned on Friday to finish off the week, with a fourth place finish.

CABLE - Psych (4.37m/1.5) returned for USA last week, on a new night, to solid numbers. Not as successful, Greek (1.03m/.5) kicked off the latest chapter on Monday, and the numbers look kind of bad when compared to Secret Life Of The American Teenager (3.23m/1.2) and Make It Or Break It (2.3m/.7). Actually, they look even worse if you look at the younger demos. At first glance, I’m tempted to say it doesn’t bode well for the future of the show. Then again, it’s not like the show has ever done much more than that, so maybe that’s just enough for ABC Family. Some other cable numbers:

Big Love (1.67m/.8)
Damages (1.43m/.3)
Men Of A Certain Age (2.35m/.8)
Southland (1.49m/.5)
White Collar (4.32m/1.3)
Nip/Tuck (1.81m/.9)
Leverage (3.02m/.8)
Burn Notice (5.3m/1.9)
Blue Mountain State (.63m/.4)
Archer (.87m/.5)
Project Runway (3.4m/1.4)
Ax Men (1.73m/.7)
American Pickers (3.46m/1.2)
Pawn Stars (4.11m/1.8 – 4.44m/2)
Dirty Jobs (2.18m/1)
Teen Mom (3.64m/2)

Photo Credit: FOX

Big Love – It’s never unraveled quite like this before

Jen Creer — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:00:20 +0000

I can’t believe this week’s episode was only an hour long. Things that have been coming to a head for months — not just this season — suddenly exploded all at once this week. I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck by the time it was over. If you thought things were bad when Nikki and Bill were having marital problems, or remember way back when the problems were as simple as Barb not winning Utah’s Mother of the Year or when Nikki had loads of credit card debt? Or when Roman was trying to dismantle the family?

Those seem like lighthearted days compared to some of the problems the Henricksens are currently facing. SPOILERS ABOUND. If you haven’t watched yet, DON’T READ FURTHER.Let’s get caught up with some bullet points:

Wouldn’t you think that a lot of problems would go away with Roman’s death? Wrong. Now Joey is being blackmailed by Nikki’s creepy ex-husband J.J., who has apparently just replaced Harry Dean Stanton as resident evil compound bad guy.
Nikki is actually behaving herself and trying to make a better life for her daughter. This is, however, a weak storyline and not very interesting.
Margene, of all the three wives, has seemed to be the one most solidly devoted to Bill. However, she, too, has had her head turned. The fact that it’s by Ben and that she kissed him, meant it, and then admitted it, is… well, how do you get past this in a marriage? Guess Bill understands now why he was run off the compound.
The scene in which Ben announces that he is leaving and Bill agrees was chilling. I don’t know what planet they’re living on, but when the teenager gets hit upon by the wife? In my world, it should be the wife who starts packing.
Bill sold out reliable Don by having him resign as a polygamist to save Bill’s political career. Bill thinks that simply by running for state office that he is going to make the world safe for polygamy. Narcissistic much, Bill? Oh yeah. Or your name wouldn’t be Bill Henricksen.
Bill has always managed to walk through piles of muck and come out smelling like a rose, but I hope Don doesn’t forgive him for this one.
Barb is showing a distinct lack of cultural sensitivity at the reservation, first by hitting an Indian woman (having Leila be a meth user doesn’t sit well with me — can we get beyond these cliches?), and then by lying, through omission, about Sarah not only being her daughter but also caring for Leila’s son.
I understand wanting to give the terrific Amanda Seyfried a good storyline. Keep trying.
Of course Leila is claiming kidnapping. It’s over the top. And yet, somehow, through some really over-the-top plot lines, Big Love always makes it seem completely believable.
Alby was serenely getting a haircut from evil wife Laura while informing his mother that Heavenly Father wants her to marry J.J. As Nikki rightfully said over and over and over: This is demented.
Alby has really shone this season. I have always kind of hated Alby, but I have to admit: Matt Ross’s portrayal of Alby is so conflicted, so tender and bumbling at moments, and so absolutely chilling at others that now he is one of my favorite characters. When Alby takes a snapshot of his love sleeping next to him, the two of them together, it was sort of heartbreaking. Of course, having Roman taunt and haunt him doesn’t help matters, but I really think Alby might be starting to come into his own. He will lose everything, however, in the process.
I’ve never liked the character Jodean as much as I liked her twin, but that is a testament to the actress Mireille Enos’s portrayal.
New Teenie: Didn’t much like the old one. Don’t much like this one either.

My favorite three moments from this episode were:

When Barb starts unbuttoning her shirt in the basement and tells Bill not to worry, this will be fast, but she thinks it will make her feel better. After sifting weevils.
When Margene breaks down on television, talking about how her mother died on the laundry room floor next to the change machine. “I’m pretty sure alcohol was involved.”
When Jodean sets free all of the birds Bill’s parents are trying to sell while they snore in the backseat. Passive/aggressive much?

There was so much to process this week — what is working for you this season? And what do you hate?

Photo Credit: HBO

What does the Big Love big moment mean for the Henricksons?

Meredith O'Brien — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:00:06 +0000

By now, anyone who’s watched the latest episode of Big Love – if you haven’t yet, then run far away from this post — likely wound up feeling aghast, skeeved out or unsurprised by the fact that they went THERE.

Margene. Ben. …

… Lip-lock. And not a stepmom-stepkid kinda lip-lock either. As if their smooch wasn’t enough to make viewers squirm in their seats, the Big Love writers then literally shined a spotlight on Ben — the one who wrote a highly inappropriate love letter to his father’s third wife last season — and had him referred to as “Mr. Margene Heffman” to the home shopping channel’s primetime audience, which included Ben’s mother (also Margene’s sister-wife).

My response to the scene was a combination of feeling both aghast and skeeved. After several seasons of watching the series try to project a veneer of vanilla, suburban normalcy onto the Henricksons — as if they’re just like any other middle class family with the bustle of kids’ activities, family meals and work/life issues (except for the multiple wives, the connection to a polygamist compound and constant criminal conspiring/blackmailing) – this turn of events took a giant step away from that concept and injected adult sexuality into a stepmom-kid relationship because the adult initiated it. (Reminded me a bit of Margene’s mother coming onto Bill in season two, although Bill was an unwilling recipient of his mother-in-law’s affections.)

The Boston Globe’s Matthew Gilbert called this “a problem that is more important to the show than it seems,” adding, “Will the entire family structure break down in boundaryless and abuse when monogamy is not in the picture? … Are the Henricksons going to become a miniaturized and prettified version of Juniper Creek?”

What do you think about the decision to have Margene and Ben kiss? What does this foreshadow for the Henrickson family?

Photo Credit: HBO

Ratings Clack – Heroes: Sack The Cheerleader… Save The Network?

Brett Love — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:00:14 +0000

The complete implosion of Heroes just never gets old. I’m fascinated by it, and the show found an all new low last week. Over the years we’ve seen plenty of shows fall from their once lofty heights. But to see one crash so fast, and in such a dramatic fashion, is a rare thing. On a brighter note, the week that was also brought a host of premieres, including 24, Human Target, White Collar, Burn Notice, and American Pickers. And if you want to see some really crazy numbers, click through and take a look at what iCarly did.

NBC - The Golden Globes (16.98m/5.5) got the week started on a high note. That’s not quite a Sunday Night Football number, but it’s awfully close. Hopefully, it softened the blow that was to come on Monday. Chuck (6.65m/2.5) remains in fourth place. The fact that the demo held up from the premiere is a good sign though. Heroes (3.98m/1.8)… what can you say? There aren’t enough DVDs, DVRs, or Hulu views to not make that number suck out loud.

To give a little perspective on just how bad the Heroes numbers were this week… On the four major networks, last week there were 47 shows that beat Heroes in viewers and demo, and that includes a boatload of repeats. Worse, the closest year to year comparison we can make is to February of last year (8.54m/4). The show has lost more than half its audience, again. And worst of all, more people watched Jersey Shore (4.83m) last week. Jersey Shore, people! NBC has a lot to do to pull the network out of its 4th place quagmire, but step one should be putting this show out of its misery.

Happier thoughts arrived Tuesday. The Biggest Loser (9.95m/4.1) bounced back when only having to face one hour of Idol. Unfortunately, the happy didn’t carry over to Wednesday. Mercy (5.86m/1.4) continues to struggle. The NBC Thursday remains a mixed bag. You have to c0nsider Community (4.75m/2.1) and Parks & Recreation (4.36m/2) a disappointment. Not only are the numbers down (less than a million viewers ahead of CW), they were also beaten by Big Bang repeats on CBS. The Office (7.28m/3.7) was a bit off the pace, but I’ll chalk that up to the episode being a clip-show. It’s still worth noting that it was ahead of CSI in the demo. 30 Rock (5.54m/2.7) had a typical week. It won some more awards, and nobody bothered to watch.

FOX - It was a big week for FOX. American Idol, of course, led the ratings news with two more number-crushing outings on Tuesday (26.38m/10.1) and Wednesday (26.85m/9.9), which were both up year-to-year. The week also brought the premiere of Human Target (10.12m/2.9) and the return of 24 (11.44m/3.9) on Sunday. Jack followed up that debut performance with another two hours on Monday (11.11m/3.5). Those numbers are solid enough, and should make for a nice upgrade to Mondays.

Human Target got a second performance as well, with episode two airing in the regular slot on Wednesday (10.46m/3.4). Those numbers look okay, but you have to take into account that the show was following Idol. Expectations are higher. Last year at this time, Fringe (11.96m/4.6) and Lie To Me (12.37m/4.9) both did considerably better post-Idol. There was more good news on Thursday, as Bones (11.97m/3.5) was far and away #1 at 8. Fringe (6.9m/2.6) remains in 4th place, but continues to slowly grow, as do the chances for renewal.

CBS - Cold Case (10.62m/2.4) opened the week solo on Sunday, and remains decent, if not remarkable. Things were much more exciting Monday, with How I Met Your Mother (10.41m/4), Accidentally On Purpose (9.56m/3.5), 2 ½ Men (16.31m/5.3), Big Bang Theory (15.05m/5.3), and CSI: Miami (13.22m/3.6) combining to win the night in both measures. Tuesday was all repeats, but Jethro and the team at NCIS still managed over 14 million viewers.

Wednesday started slow, with Old Christine (6.21m/1.9) and Gary Unmarried (5.89m/1.8) continuing to just tread water. Business picked up at 9, with Criminal Minds (14.91m/4.2) and CSI: NY (13.54m/3.1) both topping their hours. Thursday, without the benefit of Survivor, CSI (14.29m/3.1) continued to slip, hitting a series low. I would really like to see what would happen to the numbers if William Petersen returned. The Mentalist (14.56m/3.1) was at series low levels as well.

ABC - Desperate Housewives (11.32m/3.8) and Brothers & Sisters (7.97m/2.6) didn’t have a good go of it versus the Golden Globes. Both hours were down, but I suspect they’ll rebound when not facing an awards show. Monday, The Bachelor (10.66m/3.8) and Castle (9.48m/2.8) were both up just a tad. Tuesday continues to be a train-wreck. Nobody is watching Scrubs (3.04m/1.3) and Better Off Ted (2.92m/1.2).

There was better news Wednesday. Modern Family (9.83m/4.2) and Cougar Town (7.54m/3.4) looked much better with Idol contained in the 8-9 hour. Ugly Betty (4.53m/1.6) on the other hand, hasn’t found her audience at 10. Thursday didn’t start that well either. The Deep End (7.11m/1.8) premiered well below what Flash Forward had been doing. The news was better for Grey’s Anatomy (12.7m/4.7). That was the top demo of the night, but it was also a low for the season. Private Practice (9.64m/3.6) was solid at 10.

CW - Look at that. Somebody woke up the CW programming department, and they managed four new hours. Monday brought the usual numbers from One Tree Hill (2.18m/1.1) and a solid premiere performance from Life Unexpected (2.83m/1.2). The week continued on Thursday, with the return of Vampire Diaries (3.68m/1.6) and Supernatural (2.85m/1.3).

CABLE - It was a big week for USA. White Collar (4.72m/1.6) and Burn Notice (5.35m/1.9) both returned to the schedule at expected levels. It will be interesting to watch how the new scheduling works out as we get a few episodes into these runs. Last week was also the premiere of American Pickers (3.1m/1.2) on History. The crazy stat of the week for cable comes from iCarly (11.16m/1.8). I have no idea what Carly was up to last week, but 11 million viewers is always impressive on cable. Some other cable numbers:

Big Love (1.54m/.8)
Secret Life Of The American Teenager (2.97m/1)
Make It Or Break It (2.37m/.7)
Southland (1.61m/.5)
Nip/Tuck (1.89m/.9)
Leverage (3m/1)
Blue Mountain State (.92m/.5)
Archer (1.23m/.7)
Ax Men (2.27m/1.1)
Pawn Stars (3.64m/1.6 – 3.97m/1.8)
Dirty Jobs (2.13m/.9)
Man vs Wild (1.64m/.8)
Project Runway (2.71m/1.1)

Photo Credit: NBC

Ratings Clack – Idol returns, and Jethro doesn’t care

Brett Love — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:48 +0000

FOX has been waiting all season to drop the big hammer, and the time has finally come. Idol returned last week, and the ripple effect of adding over 20 million viewers to Tuesday and Wednesday was felt by a number of shows, but not all of them. Despite Idol adding some 24 million viewers to the numbers that So You Think You Can Dance was delivering, Gibbs and his NCIS team still managed to garner 20.85 million viewers of their own.

FOX - In what was no surprise to anyone, Idol returned to huge numbers on Tuesday (29.94m/11.8) and Wednesday (26.39m/10.1). That was a pretty substantial drop for episode 2, but it’s hard to complain about anything approaching those numbers. Things were great earlier in the week as well. Fueled by a playoff football lead-in, The Simpsons (14.62m/6.9), and the Simpsons Anniversary Special (11.43m/5.5) had big numbers as well. The Cleveland Show (8.14m/3.8) finished up a very successful Sunday.

Monday, House (12.25m/4.6) was back, down a bit, but still very strong and finishing first in viewers and demo for the hour. Fringe (7.72m/2.8) got a shot following House on Monday, and matched what Lie To Me has been doing there. Another episode, in the regular Thursday (6.6m/2.6) spot continued to show slow growth in the demo, which is a good sign. That followed a very nice performance from Bones (10.75m/3.3) that took first in both measures. Dollhouse (2.09m/.8) finished the week on Friday.

CBS - The week started slowly, with only Cold Case (10.38m/1.9) offering a new episode on Sunday. Things picked up quickly on Monday, with How I Met Your Mother (9.77m/3.9), Accidentally On Purpose (8.43m/3.1), 2 ½ Men (17.27m/5.4), Big Bang Theory (15.82m/5.7), and CSI: Miami (13.7m/3.7) combining to make the network number one for the night by 3 million viewers and half a demo point.

As mentioned earlier, NCIS (20.85m/4.3) held up amazingly well when faced with Idol, dropping only half a million viewers and a tenth of a demo point over the previous week. That variance is completely within the norm, as the 12/15 episode finished with 20.69m/4.3. NCIS: LA (15.6m/3) took a bit more of a hit, but that’s still a solid number. The Good Wife (13.87m/3), fresh off a second season order, was strong as well.

There was a bit of a stumble on Wednesday, as Old Christine (5.97m/1.8) and Gary Unmarried (5.6m/1.9) saw drops against Idol. Fortunately, those were short lived as Criminal Minds (13.9m/3.8) and CSI: NY (14.03m/3.5) were both on pace. Thursday, CSI(15.33m/3.3) continued it’s post-Grissom struggles, and was once again beaten by The Mentalist (15.38m/3.4) in viewers and demo. Finally, Friday brought another easy win for the night, courtesy of Ghost Whisperer (8.63m/2.2), Medium (9.01m/2.2), and Numb3rs (9.52m/2.2).

ABC – The Sunday night lineup was just off the usual pace with Extreme Makeover (10.55m/3.3), Desperate Housewives (14.03m/4.7), and Brothers & Sisters (10.45m/3.5), but still strong. Monday was also successful, with The Bachelor (10.5m/3.6) and Castle (9.47m/2.6). The 2.6 for Castle is particularly encouraging, as that’s better than many of the weeks following Dancing With The Stars.

Tuesday, as has become the norm, it all went to hell. Better Off Ted (2.17m/.8), Scrubs (2.72m/1.2), and Better Off Ted (2.5m/1) did not hold up well versus Idol. The Forgotten (4.33m/1.2) finished the night at the usual disappointing levels. The Wednesday comedies, The Middle (5.95m/2.1), Modern Family (7.83m/3.3), and Cougar Town (7.27m/3.1) were also down against Idol, though still competitive in their slots. Ugly Betty (4.4m/1.6) continued to struggle in her new Wednesday digs.

There was more good news on Thursday, with Grey’s Anatomy (12.78m/4.8) and Private Practice (10.96m/4.2) both topped their hours in the demo. The week finished with Supernanny (5.39m/1.6), Shark Tank (4.44m/1.6), and 20/20 (5.41m/1.5) on Friday.

NBC - Chuck got the week off to a nice start. The return of everyone’s favorite spy team on Sunday (7.45m/2.9) marked the best numbers for the show since the post-Superbowl 3-D episode. The news was good on Monday (7.36m/2.6) as well. That still makes for a fourth place finish, but it is above where Chuck finished last season, and well above what Heroes has been managing Mondays at 8. Speaking of Heroes (4.72m/2.1), the move back to 9 didn’t offer any help.

Tuesday, The Biggest Loser (8.12m/3.2) took a substantial hit from Idol, dropping 3.5 million viewers and .6 in the demo.Wednesday’s lineup of Mercy (5.85m/1.5) and SVU (7.65m/2) was off the pace as well. Community (5.42m/2.4) and Parks & Recreation (4.63m/2.1) were both down in viewers on Thursday, despite Bones being the only new competition. Although, it is worth noting that Community topped both episodes of 30 Rock (5.12m/2.3 – 4.98m/2.3), which just doesn’t hold up when it doesn’t have The Office for a lead-in.

Friday, Law & Order (7.13m/1.4) and Dateline (7.75m/1.7) wrapped things up. I could give you the details on Leno, but isn’t it really enough to know that the show has been canceled?

CABLE - There were a number of premieres on cable last week, including Big Love (1.73m/.8), Southland (1.98m/.7), Leverage (3.69m/1.3), Archer (1.82m/.9), and Project Runway (2.94m/1.3). The other curious bit from the cable numbers came from Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (1.02m/.4). I’m going to assume that the low numbers can be chalked up to people having already seen it on DVD. Other cable numbers of note:

Secret Life Of The American Teenager (3.11m/1.2)
Make It Or Break It (2.08m/.7)
Men Of A Certain Age (2.87m/1)
Nip/Tuck (1.96m/1)
Ax Men (2.48m/1)
Pawn Stars (1.92m/.7)
Dirty Jobs (1.85m/.8)
Howe & Howe Tech (1.42m/.7)
Man vs Wild (1.5m/.6)

Photo Credit: FOX

The Big Love season premiere: Weekend at Bernie’s gone awry?

Guest Clacker — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:00:57 +0000

Today’s Guest Clacker is Meredith O’Brien, a pop culture columnist who also blogs about TV and movies at Notes from the Asylum.

I didn’t expect to laugh this much during Big Love’s premiere. I think the laughter was a defense mechanism, a response to the parade of craziness which appeared in one scene after another. Gone was the subtle ratcheting-up of the tension that marked the first season of Big Love, where a Home Plus brand of vanilla suburban normalcy was interspersed with polygamy and the dark, grittiness of Juniper Creek. Instead, Big Love writers decided to commence the fourth season by going all sledge-hammer-to-the-head-let-your-freak-flag-fly.

The funniest and strangest thread in the Big Love premiere dealt with the now dead prophet Roman Grant, who, we learned, had been propped up in a lawn chair in a Juniper Creek freezer for months, before his body was carted all over the southwest, all while he was wearing his signature white hat. It reminded me of Weekend at Bernie’s, only I don’t want Weekend at Bernie’s when I’m sitting down to watch Big Love.

It felt wrong to be amused by the scene when Adaleen intentionally sent Nicki into the freezer in search of bacon for BLTs only to discover Roman in the lawn chair, as it did when I chuckled while watching Alby flinch as he looked at Roman’s icy face and said, “He just gave me a mean look because he knows I’m going to be the prophet now.” It all added to the gallows humor which dominated the season premiere. I’m used to dark humor on the show, but not comprising 90 percent of it.

Frozen Roman was the source of lot more laughs, like when Alby left him — again, jauntily posed in a lawn chair and wearing his hat — at the site where Bill and his partners are building the casino, as if Roman will never stop tormenting the Henricksons, despite being dead and all. When Bill and Nicki hauled the Romansicle back to the compound, I kept thinking that perhaps if they’d actually eaten some BLTs like Adaleen was screeching about instead of those cold burgers and fries they had in the van, they could’ve thought more clearly. Alas, they were blinded by rage and thus made stupid mistakes, like sloppily leaving Roman’s white hat at the construction site only to have it be discovered by Bill’s casino partners who are already sick of being questioned by the feds because of their association with Bill. I guffawed when the hat turned up at the casino though I’m not sure I was supposed to.

Amid the comic frosty-prophet-on-tour bit, there was an element of Freaky Friday-ness too where the normally collected Barb was almost comically unhinged (crab legs anyone?). She acted a whole lot like the once-flighty Margene who, by contrast, was amusingly the calm and rational one. Adding to this kettle of strangeness was the “bird watching” Alby, who was dryly humorous when he went cruising for guys in a park and wound up hooking up with the man who, he’d later learn, had been selected to serve as Juniper Creek’s trustee.

Throw into the mix those birds and the uber-odd convertible car courtship between Lois and Frank — who, when they’re not trying to kill one another, are dating and going out for ice cream — and I felt a lot like the casino employees who rolled their eyes when Bill sanctimoniously prattled on about the struggles of their people. As much as I’m a fan of Big Love, this premiere felt shallow and too chock-full of weirdness. After deeply moving episodes last season –where Barb was excommunicated, the road trip where Sarah lost the baby – the tenor of this episode threw me. Was this a good or a bad omen for the fourth season? Let’s ask the frozen prophet and see what he says.

Photo Credit: HBO

Big Love gambles on casinos, home shopping, Christian rock, and bacon

Jen Creer — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:00:28 +0000

One of my favorite moments from “Free at Last,” the opener for Season 4 of HBO’s Big Love is when Nikki and Bill are driving all the way from the casino to the compound and Nikki offers to make Bill some fry sauce. I literally laughed out loud. Fry sauce, for those of you who didn’t grow up in Utah or go to school there, is a combination of mayonnaise and ketchup. I don’t know what Nikki thought she was going to mix it in, but the always terrific Chloe Svegny struggles with the little packet and then bursts into tears. It’s a very real moment, particularly showing that sometimes the big things don’t make us cry when we really need to, but something small can open the floodgates.There were several more moments like this: Adele freaking out and pleading with Nikki that she wants to make her a BLT, and she wildly dances toward Nikki and says, “Bacon!” There has been so much in the interwebs this past year about different kinds of bacon salts and bacon chocolates you can buy, that the emphasis on bacon seemed appropriate to our culture: Surely, she will stay for bacon. And of course, the bacon is in the freezer, where another surprise awaits her….

Another moment was when Laura, Alby’s sneaky first wife, goes to the safe and breaks out a can of Coors beer to celebrate Roman’s demise. She holds it toward Alby and giggles, “Shall we?” The polygamist’s champagne. Did you notice Anne Dudek’s baby bump this episode too?

And Bill starts out speaking to the casino employees with the fabulous statement, “I have never before been filled with such pride… and humility.” Please don’t tell me that I have to explain why that is funny.

I have been wondering how they were going to handle Barb’s ex-communication from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They tackle it right away by showing the family at their new church service, with Bill’s partner and his family (or what is left of it). Afterwards, Barb finds out from Sarah that Sarah is considering The Church of Christ with her fiancee, and Barb gamely says, “I hear they’re very progressive.” The writing on this show is superb.

It’s really Margene (with her own self-interests) who helps Barb move past her religious crisis, by engaging Barb in the opening of the family’s casino. Mostly, Margene wants to have more time to pursue her own career peddling jewelry on a home-shopping-type network. She completely projects her own career interests onto Barb (offering a pointed non-argument when Barb suggests that their Native American partners do not like her), but I think it’s good for Barb. She has to find her own way, she has to find an identity outside of the church that has defined so much of her life (even when she was not active in it).

So far, I don’t find the introduction of Nikki’s daughter to be very compelling. We get just a glimmer that Cara may be a lot like her conniving mother, during her assurance to her father that she doesn’t really like living with the Henricksons. However, didn’t we just get rid of Rhonda? Do we really always have to have a teenage pain-in-the-ass around?

Side note: It’s hilarious that Ben is now in a Christian band that saves the day covering Kenny Rogers at the casino opening with “The Gambler.” However, I cannot think of a scenario in which a) the LDS church would hire a band for an event, when they can recruit talent from their members or b) the LDS church would hire a band of NON-Mormons. Believe me, there are enough Amy Grant wannabes that they simply wouldn’t have to. But it’s not a big deal– just more of a footnote on how exclusive the LDS church really is.

Finally, I think Bill should have put on Roman’s hat at the end and said, “You bet your bippy!” But maybe that would be a little bit over the top to have Bill already filling Roman’s… hat.

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Photo Credit: HBO

CliqueClack TV » Big Love

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