Well, it’s been a long time coming, but Mohinder finally returned to the action on Heroes this week. I have to say that it was slightly anticlimactic, but we did end up learning a lot more about Samuel, his powers, and his motivations through Dr. Suresh’s reappearance. This season is finally starting to take shape. The November sweeps are working their magic and the steam engine of a plot is finally starting to get rolling.

I guess all that talk I threw out a few weeks back about Samuel being a Magneto-like leader was all bunk. I thought that he was a slightly twisted yet magnanimous figure who just wanted to live peacefully with other super-powered individuals. As we learned in this episode, his quest to gather more supers to the carnival is just an attempt to boost his own power. Sure, he may still actually believe all the things he says about living together with “brothers and sisters,” but I’m guessing at the end of the day, those really aren’t his motivations.

I was really happy to get some direction. The question now becomes motive. What does he plan on doing with his increased powers if he is successful in gathering enough super-powered folks around him. Is he just mad and power hungry, or does he have some devious, building-destroying plan? I’m happy to say that I’m actually looking forward to finding out.

Mohinder seems to have some interesting stories ahead of him as well. As much as many viewers (including myself) didn’t really miss the good doctor during his prolonged absence, it looks like he’s back to stay. Being locked up in an asylum, however, I’m not exactly sure what the future holds for him. Maybe he’ll become more interesting? Superpowers didn’t do it last season….

How are you feeling about the season? Do you think it’s picking up? Are you looking forward to more Mohinder? What about Sylar/Nathan?

Related posts

• Heroes – Hiro and Charlie forever
• Heroes – Samuel is Magneto
• Heroes – A little direction would be nice

Example:
11/18/08: House (13.03m/5.5), Fringe (9.36m/4.2)
11/09/09: House (13.31m/5.3), Lie To Me (7.41m/3)

And that was against very similar competition. Both faced DWTS on ABC, which was pretty much a wash. NBC was greatly improved against Fringe with Biggest Loser (7.84m/3.3), as opposed to Trauma (5.35m/1.8). And CBS was mixed, with The Mentalist (15.83m/3.5) trailing the Men/Big Bang hour (13.62m/4.6) in the demo.

Now we look at where we are this season. Fringe did manage something of a rebound this week, finishing with (5.91m/2.2) on Thursday. That’s still a distant fourth place, and should find the show on the hot seat at the end of the season. It would, obviously, do better on Monday following House. The question is, would it do better than the (7.41m/3) that Lie To Me is currently offering? I think it would.

On the other side of that coin, while I’m not quite as confident about the move of Lie To Me to Thursday, I do still see the potential for it to outperform the current Fringe numbers. That bar has been set, after all, rather low. It would likely take a  hit in the move, but the end result would be that Thursday at 9:00 is stronger as well. Just something to think about. The usual numbers junk is after the jump.

ABC - The bubble burst on V (10.7m/3.8) rather quickly. Sure, that’s still a very nice number, but it’s also a heck of a one week drop. Consider the jury still out on this one until we see what episodes three and four bring to the table. Earlier in the week, the return of football on NBC brought Sunday’s Extreme Makeover (10.38m/3), Desperate Housewives (13.79m/4.4), and Brothers & Sisters (9.08m/2.9) down a tad. It was still a successful start to the week.

The good news continued as Dancing With The Stars (17.62m/3.4) and Castle (9.82m/2.4) both gained viewers. The DWTS Results (16.23m/3.5) were up as well, despite the V drop. The news wasn’t so good for The Forgotten, as In The Spotlight with Robin Roberts (9.34m/2.3) finished well above what the show has been doing. Wednesday, the CMA Awards (17.18m/5.3) were a huge improvement over the usual comedies and Eastwick. FlashForward (8.28m/2.6) sunk to third in both measures to kick off Thursday, while Grey’s Anatomy (14.87m/5.6) and Private Practice (10.25m/3.9) were both up. Ugly Betty (4.45m/1.3) finished things off on Friday.

FOX - The network didn’t really gain anything with the all-Seth night, featuring Family Guy (7.26m/3.7), Seth & Alex (6.73m/3.4), Family Guy (7.99m/4.1), and Cleveland (6.44m/3.2). The news was better on Monday as House (13.31m/5.3) remained the clear demo leader on the night. So You Think You Can Dance remained steady, if not impressive, on Tuesday (5.76m/2.3) and Wednesday (5.72m/2.2), while Glee (7.53m/3.4) was tied for #1 in the demo with Criminal Minds. Thursday, Bones (10.22m/2.9) took over the #2 spot from FlashForward. And Friday, repeats again topped the recent comedy/Dollhouse combo.

CBS - The good news is that Sunday was up across the board with Amazing Race (11.62m/3.5), Three Rivers (7.99m/1.8), and Cold Case (8.16m/1.7). The bad news is that those numbers from 9:00 to 11:00 are too low. Things were better on Monday. The network was down slightly from 8:00 to 9:00 with How I Met Your Mother (8.67m/3.5) and Accidentally On Purpose (7.89m/2.9). Then, up with 2 ½ Men (14.44m/4.6) and Big Bang Theory (12.8m/4.7). At 10:00 is where the real magic started.

The big crossover CSI event led to gains for Miami (14.38m/4), NY (14.51m/3.8), and the OG CSI (17.38m/4.1). He didn’t get to be part of the big event, but Gibbs and the crew at NCIS (20.96m/4.4) easily returned to the top of the Tuesday pyramid. That was good news for NCIS: LA (16.23m/3.7) and The Good Wife (13.35m/2.8) as well. Old Christine (7.19m/2.1) and Gary Unmarried (7.3m/2.4) were both up on Wednesday, despite that CMA increase at ABC. Criminal Minds (12.77m/3.4) was solid. Although, that demo battle with Glee could prove very interesting.

Thursday, as with CSI, Survivor (12.94m/4) was up too. The Mentalist (16.17m/3.6) was off a bit in viewers, but is still having a very good second season. And Friday was another easy win for the night by Ghost Whisperer (8.01m/2), Medium (8.16m/1.9), and Numb3rs (8.16m/1.8).

NBC – The return of Sunday Night Football (21.88m/8.5) was certainly welcome. Hopefully, it softened the blow of another series low for Heroes (5.26m/2.3), and the further struggles of Trauma (5.35m/1.8). The Biggest Loser (9.65m/3.8) remains a success on Tuesday. Mercy (6.68m/1.7), on the other hand, can only claim that it is an improvement over the Knight Rider numbers. L&O: SVU (8.77m/2.8) remains a mystery. That was good for fourth place, again, but it is headed in the right direction. And that 2.8 demo is starting to look really good given the rest of the NBC schedule.

Thursday was more of the same as Community (5.09m/2.1) and Parks & Recreation (4.58m/2.1) again fell short of the Kath & Kim bar (11/06: 5.57m/2.4). By comparison, things look pretty good for The Office (8.05m/4.2) and 30 Rock (6m/3). Law & Order (7.5m/1.7) finished things up on Friday.

CW - The week got off to a very good start as One Tree Hill (2.67m/1.3), Gossip Girl (2.37m/1.3), and 90210 (2.06m/1.2) all saw gains. That was the highest rated Gossip Girl since the season premiere. Things didn’t go so well for Melrose Place (1.28m/.7). It would seem that the network is just waiting to see what difference Heather Locklear makes before pulling the plug.

Next Top Model (3.2m/1.5) was again nipping at NBC’s  heels  in the demo on Wednesday. As was Vampire Diaries (4.1m/1.9) on Thursday. Supernatural (2.69m/1.3) was on par as well. Finally, Smallville (2.7m/1.2) continued to defy the odds on Friday, drawing more viewers than OTH, GG, 90210, Melrose, and Supernatural.

Cable - It’s probably way too early for the folks down at Stargate HQ to be getting nervous, but concern might be in order. Friday 11/06 found the Universe dropping again, to (1.63m/.7). That didn’t do any favors for Sanctuary (1.42m/.5). It will be very interesting to see where the show levels out. Over at USA, White Collar (3.85m/.9) continues to search for a level as well. Other cable numbers to consider:

• Mad Men (2.32m/.8)
• Dexter (1.76m/.9)
• Lincoln Heights (1.03m/.4)
• Sons Of Anarchy (3.83m/1.9)
• Nip/Tuck (1.75m/.9)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (.98m/.3)
• Bored To Death (.63m/.3)
• Californication (.76m/.4)
• Rita Rocks (.48m/.2)
• South Park (2.78m/1.5)
• Secret Girlfriend (1.19m/.6)
• It’s Always Sunny (1.87m/1.2)
• The League (1.03m/.6)
• Monday Night Football (16m/6.5)
• The Hills (2.1m/1.3)
• Top Chef (3.02m/1.7)
• Mythbusters (2.13m/.9)
• Ghost Hunters (2.91m/1.4)
• Ghost Hunters Academy (2.07m/.9)
• Project Runway (3.13m/1.4)
• Keeping Up With The Kardashians (3.17m/1.7)

Related posts

• Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc
• Ratings Clack – V gets off to a great start
• Ratings Clack – Where is FlashForward headed?

My favorite episode of Heroes is the season one classic, “Company Man.” At that point, we’ve still got no idea who Noah Bennet was. Hell, we didn’t even know his first name. All we knew was that he had a daughter (whole family, really) and a job that were incredibly hard to reconcile on any given day. What we did know is that HRG would walk through fire for his daughter, and what we learned is that she would walk through fire for him, too. They proved early on that their relationship was central to how this show would evolve over the years, and this week’s episode proved that that is still the case.

Claire has had some fairly annoying moments in the four seasons that Heroes has been on the air, but in her defense, she’s was an immature kid dealing with an incredible situation. Her father hasn’t been exactly what you can call an anti-hero, but at the same time, he’s not exactly been a good guy either. What they’ve had in common, however, was an unwavering love for each other (”Unwavering?” Well, what kind of love doesn’t have bumps?), even when they haven’t trusted each other.

Their relationship this year has shown that both of them have matured. Noah is showing an unheard-of amount of trust in Claire’s decision making, even going as far as allowing Gretchen to keep her memories, now that she knows of Claire’s abilities. The former cheerleader has also grown up. She’s continues to have this naive fearlessness, but she’s also calling her dad for help. They’ve grown closer since Claire went to college, which is a bit backwards from how that normally works. Regardless of how they’ve built on this connection, it’s great that they have.

Samuel is going to try to drive a stake between the two of them, and by the rules of dramatic television, it might work for a while. Claire will be reminded of the work that her father did to the determent of people like her, and will get all whiney about it. But, eventually (and by “eventually” I totally mean before the end of the season), HRG will prove himself again to her. Because, as he said, when his daughter calls, he drops everything.

On an unrelated note, Heroes brought back the old CliqueClack Live-Blog term that we all loved, “Heroes dead.” Which, for what it’s worth, means that the chances that Matt is actually dead are about as good as my Redskins winning the Super Bowl this year. There have been rumors of deaths all season long, one that has been fairly well confirmed. I won’t repeat it here (because, really, the info is not that hard to find), but I suspect that that death won’t be the only one we see this year.

Related posts

• Heroes – Danko has loved ones? (Live-blog/chat)
• Heroes – Fact: Ali Larter has a lifetime contract with this show. (Live-blog/chat)
• Heroes – Disappointing deaths this season: Two; Blonde girls: Nothing

The World Series was the big ratings winner last week, but with New York involved, everyone kind of expected that, right? What nobody expected — most notably ABC — was the success of the V premiere. The numbers weren’t just good. It was the highest rated scripted program on the network, topping the Housewives and Grey’s. Even better, the V demo rating was the highest for a scripted show on any of the networks.  Someone at ABC has to be kicking themselves for only ordering four episodes of V, while they continue to crank out more Hanks than they know what to do with.

ABC – It was the big show for the week, so we’ll start with the V (14.3m/5.2) premiere on Tuesday. Even more impressive, it did that against Biggest Loser and NCIS. Not an easy timeslot. That was obviously unexpected, or production wouldn’t have been cut to 4, for now. It makes the results of episode two very interesting. How much of that audience will be back for more? That huge leap in the 8 o’clock hour didn’t do anything for the rest of the night. The Dancing With The Stars results show (15.05m/3.1) was up just a tenth in the demo, and The Forgotten (7.27m/1.9) actually managed to lose a million viewers week-to-week.

Earlier in the week, things were pretty standard on Sunday with Extreme Makeover (10.75m/3.3), Desperate Housewives (14.08m/5), and Brothers & Sisters (9.02m/3.3). Monday, Dancing With The Stars (16.69m/3.4) and Castle (9.43m/2.4) were both off just a bit, but we’ll chalk that up to baseball. Wednesday remains a mixed bag as Hank (5.09m/1.3), The Middle (6.04m/1.8), and Eastwick (4.44m/1.5) all continue to struggle. Modern Family (8.77m/3.5) and Cougar Town (6.87m/2.8) do like solid performers, however.

FlashForward (8.57m/2.6) makes Thursday interesting. It continues to drop, and you have to wonder if the audience is just giving up on it already. It long ago lost track of Survivor, and this week was also topped by Bones. Grey’s Anatomy (13.95m/5.1) and Private Practice (9.11m/3.4) remain a successful pairing. Friday, Ugly Betty (4.76m/1.3) remained steady, but the big surprise was from the Rihana episode of 20/20 (8.18m/2.7).

CBS - It was, for the most part, another very solid week. Sunday was steady, with Amazing Race (11.22m/3.3), Three Rivers (7.7m/1.6), and Cold Case (9.02m/1.7). Of course, that steady means that Three Rivers remains a disappointment and its future prospects are not good. Monday was also solid with How I Met Your Mother (8.82m/3.5), Accidentally On Purpose (8.09m/3.1), 2 ½ Men (13.51m/4.4), Big Bang Theory (12.73m/4.7), and CSI: Miami (12.52m/3.6). Those numbers are off a bit, but we’ll give them a World Series pass as well.

Tuesday, that giant V premiere didn’t do much to slow down the NCIS (20.18m/4.3) juggernaut. NCIS:LA (15.29m/3.6) and The Good Wife (12.74m/2.7) were also on par. Wednesday brought a slightly baseball-weakened combination of Old Christine (6.68m/2), Gary Unmarried (6.29m/2), Criminal Minds (12.55m/3.4), and CSI:NY (12m/2.8).

Thursday, Survivor (12.44m/3.7) is again firmly in control of the hour. More interesting, The Mentalist (16.21m/3.6) topped CSI (15.6m/3.5) in both measures again. The troubling bit came on Friday, as Ghost Whisperer (7.93m/1.8) and Medium (7.58m/1.8) both lost to Law & Order, while Numb3rs (8.09m/1.8) was beaten by 20/20. I can’t remember the last time CBS was beaten in all three Friday hours while running all new episodes.

FOX - The World Series was the story last week. Games on Sunday (22.76m/7.8), Monday (17.09m/5.3), and Wednesday (22.34m/7.4) all did extremely well. So You Think You Can Dance (6.12m/2.4) held down the fort on Tuesday, and Bones (8.66m/2.6) and Fringe (4.86m/1.7) were back on Thursday. Bones moved to #2 in the hour, while Fringe remains a distant fourth.

The quick reaction is to blame the time slot, but compare it to what So You Think You Can Dance is up against on Tuesday at 8. ABC gains 5.73m/2.6. NBC gains 3.93m/2. CBS gains 7.74m/.6. That’s 17.3 million more viewers, and 5.2 more demo points facing SYTYCD, and it still outperformed Fringe. There is also the argument that because World Series Game 7 was scheduled Thursday, people didn’t know it was on. Unfortunately, that doesn’t explain the fact that Bones still managed 8.6 million viewers, or all those other weeks of subpar Fringe numbers. And in case you were wondering, House and Bones repeats on Friday again topped the Brothers, Til Death, and Dollhouse numbers.

NBC - With no football in prime time this week, the big success actually came on Friday. Law & Order is finally showing a little life, with episodes at 8 (7.99m/1.8) and 9 (8.41m/1.9) both winning their hours. Earlier in the week, it was more of the same on Monday from Heroes (5.86m/2.5) and Trauma (5.82m/1.9). The Biggest Loser (9.11m/3.5) remains a solid hit on Tuesday. Wednesday, Mercy (6.63m/1.7) and SVU (7.95m/2.4) were off, but it was the final game of the World Series, so let’s wait and see.

Thursday, Community (5.45m/2.3) and Parks & Recreation (4.91m/2.2) were both up. However, they do both remain below what Kath & Kim (5.57m/2.4) were doing at this time last year. The Office (8.09m/4.1) and 30 Rock (6.15m/3) continue along the same path. Leno had another rough week, falling below 4 million viewers once, and below 1.5 in the demo three times. I’m starting to think that Leno one night a week might not be a bad idea. Give him the post Biggest Loser slot, and return scripted to the other four hours. The numbers:

Monday: 3.92m/1.2
Tuesday: 5.96m/2
Wednesday: 4.81m/1.4
Thursday: 4.83m/1.6
Friday: 4.6m/1.2

CW - Nothing too exciting to report this week. One Tree Hill (2.32m/1.1) and Gossip Girl (1.98m/1) look to have taken a small hit from baseball. 90210 (1.92m/1) and Melrose Place (1.48m/.8) continue to struggle as we all wait to see what Heather Locklear will do to the Melrose numbers. Next Top Model (3.87m/1.7) was up, despite baseball. Thursday remains the strongest night of the week with Vampire Diaries (4.09m/1.9) and Supernatural (2.65m/1.2). And Smallville (2.76m/1.2) continues to grow.

CABLE - Not a lot to yell about on cable this week either. It is worth noting that the second episode of White Collar (5.075m/1.2), from 10/30,  held up very well. It looks like USA has found a few more characters. Stargate Universe (1.97m/.8), from the same night, found itself falling below the 2 million viewer mark. Sanctuary (1.6m/.5) and Monk (4.69m/1) were fairly steady. Some other numbers:

• Mad Men (1.78m/.7)
• Dexter (1.88m/.9)
• Lincoln Heights (1.11m/.3)
• Greek (.66m/.3)
• Sons Of Anarchy (3.52m/1.8)
• Nip/Tuck (2.17m/1.1)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (.98m/.4)
• Bored To Death (.72m/.4)
• Californication (.82m/.4)
• South Park (2.82m/1.5)
• It’s Always Sunny (1.99m/1.3)
• The League (1.41m/.9)
• Monday Night Football (12.37m/5.1)
• Kate: Her Story (3.79m/1.7)
• The Hills (1.99m/1.2)
• Mythbusters (1.82m/.8)
• Ghost Hunters (2.73m/1.3)

Related posts

• Ratings Clack – Should FOX switch Fringe and Lie To Me?
• Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc
• Ratings Clack – Where is FlashForward headed?

I know what you’re thinking when you look at that picture, and no, this isn’t a post about Glee. Instead, Jayma Mays reprised her role of Charlie on this week’s Heroes. Now, this wouldn’t really be a big deal, except that Mays is now a regular on Glee, which appears on FOX. It’s always a tad unusual when actors travel between networks. Heck, it was only last year when NBC wouldn’t allow some of their own actors (including Masi Oka) return for the finale of Scrubs. I never thought I would be giving FOX props for doing the right thing, but they certainly made NBC look small and petty with this move.

The question is: did the guest appearance amount to anything? I think it did.

I thought this ended up being one of the stronger episodes of the season to date. I thought it was a little bit of a renaissance for the Hiro character. All season he had been annoying and pretty stupid in my opinion, and I thought he returned to his charming, heroic ways in this episode. With Hiro being manipulated into working for Samuel and the carnival now, I’m hoping that his character will continue to be more interesting (i.e., no more trying to rescue coworkers from photocopying their ass).

It was great to see Charlie back on the show and her appearance made me a little nostalgic for the stellar first season of the show. Sure, all the time traveling and future-changing shenanigans probably would have had many more consequences than we have seen, but I can forgive that. After all, when I think about those time travels paradoxes too hard my brain starts to hurt.

It took seven hours of Heroes, but we finally got a Mohinder sighting! I know the fandom was crying out for more Mohinder, and I think we’re about to get it. I may have been curious about Samuel’s story before, but now I’m fascinated. What business did Samuel have with the good doctor? What would have led him to kill him? And why would he possibly have been sorry about it?

In any case, this is the first time in a while that I’ve been excited about where Heroes is headed. How did you feel about tonight’s episode?

Related posts

• Heroes – Mohinder!!!
• Heroes – A little direction would be nice
• Heroes – Things are starting to align

A combination of baseball and pre-sweeps repeats made for a bit of an odd week. Repeats don’t mean there aren’t numbers of note however. We had Jay Leno’s first shot against CSI: Miami and NY repeats, and a look at what running repeats on Friday does for FOX. That is, nothing good for Dollhouse season 3. Also interesting this week — The Mentalist finally topped CSI in viewers and the demo, and even a repeat Gibbs appearance is worth 16 million viewers.

FOX - Having the baseball playoffs paid off big for the network when NY joined the party. The three contests last week included  ALCS Game 6 (15.48m/5.2) on Sunday, and World Series Game 1 (19.51m/6.3) and Game 2 (18.9m/5.8) on Wednesday and Thursday.  Needless to say, those were some serious gains over the usual occupants.

Elsewhere, So You Think You Can Dance (5.85m/2.6) was well off the usual House number in it’s one-time stop on Monday. On a brighter note, with CBS in repeats, it still finished #2 in the hour. Lie To Me (6.33m/2.4) struggled without the House lead in. There were similar numbers for the first SYTYCD competition episode (6.47m/2.5) on Tuesday. The only other number of note came from the House (3.4m/1.1) repeat on Friday, which topped the usual Brothers, Til Death, and Dollhouse combination.

ABC - The week got off to a steady start with Sunday’s Extreme Makeover (10.59m/3), Desperate Housewives (14.18m/4.7), and Brothers & Sisters (9.97m/3.3). On Monday, Dancing With The Stars (17.38m/3.6) was steady in the demo. That’s positive news for Castle (9.99m/2.5), which was up a tenth. There were more gains on Tuesday, as Charlie Brown (8.8m/2.8) easily bested the usual performance of Shark Tank. DWTS (15.2m/3) was down in the demo over the previous week, but The Forgotten (8.26m/2) still managed to grow.

Charlie Brown (6m/2) also proved to be an improvement over Hank on Wednesday. The rest of the night, including The Middle (6.49m/2.2), Modern Family (9.33m/3.7), Cougar Town (7.54m/3.2), and Eastwick (5.02m/1.8), was up as well. Less exciting, FlashForward (8.92m/2.7) managed to find series lows on Thursday. Grey’s Anatomy (13.74m/5.2) was down week-to-week, but still the highest rated scripted program for the night. Private Practice (9.16m/3.6) continues to hold up well.  Friday, Ugly Betty (4.5m/1.2) was steady, if not impressive.

CBS - The week started with a reasonably steady full slate on Sunday, featuring Amazing Race (11.22m/3.4), Three Rivers (7.78m/1.7), and Cold Case (9.3m/1.8). Then, there were a whole lot of repeats as the network took Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off. Of note among those was the Monday 9-10 comedy block winning the hour in the demo. Tuesday, NCIS (16.7m/3.3) was the most watched show of the night. And CSI: Miami and NY both won their hours outright.

New programming picked back up Thursday with Survivor (12.19m/3.7), CSI (15.24m/3.4), and The Mentalist (15.53m/3.6). That is of particular note, given that it’s the first time The Mentalist has beaten CSI in viewers and demo this season. Friday was down week-to-week, but the network still won all three hours with Ghost Whisperer (8.28m/2), Medium (7.69m/1.8), and Numb3rs (7.74m/1.8).

NBC – It was, for the most part, a fairly steady week. Sunday Night Football (14.98m/5.9) was off a bit facing baseball, but still a huge winner for the network. Heroes (5.72m/2.5) was right on pace with last week. Oddly enough, Trauma (5.78m/1.9) was actually up for the week in which it was canceled. The Biggest Loser (9.67m/3.7) continued to cruise on Tuesday. And NBC got an animation boost of their own as Monsters vs Aliens (6.24m/2.2) improved on the Mercy demo on Wednesday.

Law & Order SVU (8.24m/2.8) was down in viewers, despite the Criminal Minds repeat. I suppose we can chalk that up to baseball. Thursday, Community (5.32m/2.1) was the only show that was actually up week-to-week. Parks & Recreation (4.8m/2), The Office (8.21m/4.2), and 30 Rock (6.1m/3.1) were all down, but close enough to expected averages. Friday, Law & Order (7m/1.4) continued to struggle.

Leno didn’t have a good week. Before the premiere, one of the network’s talking points was that while the show will get beat by originals, wait until it airs against repeats. We’ve seen what that looks like, and it’s not good news for Jay. Not only is Leno still being beaten by repeats, the numbers are still dropping. This week, Leno against a repeat CSI:Miami finished below Leno against a new CSI:Miami last week. Friday also brought the lowest demo in the series.

Mon – 4.74m/1.3
Tue – 6.06m/1.8
Wed – 5.03m/1.5
Thu – 4.41m/1.5
Fri – 5.14m/1.2

CW - The little network had a very good week. They took Tuesday off, but the other four nights were all up over the previous week. One Tree Hill (2.67m/1.3) and Gossip Girl (2.31m/1.2) took advantage of the missing House and repeat comedies. Next Top Model (3.51m/1.6) actually faced much stiffer competition with World Series Game 1, but looks to have gained some of those displaced SYTYCD viewers. Vampire Diaries (4.18m/2) and Supernatural (2.92m/1.4) were at the highest levels we’ve seen since the premiere. Smallville (2.6m/1.2) wrapped the winning week on Friday.

CABLE – The shine has worn off The Jeff Dunham Show (2.33m/1) rather quickly, as week two had less than half the viewers of week one. The other notable bit from the cable world was the premiere of FX’s new comedy, The League (.99m/.6), which is much better than its ratings might lead you to believe.

From the previous Friday, 10/23, here are a few of the cable numbers:

• Stargate: Universe (2.02m/.8)
• Sanctuary (1.69m/.5)
• Monk (5.42m/1.5)
• White Collar (5.4m/1.4)
• Wizards of Waverly Place (4.39m/.8)

And from the week just completed:

• Mad Men (1.72m/.6)
• Dexter (1.68m/.8)
• Greek (.77m/.4)
• Sons Of Anarchy (3.39m/1.8)
• Nip/Tuck (2.2m/1.1)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.05m/.4)
• Californication (.77m/.4)
• Bored To Death (.65m/.3)
• South Park (2.57m/1.3)
• Secret Girlfriend (1.38m/.7)
• It’s Always Sunny (1.35m/.8)
• Top Chef (3.04m/1.7)
• Project Runway (3.24m/1.4)
• The Hills (2.05m/1.2)
• Dirty Jobs (2.31m/.9)
• Mythbusters (2.56m/1)
• Ghost Hunters (3.06m/1.4)

Related posts

• Ratings Clack – Should FOX switch Fringe and Lie To Me?
• Ratings Clack – V gets off to a great start
• Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc

I don’t want to say that this episode of Heroes was boring, because it wasn’t. For the most part I was entertained through the whole hour. With that being said, however, it seemed like the events of this episode were more of a “mean” than an “end.” I think that this installment was setting up and positioning characters for the rest of the season. Frankly, I’m more curious about where everything is headed than I was about anything that actually happened this week.

It seems like Sylar has finally taken control of Matt. We all saw this coming, didn’t we? I mean, Matt’s not the smartest character. It was only a matter of time before Sylar outsmarted him. I, for one, am happy with this turn of events. I think that Matt with Sylar in control is going to be a hell of a lot more interesting than Matt with Sylar taunting him in his brain. There was even a Mohinder shout-out, though the good doctor didn’t actually show up for this episode. With so many weeks without an appearance, I’m figuring that his return is going to have to be epic, or he’s just gone for good.

It was nice to see some genuine character growth and development in Tracy’s character this week. She seems to be destined to end up at the carnival. The Sullivan brothers’ outfit still seems to be very mysterious. I’m just not totally sure what Samuel is up to, or if he is up to anything specifically. Things do seem to be building to some sort of public outing of the heroes though, doesn’t it? Tracy was certainly thinking about it in this episode, whether or not Noah thought it was a feasible possibility, and Samuel seems like he might appreciate the same thing. That would be an interesting turn of events, and this show needs something big to happen.

It also looks like more and more people are finding out about Claire’s special ability. It’s going to be interesting to see if Becky just disappears now that Claire is on to her. I’ve really enjoyed Tessa Thompson in her brief appearances this season and hope that she doesn’t turn invisible permanently.

Moving forward it looks like all these characters are headed to the carnival. Sylar is going to be searching for his body, Claire is probably going to be searching for Becky, and Tracy seems to be searching for a purpose. I may not be loving this season, but I am curious to see how (and if) it is all going to come together.

Related posts

• Heroes – An actual twist of plot!
• Heroes – Samuel is Magneto
• Heroes – Things may be getting interesting

We do often get caught up in the big numbers from the big networks. It is, after all, hard to overlook the fact that NCIS is still growing its audience in the 7th season. There are still some very interesting stories happening on the little network, CW. When it was announced that Vampire Diaries would be paired with Supernatural, while Smallville was shuffled off to Friday, many people expected that was the end.

The show wouldn’t be able to come back from a year grinding away on Friday nights. After a few weeks looking at the numbers though, that’s not the case at all. Clark and the gang can celebrate good times, despite taking a hit from the move. In fact, this week Smallville topped new episodes of One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210, and Melrose Place. It’s far from done. Elsewhere, we had our first sizable crop of repeats this week, which brought some interesting results.

CW – With Smallville getting the lead, we’ll start with CW this week. The week got off to a slow start with One Tree Hill (2.21m/1) and Gossip Girl (1.98m/1.1) both down. Things picked up, if you can call it that, on Tuesday with 90210 (2.25m/1.1) remaining steady and Melrose Place (1.5m/.7) gaining in viewers. Next Top Model (2.99m/1.4) was steady as well. Vampire Diaries (2.27m/.9) and Supernatural (1.83m/.8) were repeats, but it is worth noting given that the Vampire Diaries repeat had more viewers than all of the Monday and Tuesday originals. Smallville (2.52m/1.1) closed out the week with the best performance for a scripted show on the network, and also managed to finish tied for third in the demo on the night.

ABC – It was something of an uneventful week for the network. Sunday’s performance was steady with Extreme Makeover (10.33m/3), Desperate Housewives (13.68m/4.6), and Brothers & Sisters (9.72m/3.2). Likewise, Monday finished very much like the previous week with Dancing With The Stars (16.82m/3.6) and Castle (9.69m/2.4). It is worth noting that the Castle numbers have been good enough that the network has picked up the back 9.

Things started to change on Tuesday, as Shark Tank (5.92m/1.8) and DWTS Results (14.92m/3.4) both saw gains. Unfortunately, that didn’t do anything for The Forgotten (7.3m/1.9), which slipped to the lowest numbers of the season. Those 10PM struggles were repeated on Wednesday, with Eastwick (4.78m/1.6) also finding new lows. That came on the heels of a night of comedy that was down across the board with Hank (5.78m/1.5), The Middle (6.53m/2), Modern Family (8.66m/3.4), and Cougar Town (7.31m/3.1). Things really don’t look good for Hank.

There were more changes on Thursday, although they really weren’t that surprising. FlashForward (9.87m/3.1) gained in viewers while holding steady in the demo. Grey’s Anatomy (15.06m/5.3), on the other hand, posted big week-to-week gains. Of course, that was against a repeat CSI. Surprisingly though, it didn’t translate into gains for Private Practice (9.93m/3.7). The show was down without the crossover element, despite facing a repeat Mentalist. Friday, Supernanny (4.7m/1.1) returned above the year ago premiere, and Ugly Betty (4.55m/1.2) limped to a third place finish in the hour.

CBS - The week started off with shenanigans as the football overrun bumped Cold Case for the night. Amazing Race (10.92m/3.3) and Three Rivers (7.38m/1.9) didn’t see any benefit from that. Monday was mostly par for the course, with one notable exception. Accidentally On Purpose (8.25m/3.3) actually beat How I Met Your Mother (8.07m/3.4) in viewers. Did anyone see that coming? Later, the duo of 2 ½ Men (14.07m/4.8) and Big Bang Theory (13.47m/5.3) continued to dominate the 9PM hour. CSI: Miami (13.16m/3.9) finished the night on a winning note.

Tuesday was up across the board, on the back of NCIS (21.25m/4.7) continuing to impress. That led to good things for NCIS:LA (16.48m/3.9) and The Good Wife (13.26m/2.8). Wednesday remained steady. Old Christine (6.58m/2) and Gary Unmarried (6.76m/2.2) seem to have fought off the ABC comedies, while Criminal Minds (14.27m/3.8) and CSI:NY (13m/3) easily win their hours. Survivor (12.9m/4) was the lone new entry on Thursday, but it is worth noting that The Mentalist (11.79m/2.8) beat CSI (10.14m/2.2) in repeats. Friday was again an easy victory for Ghost Whisperer (8.46m/2.1), Medium (8.43m/2.2), and Numb3rs (8.05m/1.8).

NBC - Overall, it was actually a good week for NBC, relatively speaking. Sunday Night Football (18.17m/7.2) continues to be huge. And Heroes (5.72m/2.5) was actually up. With Mercy (7.18m/1.9)  getting a full season, things don’t look good for Trauma (5.46m/1.8). Tuesday, The Biggest Loser (9.82m/3.9) was also up. There were more gains to be had on Wednesday, as L&O: SVU (9.15m/2.8) continued to grow. There is still the very real possibility that it could compete with Criminal Minds in the demo by the end of the season.

Thursday continues to be a mixed bag. Technically, Community (5.04m/1.9) and Parks & Recreation (4.93m/2.1) had the 8PM hour up over last week. But really, if Kath & Kim are looking down at your numbers, that’s really bad. The Office (8.73m/4.4) and 30 Rock (6.84m/3.3) took advantage of the CSI vacation. Friday, Law & Order (7.17m/1.5) continued to struggle, while Dateline (7.91m/1.8) continued to make the case for canceling Southland.

Leno… didn’t have a good week.The numbers continue to shrink, slowly. Two nights below five million, and two below 1.5 in the demo. Most troubling might be the fact that despite nice gains from The Office and 30 Rock on Thursday, and facing a repeat Mentalist, Leno was actually down.

Mon – 4.74m/1.4
Tue – 5.46m/1.8
Wed – 5.14m/1.5
Thu – 4.97m/1.6
Fri – 6.15m/1.4

FOX - The week started off with one of the most interesting repeats of the week. An old Family Guy (8.13m/4.2) was stuffed in with new episodes from The Simpsons (8.69m/4.1), Cleveland (7.62m/3.8), American Dad (6.25m/3.1) but still managed to be the highest rated. Monday, being pushed back by baseball didn’t do any favors for House (11.65m/4.4) and Lie To Me (7.79m/2.9). The news was better from baseball (10.3m/3.4) on Tuesday. Wednesday, So You Think You Can Dance (6.91m/2.6) and Glee (7.15m/3.3) were steady. I’m curious to see what happens as SYTYCD gets into the competition.

Baseball (11.85m/3.7) returned Thursday, offering a boost to the usual numbers. Friday was more of the same. The only semi-surprise was that  Til Death (1.97m/.7) managed to fall below 2 million viewers. Yikes. It’s pretty bad when you lose viewers from Brothers (2.35m/.8). Dollhouse (2.15m/.8) slipped again, marking its second worse performance ever.

Cable – Ryan asked for numbers from Stargate: Universe and Sanctuary last week. I don’t usually include them because unless Syfy sees fit to issue a press release over the weekend, the post is up before they come out. So, the next best thing is week old numbers. For the 10/16 broadcasts the numbers were Stargate: Universe (2.1m/.9) and Sanctuary (1.77m/.6). That same night, USA had Monk (3.98m/1) and Psych (3.68m/1.2). The interesting premiere this week was The Jeff Dunham Show (5.34m/2.2). That’s impressive, given the overwhelming hatred of the show from critics. It’s also worth noting that Sons Of Anarchy (3.7m/2) beat both Leno and The Forgotten in the demo. Other interesting cable numbers for the past week:

• Monday Night Football (13.47m/5.5)
• Hannah Montana (5.72m/1)
• Mad Men (1.61m/.5)
• Dexter (1.51m/.7)
• Californication (.77m/.3)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.08m/.5)
• Bored To Death (.66m/.3)
• Project Runway (3.02m/1.3)
• Real Housewives Of Atlanta (2.97m/1.6)
• It’s Always Sunny (1.52m/.9)
• Lincoln Heights (.92m/.2)
• Greek (.68m/.3)
• The Hills (1.83m/1.1)
• Dirty Jobs (1.86m/.9)
• Mythbusters (2.28m/1)
• Top Chef (2.86m/1.5)
• South Park (2.58m/1.4)
• Secret Girlfriend (1.29m/.6)
• Nip/Tuck (2.23m/1.2)
• Ghost Hunters (3.07m/1.4)

Related posts

• Ratings Clack – V gets off to a great start
• Ratings Clack – Where is FlashForward headed?
• Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc

Well, after a bit of excitement last week, this week’s episode of Heroes came back down to a more familiar pace. I was probably a little too optimistic thinking that the momentum would carry through. With that being said, though, this episode was not a complete stinker. I don’t know if the quality is getting better on the show or if my expectations have just been readjusted.

I was happy to get a little perspective on Samuel Sullivan’s motivations this week, and when we did, it made me think of another superhero franchise: The X-men. It seems to me that Samuel bares a striking similarity to Magneto.

When Samuel was talking to Nathan/Sylar about joining his “family,” I couldn’t help but think of Magneto. One thing that I always appreciated about The X-men, and Magneto in particular, is that he wasn’t some crazy supervillain that just wanted to take over the world. Instead, he had a fairly believable motivation and a real agenda. Sure, it was a slightly bent pro-mutant agenda, but it was better than “kill Batman!” Here is where I saw the similarity with Samuel’s character. Samuel seemingly wants the carnival to be a place for people with powers to feel safe and protected (and also kill those who may disagree). Heck, even their superpowers are slightly similar.

Now I’m sure Samuel probably has other motivations, and judging from the seriously cultish aspects of the carnival, I’m a little dubious of them. I am, however, curious about how the carnival is going to get tied in with the rest of the characters, including the compelling new Emma. Right now there is practically nothing tying everything together, and, frankly, that’s part of the problem. A little hint about how these things are going to connect would go a long way into helping me buy into the season. Right now, the season still feels pretty aimless.

What do you think of the carnival? Are you intrigued with them, or just bored? And admit it, you’re really starting to miss Mohinder, aren’t you?

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• Heroes – Mohinder!!!
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• Heroes – An actual twist of plot!

FlashForward is one of the more interesting shows of the new season where ratings are concerned. On the one hand, so far it has been a huge upgrade for the 8-9 spot on ABC. And while it has been surpassed by Survivor, it does continue to hold off Bones in the demo. On the other hand, the ratings don’t seem to be settled yet, which makes each week a new adventure. This week, the yo-yo headed back up. What will next week bring? One can only guess. I continue to think that it will eventually be passed up by the fiercely loyal Bones audience at some point, finding its place as the number 3 show in the hour. Elsewhere this week, there was good news for Dancing With The Stars, NCIS, Law & Order, So You Think You Can Dance, and Smallville. The news wasn’t so good for Hank, Parks & Recreation, Three Rivers, or Melrose Place.

ABC - Overall, it was a very good week for the network. Sunday was off a bit week-to-week with Extreme Makeover (9.81m/3), Desperate Housewives (13.42m/3.6), and Brothers & Sisters (8.97m/3), but those are still solid numbers. And there were plenty of gains through the rest of the week. Monday, Dancing With The Stars (16.79m/3.6) and Castle (9.77m/2.3) were both up. Tuesday was also up for the night with Shark Tank (5.24m/1.6), DWTS (13.96m/2.9) and The Forgotten (7.43m/2.1). The Forgotten was down in viewers, but up in demo. Wednesday was a bit of a mixed bag with Modern Family (9.35m/3.6) and Cougar Town (7.99m/3.3) both up, while Hank (6.15m/1.6), The Middle (6.77m/2.1), and Eastwick (5.08m/1.7) were all down.

In a bit of oddness, Thursday found FlashForward (9.07m/3.1) and Private Practice (10.36m/3.8) both posting gains while Grey’s Anatomy (13.79m/5) took a bit of a dip. Still, that’s a dip that still left it #1 in the demo for the night. Friday was also up with the premiere of Ugly Betty (5.01m/1.3 – 5.18m/1.3). Of course, that’s well off last season’s Ugly Betty numbers, and up over repeats. I’ve no idea what ABC is expecting from Ugly Betty on the night, but the increased competition should be worrisome for FOX.

CBS - The Tiffany network also had a good week, starting with The Amazing Race (10.52m/3.2). Unfortunately, Phil’s gains didn’t do much for Three Rivers (7.33m/1.7) and Cold Case (7.87m/1.9). Both of those should be considered on the bubble at this point. That was just a temporary setback though, as business picked back up Monday. How I Met Your Mother (8.56m/3.6), Accidentally On Purpose (7.73m/3), 2 ½ Men (14.17m/4.8), and Big Bang Theory (13.07m/5) all bounced back from an off week, gaining in viewers and demo. CSI: Miami (13.27m/4) was off just a bit in viewers, but also up in viewers. That 8-9 hour of comedy continues to be interesting. In moving Big Bang to 9:30, the 8-9 hour is down 1.1 million viewers and 4 tenths in the demo versus last year (Big Bang 9.36m/3.6, HIMYM 9.14m/3.8). Although, to be fair, the 9-10 hour is up 1.4 million viewers and .6 in the demo (2 ½ Men 14.57m/5.3, Worst Week 9.78m/3.3).

Moving on, NCIS (21.04m/4.5) continues to roll. Despite that being up, NCIS:LA (15.38m/3.5) and The Good Wife (12.98m/2.8) were both off week-to-week. The good news though is that they both remain up over last year (Mentalist 14.86m/3.4, Without A Trace 10.99m/2.6). Wednesday also saw gains with Old Christine (6.99m/2.1), Gary Unmarried (6.91m/2.3), and CSI: NY (13.4m/3.2) up in both measurements. Criminal Minds (13.92m/3.8) was off slightly in viewers, but also gained demo.

Thursday saw week-to-week gains across the board with Survivor (11.78m/3.5), CSI (15.38m/3.6), and The Mentalist (15.08m/3.5). It’s interesting to note that The Mentalist is so close to becoming the #1 show for the network on the night. Friday, as usual, was an easy win with Ghost Whisperer (8.21m/2), Medium (8.04m/1.9), and Numb3rs (7.77m/1.8) all holding up well against baseball.

FOX - A bit of a mixed bag of results in a week that was still very good. The Sunday toons, The Simpsons (7.6m/3.7), Cleveland Show (7.87m/3.9), Family Guy (8.97m/4.6), and American Dad (6.75m/3.5) were all down, but still very strong. It’s worth noting that Cleveland is building on the Simpsons audience. Monday was also down, with House (13.49m/5.2) and Lie To Me (7.87m/2.8). Not a worry for House, the #1 demo of the night, but Lie To Me should be better. Tuesday was a great result as Hell’s Kitchen (8.04m/3.8) continues to hold up amazingly well.

The really interesting bit of the week came on Wednesday. So You Think You Can Dance (7.21m/2.8) continues to grow now that the weeks (and weeks) of auditions are over. It’s now #1 in the demo for the hour. That led to a slight boost for Glee (7.65m/3.4) as well. Thursday was more of the same, with Bones (9.59m/2.8) on par, and Fringe (5.78m/2.2) continuing to struggle in the 9PM meat grinder. Friday was way up over the usual schedule with baseball. Sports are iffy for numbers, but the early results say something in the neighborhood of 7.54 million viewers and a 2.4 for the night.

NBC - How NBC did this week really depends on your glass. Is it half full, or half empty?  For example, the entire Monday lineup was up in viewers and demo. But then, when you come up to numbers like Heroes (5.55m/2.4), Trauma (5.49m/1.8), and Leno (5.09m/1.6), it’s hard to really celebrate. There were similar results for Mercy (7.37m/1.9), which was up in the demo. As well as Community (5.01m/2) which gained in both over last week. The only really bad news probably comes from Parks & Recreation (4.53m/2). To give an idea of how bad that is, last year at this time Kath & Kim knocked down 6.01 million viewers and a 2.5.

There was good news to be had. As usual, Sunday Night Football (16.02m/6.2) remains a power. The Biggest Loser (9.14m/3.5) was also rather steady. The Office (8.03m/4.1) was down from the big wedding episode, but remains the best rated scripted program on the network. 30 Rock (6.39m/3), given the demo, also had a successful debut. There was also some good news on the Law & Order front. Both SVU (8.77m/2.6) and L&O (7.6m/1.6) remain down year-to-year, but they are also both gaining. That’s a trend worth watching. It could be that as people tire of the new programming, they’ll return to the old standbys.

Leno, overall, had a rough week that ended with his worst showing yet on Friday. The only victory for Leno came on Wednesday, as the show was #2, edging out Eastwick. The numbers:

Monday (5.09m/1.6)
Tuesday (5.77m/1.8)
Wednesday (6.15m/1.8)
Thursday (5.37m/1.8)
Friday (4.97m/1.2)

CW - Count the littlest network as also having a good week. One Tree Hill (2.55m/1.2), Gossip Girl (2.36m/1.2), Vampire Diaries (3.88m/1.8), Supernatural (2.58m/1.2), and Smallville (2.62m/1.1) were all up over last week. 90210 (2.25m/1.1) was off a tenth in demo, but gained viewers. Next Top Model (3m/1.4) was off over the previous week, but remains the #2 show on the network. The only really bad news continues to be Melrose Place (1.38m/.7) which has now fallen well off the pace of Privileged last season.

CABLE - The most intriguing number for me on cable this week was Nip/Tuck (2.92m/1.4). That’s not a bad number, but it’s more interesting in showing just how successful FX is with Sons Of Anarchy (3.31m/1.8). It looks like SAMCRO will be around for awhile. Let’s just hope the writer’s get this whole Oz fascination out of their system sooner, rather than later. Some other cable numbers of note:

• Mad Men (1.53m/.6)
• Army Wives (3.93m/1.3)
• Monday Night Football (13.14m/5.4)
• Top Chef (2.67m/1.4)
• South Park (2.56m/1.3)
• Secret Girlfriend (1.25m/.6)
• It’s Always Sunny (1.61m/1)
• Project Runway (2.97m/1.3)
• Mythbusters (2.69m/1.2)
• The Hills (1.72m/1)
• Ghost Hunters (2.91m/1.3)
• Real Housewives of Atlanta (2.64m/1.4)
• Greek (.66m/.3)

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• Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc
• Ratings Clack – Is Dollhouse about to get pulled?
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The new fall season has taken me by surprise with a number of additions to the old TiVo season pass list. That on top of my shows that made it past the grim reaper last season, times cable series that tend to be good more often than network offerings … as a result, there are a couple of series that are stacking up on my DVR. Fast.

I’m not surprised that my wife and I have yet to check out this season of Grey’s Anatomy (the wrong one lived over the hiatus!), but Castle? Still haven’t seen the premiere. Law & Order SVU? It was once one of my favorite “me” shows, but now what with having to record it on Saturday nights, plus not being able to watch it around my son … I’m two back with a third coming this weekend.

Criminal Minds? Haven’t seen it since the premiere. Psych? Stacked up. Now I can tell you right now that most of these are just a case of too little time, and nothing will tear me away from them — plus I’m living in a fantasy that says that the Winter Olympics will give me a break from new programming to allow me the time to catch up … because that happens.

But what of Grey’s and SVU, for example? I have reason to be shying away from them both — the former both bored and annoyed me last season, and the latter is a teeny bit too gruesome — so could it just be worth it to scrap them? Don’t we owe it to ourselves to just stick to top-shelf programs during our limited relaxation hours?

My wife is struggling with this very issue, too. Heroes has long been a series that she, like everyone, has complained about. So now we have three episodes — four hours! — of it clogging up our TiVo percent availability. She’s already said to me more than a dozen times: “I’m just going to forget about Heroes” … but it’s still there! Shouldn’t she just let go? What are we holding on to?

How about you? I’m sure there must be plenty of you with episodes backing up, nothing causing you to pause on a show’s grouped listing as you scroll through your DVR’s To Do list searching for something to watch — or for you old-timers, nothing pushing you to pop in that VHS tape full of episodes. Is it time to move on? Is there really something that we’re clinging to by saving them (unless you are consciously doing so)?

So, what do we do? Go with what our minds have clearly been telling us thus far, or with the sentimentality in our hearts? Hit delete, or have a Grey’s Anatomy marathon? Man … how appealing does that sound?

What have you been skipping? What are you doing about it?

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I’ve been a bit hard on Heroes this season, and I don’t think I’m alone, but tonight I saw a little bit of hope. I was genuinely caught by surprise at the end of this episode. That’s not to say that I enjoyed every bit of this episode, but I have to give the writers a little bit of credit for crafting this little twist, which clearly had been in the works since this year’s premiere.

If you caught the big preview at the end of the premiere, you saw the scene with Samuel asking a young woman about Claire and her status, implying that someone at college was spying on Claire. I, like many, inferred that this would be the ultra-creepy and stalkerish Gretchen, as it seemed to be a natural fit. Boy, was I wrong.

It turned out that the young woman who was working for the Sullivan Brothers was Becky, the sorority girl, as delightfully played by Veronica Mars vet Tessa Thompson. I thought it was pretty clever that Becky had been toying with Claire since the beginning of the season, killing her roommate, spying on her, and leading her to Gretchen’s suspicious browser history. You can do lots of fun things when you’re invisible.

What did this mean for creepy Gretchen? Oh, it meant that she really was a stalker, professing her love for Claire and smacking her on the lips. It came off as a cheap stunt. The only problem, though, is that two women kissing was a cheap stunt about ten years ago. Now, it’s barely worth mentioning. In any case, I am curious as to where these revelations will lead. Is Claire going to explore a relationship with Gretchen? I doubt it. Will Becky continue to keep an eye on Claire? I’m guessing that she will.

It also appears that things might be picking up some momentum with Samuel’s storyline. At the end of the episode it appeared like the circus had found the next member of their family. With Sylar/Nathan on the run, lost, confused, and quite powerful he’s the perfect subject to be manipulated by a shady group of carnies, right?

What did you think of this episode? Are you encouraged? Did you suspect Becky? Surprised that we still haven’t seen Mohinder?

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• Heroes – Things are starting to align
• Heroes – Samuel is Magneto
• Heroes – Things may be getting interesting

It was a strange week for ratings. Brett Favre playing against Green Bay made for a huge Monday Night Football (21.84m/9) audience on ESPN. And then the baseball playoffs ran through the rest of the week, calling a lot of the seemingly odd drops in viewers into question. Despite that increased competition, there was some good news to be had. The Biggest Loser, Bones, The Office, Lie To Me, Castle, and The Simpsons all managed to make gains week-to-week. Dollhouse also got in the game, stopping a four episode streak of series lows. On the other side, it’s starting to look like ER took all of it’s viewers with it when it left. The premiere numbers for Three Rivers were not good, and NBC’s dueling medical dramas continue to struggle.

FOX - Animation Domination got the week off to a great start, with The Simpsons (9.38m/4.4), Cleveland (8.86m/4.4), Family Guy (9.86m/5.1), and American Dad (7.14m/3.6). Food for thought: In the demo, that makes Family Guy the #1 comedy of the week. On Monday, House (13.74m/5.4) looks to have taken a hit from football. The good news though, is that Lie To Me (8.06m/3.1) was up, despite the drop from House.

Tuesday and Wednesday were fairly steady with Hell’s Kitchen (7.43m/3.3), So You Think You Can Dance Tuesday (5.47m/2.5), SYTYCD Wednesday (6.22m/2.5), and Glee (7.28m/3.3). Thursday was another example of just how solid the Bones (10.29m/2.9) audience is. No matter the night, or the competition, it gets its numbers. And it is getting very close to passing up FlashForward in the demo as well. Unfortunately, Bones being up, and the appearance of Nimoy, didn’t help Fringe (5.83m/2.1). For now, let’s blame a special episode of The Office and see what happens next week.

Friday brought very similar results, with Brothers (2.35m/.8), Til Death (2.36m/.8), and Dollhouse (2.25m/1). If your glass is half full, those Dollhouse numbers are a win, because the streak of series lows that stretches back four episodes to last season was ended. If your glass is half empty … it was still the second lowest rated episode the series has had.

CBS - The Amazing Race (9.8m/2.8) was down to start the week, which didn’t offer much help to Three Rivers (8.97m/1.9). That’s really not good for the premiere. Cold Case (10.05m/2.2) was steady, if not impressive. Monday was down across the board with How I Met Your Mother (8.08m/3.4), Accidentally On Purpose (7.16m/2.8), 2 ½ Men (13.3m/4.4), Big Bang Theory (12.52m/4.7), and CSI: Miami (13.43m/3.9). I’m willing to chalk that up to football, but the AOP demo is something to keep an eye on.

Tuesday’s lineup, NCIS (20.7m/4.3), NCIS:LA (16.31m/3.6), and The Good Wife (13.69m/2.9) was also down every hour, but still far and away #1 for the night. There were gains on Wednesday as Old Christine (6.86m/1.9) and Gary Unmarried (6.84m/2.2) were both up. Criminal Minds (14.05m/3.6) and CSI:NY (12.43m/2.9) were both down slightly, but Criminal Minds did take back the number one spot in the demo from ABC.

Thursday was another night of decreases, with Survivor (11.69m/3.4), CSI (14.89m/3.5), and The Mentalist (14.7m/3.3) all down. On the plus side, all were the most watched programs in their slots. Friday was again a cake walk, with Ghost Whisperer (8.6m/2.1) and Medium 8.3m/1.9) up week-to-week. Numb3rs (7.13m/1.6) was slightly down in viewers, but did win the hour.

NBC – As always, Sunday Night Football (18.42m/7.4) is solid. The Biggest Loser (9.25m/3.7) also did well, gaining week-to-week and winning the 9PM hour in the demo. More good news came from the big wedding episode of The Office (9.42m/4.8). That is higher in viewers and demo than every episode from last season. Elsewhere, it was a very NBC week.

Heroes (5.46m/2.4) continues to explore new lows. And that isn’t helping Trauma (5.37m/2.7). Mercy (7.43m/1.8) is doing slightly better, but that’s still not what you would call a real success, given the weak Wednesday competition. Community (4.87m/1.9) made the big move to 8, and managed less viewers than SNL Thursday. It did, at least, provide a boost for Parks & Recreation (4.75m/2.1). Things were slightly brighter for L&O SVU (8.29m/2.6) and Law & Order (7.23m/1.5), but both are not even close to doing what they once did.

Leno? He had a tough week. The numbers continue to slowly grind down to a level, with this week finding two nights dropping below 5 million viewers. Tuesday remains his most successful night.  The only nights where he isn’t last in both measures are Tuesday (2nd in demo) and Wednesday (2nd in viewers).

Monday (4.45m/1.5)
Tuesday (6.22m/2.1)
Wednesday (5.72m/1.7)
Thursday (4.84m/1.7)
Friday (5.33m/1.4)

ABC – Things got off to a nice start Sunday as Extreme Makeover (11.63m/3.4), Desperate Housewives (14.64m/5), and Brothers & Sisters (9.46m/3.2) were all up. A return to the 5s in the demo is very encouraging for Desperate Housewives.  With Monday, the network started suffering many of the same drops the other networks saw. Dancing With The Stars (16.35m/3.5) was down, but still strong. On the plus side, despite that drop, Castle (9.23m/2.2) was up just a bit.

DWTS (12.42m/2.6) was down on Tuesday as well, while Shark Tank (5.15m/1.5) and The Forgotten (7.55m/1.9) both saw small viewer gains. Wednesday was one of those very curious nights, with Hank (6.45m/1.6), The Middle (6.79m/2.1), Modern Family (8.82m/3.4), Cougar Town (7.84m/3.2), and Eastwick (5.14m/1.8) all suffering large losses. We’ll have to wait for next week to see how much of that sticks. The best news there is probably for Castle, which is now well above The Forgotten and Eastwick.

Thursday remains a strong night for the network with FlashForward (9m/3), Grey’s Anatomy (14.13m/5.4), and Private Practice (9.5m/3.6). Those numbers still have FlashForward ahead of where Ugly Betty was last season, but it has now fallen to third in viewers and second in the demo. It will be interesting to see where it plateaus. Private Practice is notable because it remains ahead of The Mentalist in the demo, which is an unexpected win.

CW - One Tree Hill (2.13m/1.1), Gossip Girl (2.08m/1.1), and 90210 (2.09m/1.2) were all down in viewers this week, with 90210 gaining a tenth in demo. Melrose Place (1.6m/.9), on the other hand, was up in both measures. I believe the gains come from starting the episode with Katie Cassidy in her underthings, and look forward to the network taking that into account as they film new episodes.

With Next Top Model (3.15m/1.5), Wednesday was down just a touch in viewers, and up a whole bunch in WTF? Seriously, why is there a repeat of Melrose following the number two show on the network? The spot is open, and Smallville would obviously do better Wednesday at 9. Thursday, Vampire Diaries (3.52m/1.7) continues to lead the network, and Supernatural (2.47m/1.2) had a small drop in viewers. Friday, Smallville (2.3m/1) was down year to year, but still managed more viewers than OTH, GG, 90210, and MP.

Cable - Monday Night Football (21.84m/9) took full advantage of all of the Favre craziness, topping everything on the broadcast networks for the week in viewers and demo. Other highlights this week included the Entourage finale (2.49m/1.5), Sons Of Anarchy (3.67m/2), and Project Runway (3.22m/1.5). Also of note, the Seinfeld reunion was able to add an extra half million viewers to Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.56m/.7). In really crazy drop numbers, remember that Jon & Kate premiere with 10 million viewers? All of their shenanigans have resulted in the latest episode managing just 1.71 million. Some other cable numbers to peruse:

• Army Wives (3.33m/1.1)
• Drop Dead Diva (2.79m/.9)
• Dexter (1.37m/.6)
• Californication (.77m/.4)
• South Park (2.67m/1.3)
• Secret Girlfriend (1.55m/.8)
• WWE RAW (4.71m/1.6)
• The Ultimate Fighter (2.76m/1.6)
• It’s Always Sunny (1.51m/.9)
• Mad Men (1.91m/.7)
• Bored To Death (1.08m/.5)
• The Hills (2.3m/1.4)
• The City (1.61m/.9)
• Lincoln Heights (.75m/.2)
• Greek (.72m/.3)
• Top Chef (2.76m/1.5)
• Mythbusters (1.89m/.9)
• Ghost Hunters (2.74m/1.3)
• Destination Truth (2.04m/1)
• Sherri (.44m/.1)
• Rita Rocks (.28m/.1)

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• Ratings Clack – Is Dollhouse about to get pulled?
• Ratings Clack – Should FOX switch Fringe and Lie To Me?
• Ratings Clack – V gets off to a great start

The attendance for these chats have been hit or miss, so we’d like to get some feedback from you, the readers, as to what shows you’d like to see us post chats for. We can’t promise anything, but it helps us figure out where to concentrate our energies.

Here’s a list of some of the more popular shows on TV this fall and those we’d be able to cover, if there was interest. Vote on those you would most likely attend, not those you’d just like us to post. Also, let us know in the comments if there’s a show we’re missing or anything else you have to add about the chats. Your feedback is much appreciated!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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• Heroes – So… about that bomb (Live-blog/chat)

After this week’s episode of Heroes, I started thinking about the first season, reminiscing about how good it was. One of the things that struck me was that in season one there was direction. There were goals (”save the cheerleader, save the world”), there were definite, clear cut villains (Sylar), and there was promise of interesting things to come (dark Hiro).

In fact, one of my favorite episodes from season one was “Five Years Gone” when Hiro and Ando traveled into the future where the exploding man had gone off, destroying New York City. It featured a dark vision of the future, with lots of the familiar characters in unfamiliar situations.

Now, about two years later, I’m wondering if the future that we caught a glimpse of in that episode would be a whole lot more entertaining to watch than the past couple seasons of Heroes.

The more I think of it, the more upset I am that all the heroes saved the day at the end of the first season. It would have been a really bold artistic choice to let the destruction of New York occur, and I think it would have allowed the characters to evolve and become a lot more interesting. I would like to think that Hiro would be doing something a little more compelling than using his powers to stop a coworker from photocopying his ass. Who knows, maybe he would even be fighting crime, kicking some butt with his big sword.

I could get behind a show with an angry, overpowered Peter, a scheming Sylar, a shady government, and general mayhem. Think back to that great episode. Even Nikki was interesting. Nikki! How great would it be if we got to watch Noah running around bagging and tagging supers, Mohinder working with Nathan/Sylar in the white house, trying to find a cure for the superpowers, or Matt actually doing something with his life?

Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be. The makers of Heroes chose a … different path. What do you think, would Heroes be a better show today if the bomb had blown in season one?

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• Heroes – A little direction would be nice

It’s clear that Heroes is trying to address some of the criticisms of the past few seasons. The most obvious is that only a handful of characters are appearing in each episode, with others sitting them out so that the focus isn’t spread quite as thin as usual. That, however, leads to another problem: momentum. There were some interesting things going on last week, namely the introduction of a new character, Emma, and some movement with the mysterious Samuel. Instead of building on that momentum, however, both those characters were pretty much absent this week.

I hate to pick on the show for trying to improve, I really do, but I just don’t think this change is working like they hoped it would.

Anyway, onto the events of this week’s installment.

Let’s talk about the last five minutes, because aside from that, I don’t have much positive to say about this episode. It looks like Sylar is back, or at the very least his body is. In fact, looking at the previews, it appears that Nathan’s confused and fuzzy persona is still trapped inside Sylar’s body, while Sylar’s mind is still torturing Matt. I’m very hopeful that this turn of plot is going to make for some interesting television.

I did enjoy the performance of Swoosie Kurtz in this episode, especially in the final scene when it became clear that she put a hit out on Nathan. It’s probably asking for a little too much to want her character to stick around for a bit and give Angela a run for her money. They certainly didn’t set up the character to continue into more episodes, but she seemed to be as cold and conniving as the Patrelli matriarch. It appears that her story was wrapped up.

What I would really like to see, though, is a sense of urgency. The show has never moved at a blistering pace, but I had hopes that this season would be a little different after so much criticism last year. With four hours passed, however, I have to believe that some bigger things are in store for us. Call me overly optimistic, but I need to believe that right now. This show has too much potential to completely degrade into episodes filled with Hiro saving cats and traveling back in time to prevent coworkers from Xeroxing their butts.

Are you losing patience with Heroes? Have you bid it adieu already? How long do you think we can go without seeing Mohinder?

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Week two of the full-tilt-boogie season brought with it some interesting things, including premieres for Animation Domination, The Amazing Race, Trauma, Hank, and The Middle. We also saw more huge numbers from House, NCIS, and Grey’s. But after all of that, the most interesting story again comes from the show with the worst ratings on all of the big four networks, Dollhouse. After season two premiered to a series low last week, things got even worse. Episode two just barely cleared the 2 million viewer bar, while falling below a 1 in the demo. Reached for comment, my BFF Jill said, “OMG! RLY!?”

Yes, really. The situation is dire. Even the hardcore Whedonites are now at DEFCON 1. Someone has got word that the show could be in danger of being pulled from the air. I don’t know anything more than they do about that, but I would expect it to get one more shot this Friday, before baseball takes over. If episode three doesn’t show some sort of improvement though, I wouldn’t be surprised if baseball makes way for a series of House and Bones repeats on Fridays at 9.

FOX - Since Dollhouse (2.09m/.8) led things off, let’s start there. That is absolutely terrible. To put it in perspective, 6 of the 7 new hours on the CW last week beat it in viewers and the demo. And the 7th, Melrose Place, still managed to tie it in the demo. It also again fell short of its Friday partners, Brothers (2.42m/.8) and ‘Til Death (2.29m/.8). Fortunately for FOX, while the end of the week was a disaster, the beginning was the complete opposite.

Things got off to a great start with the premiere of Animation Domination. The Simpsons (8.31m/4.3) was off just a touch from last season’s premiere, but The Cleveland Show (9.51m/4.9), Family Guy (10.11m/5.2), and American Dad (7.14m/3.6) all brought year-to-year increases to their spots. The good news continued Monday, with House (14.71m/5.8). That is more than 2 demo points above second place Dancing With The Stars. From there, things were more mixed.

Lie To Me (7.73m/2.9) was a solid third in viewers and demo, but those numbers are all too close to where it was while airing at 8 last season. I expected more of a boost, given the post-House slot. Wednesday and Thursday were a mixed bag, with Hell’s Kitchen (6.64m/3.1), So You Think You Can Dance (5.18m/2.4 – 6.81m/2.7), and Glee (7.4m/3.3). Hell’s Kitchen and Glee are solid, but SYTYCD could be doing better. I’m curious to see what happens when the all too-long audition episodes end. Finally, Thursday was a repeat of last week with Bones (9.43m/2.7) holding strong, and Fringe (6.03m/2.3) getting crushed by the heavyweight Thursday competition.

CBS - The Dollhouse kerfuffle trumped NCIS (21.37m/4.8) for my before-the-jump spot, but just barely. Surprising just about everyone, NCIS not only held on to all of the demo from the premiere, but also increased in viewers. That led to a great Tuesday. Combined with NCIS: LA (17.39m/4.1) and The Good Wife (13.69m/3.2), the network was up in viewers and demo in every hour year-to-year. Earlier in the week, The Amazing Race (10.4m/3.4) returned to solid numbers on Sunday, followed by Cold Case (9.19m/2.1).

Monday was also a big success, overall. How I Met Your Mother (8.71m/3.6), 2 ½ Men (13.86m/4.8), Big Bang Theory (13.27m/5.3), and CSI: Miami (13.96m/4.1) all did great. We’re getting very close to Big Bang taking over as the outright #1 comedy on television. The only real misstep was Accidentally On Purpose (8.03m/3.1). That’s not bad, but it does stand out compared to the rest of the night.

The rest of the week proceeded as expected. Old Christine (6.65m/1.9) and Gary Unmarried (6.65m/2.2) remain the weak spot in the lineup, while Criminal Minds (14.24m/3.8) and CSI: NY (13.16m/3.3) own the rest of Wednesday. CSI (15.94m/4.1) narrowly edged Grey’s in viewers, but is now getting hammered in the demo. The other two hours on Thursday have much more intriguing battles shaping up. Survivor (11.54m/3.7) and FlashForward are very close, and that one could go either way each week. And at 10, The Mentalist (15.75m/3.8) couldn’t match the Private Practice premiere demo, but the two should be very interesting to watch going forward. Finally, it was another easy win on Friday; despite everything being down, the perfect combination of Ghost Whisperer (7.63m/1.7), Medium (7.72m/1.8), and Numb3rs (7.73m/1.6) won every hour.

ABC - Things were a little less exciting on ABC. There was some good news. Grey’s Anatomy (15.69m/6.1) remains huge, and led to a great premiere for Private Practice (11.58m/4.6). Desperate Housewives (13.64m/4.7), while down, is still a legitimate hit. And Brothers & Sisters (9.38m/3) is solid following it. The network also has to be excited about the week two performances of Modern Family (9.99m/3.8), Cougar Town (9.25m/3.8), and FlashForward (10.73m/3.7). All three held up very well and look to have greatly improved their places on the schedule.

Things weren’t quite as good elsewhere. Dancing With The Stars (17.03m/3.7 – 13.02m/2.7) is still a viewer machine on performance night, but it was more than two full demo points behind House. The results show has now fallen to second in viewers and third in the demo. The show is still strong, but not nearly what it once was. Elsewhere, Castle (9.15m/2.2) remains rather soft, although comparisons with The Forgotten (7.45m/2), and Eastwick (6.57m/2.3) may help it. Finishing the week, Hank (8.33m/2.1) and The Middle (8.71m/2.6) had disappointing numbers, considering they were premieres in a fairly weak hour. They’ll have their hands full with Gary and Christine in coming weeks. And finally, Shark Tank (4.75m/1.5) has now fallen below Opportunity Knocks from this time last year. And we all know how that ended.

NBC – The good news, as usual, comes from Sunday Night Football (17.47m/6.8), The Biggest Loser (9.18m/3.7), and The Office (7.41m/3.9). The bad news starts with Heroes (5.72m/2.5), and continues to SNL Thursday (5.02m/1.8), Parks & Recreation (4.67m/2), and Law & Order (6.68m/1.2). Somewhere in the middle, we find the dueling medical dramas, Trauma (6.68m/2.2), and Mercy (7.39m/2.1). Those are iffy demos, especially considering Mercy’s competition, but the fact that they are both getting more viewers than Heroes, and three of the four Thursday comedies, is at least a small positive.

Community (5.86m/2.9) rebounded slightly after the Grey’s and CSI premieres last week, but those numbers don’t bode well for its debut at 8 next week. I’d be shocked to see it match Earl from this time last season (7.09m/2.7). Finally, the most curious result of all has to be Law & Order SVU (8.09m/2.5). The show has been a huge winner for the network for years, and I really expected a battle with Criminal Minds. Getting beaten by 6 million viewers and 1.3 demo points has to come as a surprise.

CW - Overall, you’d have to call it a positive week. One Tree Hill (2.51m/1.1) and Gossip Girl (2.36m/1.2) were both up after last week’s big House special delivered quite a blow. Likewise,  90210 (2.21m/1.1) and Next Top Model (3.28m/1.5) were both up as well. Vampire Diaries (3.53m/1.6) and Supernatural (2.6m/1.2) were both down slightly, but continue to be the strongest night in viewers and the adult demo for the network. Monday remains strongest among younger viewers. Smallville (2.39m/.9) even got in on the game; despite being obviously down from last season, it did manage to beat both hours on FOX on Friday. The real problem on the schedule is now Melrose Place (1.42m/.8), which has fallen behind where Privileged was at this time last season.

Cable – The shocking stat from the cable list this week is that I managed to turn up at least 13 shows with more viewers than Dollhouse. Really, those numbers are that bad. The real standout on cable though, was The Ultimate Fighter (5.31m/3.1) on Spike. Sons Of Anarchy (3.76m/1.9) also remains very strong for FX, especially considering it is airing during the regular network season. Some other cable numbers to ponder:

• Stargate: Universe (2.35m)
• Mad Men (1.73m/.6)
• Entourage (1.87m/1.1)
• It’s Always Sunny (2.02m/1.2)
• Drop Dead Diva (2.52m/.8)
• Project Runway (2.8m/1.3)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.05m/.6)
• Bored To Death (.71m/.4)
• Army Wives (3.38m/1.1)
• WWE RAW (4.5m/1.6)
• Monday Night Football (15.7m/6.6)
• The Hills (2.36m/1.5)
• The City (2.03m/1.3)
• Ghost Hunters (2.89m/1.2)
• America’s Best Dance Crew (2.25m/1.2)
• Lincoln Heights (.86m/.3)
• Greek (.74m/.4)
• Kourtney & Khloe (2.23m/1.3)
• Real Housewives of Atlanta (2.72m/1.5)
• Destination Truth (2.33m/1)

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We’re now three hours in to the final fourth season of Heroes, and the plot still seems in the very early formation stages. Another new character was introduced in this episode and we got to spend some more time with Samuel Sullivan, the ink man. Unfortunately, I have no idea what purpose either are serving. Sure, there is a good amount of intrigue surrounding both of them, but a little direction wouldn’t hurt either.

Mystery is a good thing, believe me, I’m the guy who can’t get enough of the slow burn on Lost, but I feel as if I’m completely in the dark for this season, and that’s not a good thing. After three hours, the motivations for the circus folk is completely unclear. Heck, I’m not even sure if they’re going to end up being villains or good guys at this point, or if it even really matters.

As for the new girl, Emma, she seems interesting, and I’m a curious as to how she is going to play into the season. It seems like her power is to “see” sound, which is pretty neat I suppose, and especially awesome considering that she is deaf, but how is that going to be useful in a crime-stopping situation? I have to assume that there is more to it than that. Were other people able to see the light show that was being produced when she was playing the Cello in the park? I didn’t get the sense that they did.

Some theories were thrown around in the live chat tonight about the Sullivan brothers. Could they be recruiting heroes for something? If you saw the spoiler-filled preview after last week’s finale (or you read the rest of this sentence), you already know that Gretchen is working for Sullivan as well, obviously staking out Claire. A little bit of motivation would go a long way right about now, though. If they need these heroes on their team, why? If they want them dead, why? If I’m supposed to be interested in the new characters, why? It’s hard for me to get very excited when nothing is clear. Is anyone else struggling with this?

How are you feeling about this new season so far? Too slow? Not enough Mohinder? Too much Claire?

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Well, I have to be honest … Chatting last week with Team CliqueClack and our guests was a little more interesting that the actual episodes of Heroes we watched. Will the third episode of the season rebound? Visit here at 8:00 EST to clack about it with us as we watch Heroes’ latest episode “Ink.”

Will Claire realize there’s more than meets the eye with her new college friend? Will Sylar break the hold that Matt Parkman and Angela Petrelli have over him? Will we learn more about the mysterious Sullivan Bros. Carnival? Will our special guest BabyMattParkman show up to taunt us with his cuteness? You’ll have to come back here tonight to find out!

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Holy smokes. After a summer without a lot of numbers to really be excited about, last week was just stuffed to the gills. There were season and series premieres everywhere, bringing in ratings that ran the gamut from outstanding to horrible. The big winners were House, NCIS, and Grey’s Anatomy. On the other end of the scale? The Beautiful Life, Brothers, Dollhouse, and just about all of NBC.

FOX - We’ll start here, as they had the best — and worst — ratings story of the week. Things got off to a great start with the two hour return of House (17.13m/6.7). It was just edged out in viewers by Dancing With The Stars, but tied with Grey’s Anatomy for the best demo of the week.

The middle of the week was what I would call successful. No records set, but no real damage done. Hell’s Kitchen (6.78m/3.2 – 6.98m/3.5) held strong, despite facing DWTS and the NCIS tandem. So You Think You Can Dance (5.5m/2.5) and Glee (6.64m/3.1) were close to last week, even with one time appearance of DWTS. And Bones (9.11m/2.8) remained solid against the premiere of FlashForward. Fringe (5.73m/2.3) did fall to a series low, but it remains to be seen how much of that had to do with the dueling premieres from CSI and Grey’s. This week should be much more telling.

And then, there’s Friday. Brothers (2.82m/1) got off to a horrible start, placing a distant fourth in viewers and tied for fourth in the demo. However, it did do better than Dollhouse (2.56m/1). Seriously, that’s horrible. Some people were quick to go to the excuses on that one, noting that DVRs will be a big deal, and there is revenue from streaming and iTunes to think of, etc. I’m quick to say: fuck that. The premiere was down over 30% in viewers and demo from the season one averages. And the season two premiere is down 50% in the demo and 44% in viewers from the season one premiere. There aren’t enough DVRs in the world to not make those numbers horrible.

CBS - While House and Grey’s tied for the week’s demo crown, the most watched show was NCIS (20.6m/4.8). That kicked off what was a great Tuesday night, also featuring the premieres of NCIS: LA (18.73m/4.4) and The Good Wife (13.71m/3.1). Earlier in the week, Monday was also successful. How I Met Your Mother (9.09m/3.6), Accidentally On Purpose (8.91m/3.3), 2 ½ Men (13.63m/4.5), Big Bang Theory (12.96m/4.7), and CSI: Miami (14.2m/4.3) all performed well. Two things to note: I’m not convinced AOP is going to maintain those numbers, and things are looking very good for Big Bang Theory becoming the #1 comedy on TV this season.

The only real stumble of the week came Wednesday, with Old Christine (7.17m/2.2) and Gary Unmarried (6.86m/2.3). Both were on pace with last season, but it does remain the weakest hour on the CBS schedule, and you have to wonder how much longer the experiment is going to last. Things picked up again at 9, with Criminal Minds (15.84m/4.4) and CSI: NY (15.06m/4).

Thursday brought Survivor (11.66m/3.7), CSI (16.01m/4.1), and The Mentalist (15.07m/3.6). Surprisingly, Survivor was actually up for the week, even while finishing second to the FlashForward premiere. I would expect it to be back to number one in the hour before too long. It will be interesting to see what The Mentalist does facing Private Practice instead of the extended Grey’s.  Finally, as has become the norm, CBS easily won Friday night with Ghost Whisperer (8.58m/2.2), Medium (8.78m/2), and Numb3rs (7.92m/1.8). For the record, that Medium viewer number is higher than every non-football hour on NBC for the week.

ABC - Dancing With The Stars led off the first three nights, and proved that, while down year to year, it’s still a huge draw on Monday (17.79m/4.1), Tuesday (15.37m/3.5), and Wednesday (15.36m/3.3). Castle (9.27m/2.3) and The Forgotten (9.54m/2.6) both took advantage of the boost, and landed in second place. The real winners in the DWTS sweepstakes though, were Modern Family (12.61m/4.2) and Cougar Town (11.28m/4.4). We’ll have to see what happens when Hank and The Middle enter the picture, but it could be then end of the ABC comedy black hole. Eastwick (8.5m/3) followed, also putting up decent premiere numbers.

It wasn’t the highest rated show of the week, or the night, but the most impressive premiere might have been FlashForward (12.47m/4). It won the hour against Bones and Survivor, which is no small feat. That led to the huge return of Grey’s Anatomy (17.03m/6.7), which totally dominated the night.

NBC - The good news is that Sunday Night Football (24.82m/9.8) is still huge. The bad news, is pretty much everything else. To give an idea, not only did Medium have more viewers than everything but football … the most viewed series of the week (Mercy (8.38m/2.3) was below every new episode on ABC. Yikes. Heroes (6.11m/2.8) didn’t do very well kicking things off. The Biggest Loser (7.56m/3.1) was better on Tuesday, but is down a fair bit from where it finished in the spring.

Mercy (8.38m/2.3), surprisingly enough, was the most watched show on the network, and that was with the one-time appearance of DWTS. Law & Order (8.36m/2.5) followed, and did increase the demo, but the premiere was off a good two million viewers and a full demo point from what it was regularly doing last season.

There was one more bright spot on Thursday, with The Office (7.46m/3.9). Holding at nearly a 4 in the demo against the CSI and Grey’s premieres is great. Unfortunately, the rest of the Thursday comedy block is imploding. SNL (4.54m/1.7), Parks & Recreation (4.09m/1.8), and Community (5.39m/2.7) were all off. Did the Grey’s and CSI premieres sink Community? Or did people get a look last week and not come back?

Friday, Law & Order (6.29m/1.3) got off to what was a slow start, placing third in the demo behind Ghost Whisperer and a repeat of FlashForward. And Leno? The week averaged 5.98 million viewers and 1.9 in the demo. That’s not great, but good enough for the network, given the costs. The real story will be told when the show goes up against repeats.

CW - It was a bit of a mixed bag this week. One Tree Hill (2.29m/1.1) actually stood up well to the premiere of House. Gossip Girl (1.97m/1) didn’t. The good news is, of course, that Gossip Girl won’t be facing House after this. So it looks like that schedule change is already working out.

Tuesday remains an issue as the weakening 90210 (2m/1) leads in to the sinking Melrose Place (1.44m/.8). Heather Locklear can’t show up soon enough. The news was slightly better Wednesday, with Top Model (2.82m/1.3). That made for the second best hour of the week for the network, but Top Model does remain curiously down year to year. Still, that was worlds better than The Beautiful Life (1.05m/.5). That’s so bad that the show has been canceled.

The night of the week was again Thursday, as Vampire Diaries (3.79m/1.7) and Supernatural (2.66m/1.2) remained relatively steady despite the premieres from FlashForward, CSI, and Grey’s. The news was also good for Smallville (2.5m/1) on Friday. Those numbers are well below what the show was doing on Thursday, but also an improvement over last season’s Friday lineup. And really, the show should be knocking Fox into last place sooner, rather than later.

Finally, a few cable numbers from the week.

• Mad Men (1.57m/.6)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.12m/.5)
• Bored To Death (1.03m/.5)
• Entourage (1.83m/1.1)
• Drop Dead Diva (3.06m/.9)
• Army Wives (3.28m/1)
• Warehouse 13 (2.23m/.7)

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