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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

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)

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Photo Credit: vancouver2010.com

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

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

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

CliqueClack’s mid-season report card: the networks

Richard Keller — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:00:23 +0000

Believe it or not, we have reached the mid-point in the 2009-10 television season. Unlike the past few years, this season may turn out to be one of the most successful. Thanks in part to some new and old comedies. After years of shunning comedy scripts for proceurals and serialized dramas, the networks have filled their schedules with some laughs rather than sobs.

Believe it or not, we have reached the mid-point in the 2009-10 television season. Well, the fall portion; the winter portion is just getting started. Unlike the past few years, this season may turn out to be one of the most successful, thanks in part to some new, and old, comedies.

After years of shunning comedy scripts for procedurals and serialized dramas, the networks have filled their schedules with some laughs rather than sobs. The result is refreshing, if not surprising. Oh, then there’s Glee, which is in a glorious section all its own.

With the help of some of my CliqueClack colleagues (who I bribed with cheap wine and Hanukkah gelt), we’ve put together a report card of sorts on the network shows, both new and old. Please feel free to agree or disagree. And, don’t worry, we’ll have the mid-season report card on your cable favorites soon enough.

New Shows

Accidentally on Purpose (CBS)

Brett Love – It’s better than I expected, and Abby (Lennon Parham) is one of the best new characters this season: B

The Cleveland Show (FOX)

Brett – I think I would have preferred Midnight Q as a spin-off: C-

Community (NBC)

Aryeh S – I’ve been watching this on Hulu and have yet to laugh. I just don’t get it: F

Bob Degon – Has greatly improved over the course of the season, as all the characters have been worked more into the action and less focus has been placed on the Jeff/Britta non-relationship. Plus, Chevy Chase falls down: A-

Julia Haas – A few awkward moments, but a truly great comedy that deserves serious props: A-

Ruby T – Community surprised me by being really funny. The friendship between Abed and Troy provides a lot of great moments: A-

Cougar Town (ABC)

Brett – Much better than I expected and a great companion to Modern Family: B+

Bob – Minute for minute this show gives me the most laughs of any new show. The cast is great and the characters really shine. And hey, it’s not just about sex: A

Debbie McDuffee - This show’s all about the men for me, and I probably laugh out loud more on this show than any other: A-

FlashForward (ABC)

Bob – So much potential, and most of it has been wasted. The writing and pacing are just not tight enough, as the slide in ratings has shown. I’m still hoping that everything is pulled together in an amazing final few episodes: B-

Ivey West – Great potential, horrible execution. Fiennes is snoozeville and, at this point, I’m less sure it’s the actor, which was my first thought. But really, the character kind of blows. Dominic Monnighan has been the saving grace: B-

Jen Creer – I like Joseph Fiennes and Sonya Walger a lot, and I actually like all of the supporting characters too. Of course, given Journeyman and New Amsterdam, this show will probably be canceled: A

The Forgotten (ABC)

Aryeh – While enjoyable enough to continue tuning in, there’s no pop: B-

Glee (FOX)

Bob - For all its faults, it’s still one of the best new shows of this year … and I hate musicals: B

Ivey – The gold standard for new shows this season. I’m about as sold as you can be on a show: A

Julia – There are a few stumbles here and there plot-wise, but the musical numbers are stellar: B+

Keith McDuffee – Sorry, not an A. It’s just OK for me now. It’s getting old and heading toward B- territory soon: B

The Good Wife (CBS)

Aryeh – I’ve definitely been enjoying most things about this; my biggest problem with it is that I think Alicia is doing wrong by her and her family by sticking with Peter: A-

Bob – My favorite new drama of the season, which was a surprise to me. Julianna Margulies is phenomenal as Alicia Florrick, the best new character on television, and the writing and production is top notch. Far more than just a legal drama: A+

The Jay Leno Show (NBC)

Brett – An “F” out of principal. I’ve yet to watch even a second of it: F

Melrose Place (CW)

Brett – There are so many things wrong with the new Melrose, but they do gain some points for putting Katie Cassidy on my TV: C-

Mercy (NBC)

Ivey – I think the show is better than it’s being given credit for, but not by much. Newcomer Taylor Schilling has impressed, and Michelle Trachtenberg has been pretty good, but the rest of the cast falls flat: B-

The Middle (ABC)

Aryeh – Amazing cast, writers, and show. Best comedy of the season: A

Bob – A nice surprise with loads of quirk: B

Debbie – Someone on the writing team knows my kid and has modeled Brick after him, so I can’t help but laugh. It’s the only “typical” sitcom I can tolerate right now: B+

Modern Family (ABC)

Brett – Best new comedy of the year, perfectly cast: A+

Debbie – The subtle humor of this show is what captures me. Because they script the situations so perfectly, it’s nearly unquotable at times, which is fun: A-

Julia – What every family sitcom should aspire to be: A

NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

Brett – It feels more like a Fastlane sequel than an NCIS sequel, but that’s not a bad thing. Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J are really good together: B+

Ivey – Really has done nothing to draw me in. Has an interesting enough cast, and I do like O’Donnell and LL Cool J, but it has none of the magic that NCIS has: C

Three Rivers (CBS)

Ivey – I tried to give it a chance. It was worse than Moonlight, and it’s a shame, because I think O’Loughin has a lot of potential. Airing the first two episodes out of order didn’t help, but I don’t think it would have made a difference: D

Trauma (NBC)

Ivey – Why people aren’t watching this show, I don’t know. Cliff Curtis and Anastasia Griffith have great chemistry, and the character dynamic is incredibly well written. Sure, the show is expensive as hell to produce, but I still think it’s got great potential. I’m glad it’s getting (a little bit) of a second life: B+

V (ABC)

Brett – I’m still penalizing them for that horrid haircut: B

Bob – It started slow, but definitely became more intriguing as the season went on. But with only 4 episodes under its belt, the jury is still out: Incomplete

Ivey – I don’t have the problems with Mitchell that everyone else seems to, but I don’t think the writers have found the sweet spot with the character yet: Incomplete

Keith – Even though I watched the original, I don’t remember too much about it. However, I know that this reboot has kept me interested, and I’m definitely curious to see how it plays out: B

The Vampire Diaries (CW)

Debbie - I’m so very embarrassed to give this show this rating, but it is truly my guilty pleasure and the show I most enjoy reviewing. They aren’t afraid to murder major characters, which is very cool in my book: A-

Keith - For a CW show, it’s better than I thought. Even with what seems to be an interesting storyline, it’s too girly for me: C+

Old Shows

30 Rock (NBC)

Aryeh – Surprisingly doing better than The Office for me, although Tina Fey is still extremely irritating: B-

Julia – When is this show not an “A”: A

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Bob – Nerds are funny: A-

Bones (FOX)

Ivey – Too much of this season has been spent dealing with the after-effects of last season. Booth needs to be Booth again, now and not later. That being said, I think the show has been superb: B

Julia – I thought that I would never forgive the brain tumor cop-out of Booth and Bones not really getting together, but I was totally and completely wrong. This show never fails to be utterly delightful: A+

Castle (ABC)

Debbie - Stepped it up this season, and just pure fun from beginning to end, with some really 3D characters that keep getting better: A-

Fringe (FOX)

Ivey – This show ended brilliantly, and then didn’t spend enough time dealing with what happened there. There’ve been a couple really good episodes, especially the Observer-centric episode, and the one that dealt with William Bell. More mythology is the best thing this show can do: B-

Heroes (NBC)

Bob – Man, this show has plummeted. Even though there have been some improvements over the last season, it is still a horrible disappointment in comparison with season one: C

House (FOX)

Debbie – I love House and I’ve loved this season — I’m not one of the bashers. House’s growth has been interesting, and I liked not having so much of Taub and Thirteen on screen: B+

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

Brett – I no longer have any interest in the mother, and think the show would probably be better off with a “very special episode” where Ted and Robin died in a tragic Zamboni crash so Barney, Marshall, and Lily could find some new friends: C

Julia – As delightful as ever, but the Barney and Robin relationship was completely mishandled, which put a damper on the beginning of the season: B

The Mentalist (CBS)

Brett – Still very good, but I want to see a real showdown between Jane and Red John by the end of this season: B

Debbie – I didn’t think this show could get any better, but somehow they’ve stepped it up this season: A+

Parks & Recreation (NBC)

Aryeh – I continue to watch because I should be enjoying this; it just isn’t funny: F

Julia – The most improved award goes to…: A+

The Office (NBC)

Aryeh – Finding some sparks after the finalized pairing of Jim and Pam, Jim’s promotion, and Pam’s move into sales debacles. Let’s hope they can pull it out: B-

Bob – This show has been a total disappointment this year. Jim has lost all of his funny charm with his promotion, and more often than not the show has fallen over the line of absurdity: C

Julia – The wedding was pretty great, as were the Subtle Sexuality webisodes, but everything else has been a dud: C-

Keith – Season has stunk so bad that I can’t believe I’m about to give it up: D

Scrubs (ABC)

Aryeh – I like the idea of rewiring this show, and JD and Elliot were the worst parts, so good to see them go. But the new lead sucks: B-

Brett – I like the new girl well enough, but Scrubs is the new According To Jim. It really should have just been canceled: C

Ivey – The first two episodes were a mixed bag. I actually like the new lead, but I know she’s not the most popular among fans. But the cast and the writers are still bringing the funny, and that’s more than enough to keep me coming back for more: Incomplete

Smallville (CW)

Ivey – The one show that I keep watching, even though I don’t know why. Major Zod has been the best addition to the show in a long time. But the whole future vs. present thing is a bit confusing to me, and I generally like that kind of story line. Clark/Tom Welling continues to be the most boring lead on TV: B-

So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)

Julia – Dullest. Season. Ever: D+

Supernatural (CW)

Debbie – The best show on television, hands down. Just when I think it can’t get any better, it does. I was satisfied with the buddy-brother show of season one, yet Kripke has managed more organic character growth than any show I can think of, while still retaining the basic elements of why we all love this show so much. The best part? They don’t take themselves too seriously, which is why I think it works: A+

Ugly Betty (ABC)

Ruby - The whole “Community of the Phoenix” story line was crap: B-

Photo Credit: ABC, FOX

CliqueClack’s guide to the 2009-2010 winter TV season

Richard Keller — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:30 +0000

In the period known as “Back in the Day”, the period between December and the first few weeks of January were full of reruns. These days, everyone, including the original Big Three, launch a whole new set of shows that totally mess up your viewing schedule.

Did you notice the title said “winter season” and not “mid-season?” That’s due to the changing face of television. In the period known as “Back in the Day,” the period between December and the first few weeks of January were full of reruns. These days, everyone, including the original Big Three, launch a whole new set of shows that totally mess up your viewing schedule.

To keep track of this, especially the extremely hard to follow FOX lineup, we continue our annual tradition of listing the newest shows, as well as mid-season finales and returns, that you’ll be stuck watching during those never-ending blizzards that lock you up in the house with your wife, kids, three-year-old canned chili, and a four-pack of toilet paper. As mentioned in previous years, dates and times will vary at the whim of drunken network executives.

To subscribe to the below schedule in iCal, copy this link and paste into the ‘Subscribe…’ menu item in iCal. You can also just click it to open iCal or even click to add to your iPhone calendar. The same link will work in a Google Calendar as well! Or see the calendar as a web page (also embedded at the bottom here). The calendar will update as new shows are added/changed and sometimes with links to our reviews as we publish them.

New shows listed in Bold Italic

New times/days for shows noted with an asterisk (*)

New American Idol “so good, he/she is bad” auditioner marked with a loud sigh

DECEMBER

Tuesday, December 1st

9:00 Scrubs (ABC) — Season 9 premiere. Series premiere as Scrubs 2.0

9:00 Britain’s Missing Top Model (BBC America)

9:30 I’m Pregnant and … (Discovery Health) –Six stories of pregnant women facing drastic situations

9:00 Best Thing I Ever Ate (Food Network) — Season two premiere.

10:00 Bad Girls Club (Oxygen) — Season 4 premiere

Wednesday, December 2nd

9:00 Dog the Bounty Hunter (A&E) — Season 6 premiere

10:00 Steven Segal Lawman (A&E) — Hell, how bad can this really be?

10:00 Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura (truTV)

10:00 Sports Jobs with Junior Seau(Versus) — The NFL’s Junior Seau tries out other sporting jobs like car racing, bull fighting, and steroid injector.

11:00 Launch My Line (Bravo)

Thursday, December 3rd

10:00 Ace of Cakes (Food Network) — Season 8 premiere. Yes, this is right: eight seasons in four years.

10:00 Jersey Shore (MTV) — Hey, whatya looking at here?

10:00 BBQ Pit Masters (TLC) — A reality series based on the world of — am I reading this right — competitive grilling?

Friday, December 4th

9:00 Dollhouse (FOX)

Sunday, December 6th

9:00 I Survived … (Bio.) — Season 4 premiere. This season, I Survived Watching Hank.

10:00 Shatner’s Raw Nerve (Bio.) — Season two premiere

Monday, December 7th

9:00 The Closer (TNT) — Back with three new episodes

10:00 Men of a Certain Age (TNT) — This one looks interesting.

Tuesday, December 8th

9:30 Better Off Ted (ABC) — Season two premiere

9:30 Outer Space Astronauts (SyFy) — Moves to its regular 9:00 pm time slot the week after.

10:00 Chopped (Food Network) — Season 3 premiere

Wednesday, December 9th

9:00 Glee (FOX) — Mid-season finale. And, we’ll be waiting in high anticipation for its return.

10:00 1000 Ways to Die (Spike) — Season two premiere

10:00 Spectacle: Elvis Costello With …* (Sundance) — Season two premiere

10:30 Manswers (Spike) — Season 2 premiere. Yes, I didn’t know these shows existed either.

11:00 Campus PD(G4) — The series takes viewers behind the scenes with officers who patrol college campuses. If there isn’t a bare boobie shown in the first episode I’ll be shocked!

Saturday, December 11th

10:00 Four Weddings (TLC) — Four brides attend each others weddings and determine which one is the best.

Saturday, December 12th

9:00 Ghost Intervention (TLC) — A case manager and a group of psychics try to help families deal with paranormal activity in their homes.

Sunday, December 13th

9:00 The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty (A&E) — Six-part series on the Jackson Family.

10:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians (E!) — Season 4 premiere

Monday, December 14th

8:00 The Sing-Off (NBC) — New acapella singing competition hosted by Nick Lachey. Will air over four nights, concluding on December 21st.

Tuesday, December 15th

9:00 Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal (A&E) — Season two premiere

10:00 Paranormal State (A&E) — Season 4 premiere

Saturday, December 19th

9:00 Doctor Who (BBC America) — Last of the David Tennant episodes airs, with the 2nd part airing on January 2nd.

Thursday, December 24th

10:00 The Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special (BBC America) — For more on this series visit the BBC America website.

Friday, December 25th

9:00 Til Death (FOX) — They should really put this show to rest.

Tuesday, December 29th

9:00 One Big Happy Family (TLC) — Reality series about a morbidly obese family of four. Well, anything is better than Jon & Kate.

Wednesday, December 30th

10:30 The Real World – The grandfather of reality programming begins its 23rd season.

JANUARY

Friday, January 1st

9:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon) — Season two resumes.

9:00 Iron Chef America (Food Network) — Season 8 premiere. Returns to normal Sunday schedule on 1/3/2010.

10:00 The Squeeze (MSNBC) –Docu-series on the Cook County Jail and the Criminal Intelligence Unit that tries to infiltrate the gangs operating within the prison.

11:00 Friday Night Alright (VH1) — Show that focuses on top rock/pop concerts from around the globe. Huh, music on VH1. How unique.

Saturday, January 2nd

8:00 Underdog to Wonderdog (Animal Planet) — dog makeover show. Sigh!

9:00 It’s Me or the Dog (Animal Planet) — show featuring dog trainer VIctoria Stilwell.

10:00 Demons (BBC America) — American Rupert Galvin is mandated to inspire the last descendents of Van Helsing to fight the demons living underneath London. Moves to its regular 9:00 pm time slot on January 9th.

9:00 What I Hate About Me (Style) — Women talk about 10 things they loathe about themselves, and a panel of experts give advice to fix them.

Sunday, January 3rd

9:00 Durham County (ION) — Season two premiere.

9:00 Platinum Weddings (WE) — Season 4 premiere.

10:00 Brothers & Sisters (ABC) — Season 4 resumes

10:00 Worst Cooks in America (Food)

Monday, January 4th

8:00 The Bachelor (ABC) — Season 14 premiere.

8:00 The Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family) — Continuation of season two

8:00 Heroes (NBC) — Season four resumes. Moves to its 9:00 time slot on January 11th.

9:00 Make It or Break It (ABC Family) — Continuation of season one

10:30 The Goode Family (Comedy Central)

Tuesday, January 5th

8:00 The Biggest Loser (NBC) — Season 9 begins. Gosh, it seems like season 8 was only a few weeks ago.

9:00 Last Restaurant Standing (BBC America) — Series three premiere (It’s from England, so it’s series and not season)

10:00 The Forgotten (ABC) — Premiere season resumes.

10:00 Life After People (HISTORY) — Season two premiere. This season focuses on a post-apocalyptic future and the creatures that would take the place of humans. Fun times!

Wednesday, January 6th

8:30 The Middle (ABC) — Premiere season resumes.

8:00 Mercy (NBC) — Premiere season resumes.

9:00 Modern Family (ABC) – Premiere season resumes.

9:00 Law & Order: SVU (NBC) — Season 11 resumes.

9:00 Ghost Hunters International (SyFy) — Season two premiere

9:30 Cougar Town (ABC) — Premiere season resumes.

10:00 Ugly Betty* (ABC) — Season 4 resumes at its new day and time.

10:00 Nip/Tuck (FX) — Final season premiere

Friday, January 8th

8:00 Ghost Whisperer (CBS) — Season 5 resumes.

9:00 Shark Tank (ABC) — Premiere season resumes.

9:00 Medium (CBS) — Season six resumes.

10:00 Numb3rs (CBS) — Season six resumes.

11:00 John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show (Comedy Central) –Oliver welcomes four stand-up comedians each show.

Saturday, January 9th

8:00 Operation Wild (Planet Green) — It’s touted as a “new original enviro-crime drama series”.

Sunday, January 10th

8:00 Food Network Challenge (Food Network) — Season 10 premiere.

8:00 The Simpsons (FOX) — Not new, but a pretty momentous 450th episode

9:00 Chuck (NBC) — Season three premiere.

8:30 The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice! (FOX) — Documentary special on the last 20 years of The Simpsons

9:00 Big Love (HBO) — Season four premiere

Monday, January 11th

8:00 Chuck (NBC) — Time slot premiere.

8:00 House (FOX) — Season 6 continuation.

10:00 Castle (ABC) — Season two resumes.

10:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food Network) — Season 8 resumes.

10:00 Fantasia For Real (VH1) — Reality searies about American Idol winner Fantasia

10:30 Let’s Talk About Pep (VH1) — Real-life comedy about Sandra “Pepa” Denton and her search for love.

Tuesday, January 12th

8:00 American Idol (FOX) — The Paula Abdul-less season 9 premiere.

10:00 Blue Mountain State (Spike) — Scripted comedy about three freshman attending a powerful football college.

Wednesday, January 13th

9:00 Our Little Genius (FOX) — Child geniuses are tested on a number of challenging questions and tasks, further destroying their already fragile emotional states.

10:00 Leverage (TNT) — Season two continuation

10:00 High School Reunion (TV Land) — Lord help us!

10:00 Little Miss Perfect (We) — Season two premiere

10:30 Tosh.0 (Comedy Central) — Season two premere.

Thursday, January 14th

8:00 Community (NBC) — Premiere season resumes.

8:00 Bones (FOX) — Season 5 continuation.

8:00 Carnie Wilson: Unstapled (GSN) — Reality series based on Carnie Wilson, host of the newest The Newlywed Game.

8:30 Parks & Recreation (NBC) — Season two resumes.

8:30 Hidden Agenda (GSN) — Does anyone still watch this network anymore?

9:00 The Office (NBC) — Season six resumes.

9:00 Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) — Season 6 continuation.

9:30 30 Rock (NBC) — Season 4 resumes.

10:00 Archer (FX) – Series premiere

10:00 Ace of Cakes (Food Network) — Season 8 resumes.

10:00 Project Runway (Lifetime) — Season 7 premiere

Saturday, January 16th

9:00 The Singing Bee (CMT) — Season two premiere.

10:00 The Pit Boss (Animal Planet) — Docu-soap about former actor Shorty Rossi and his quest to rescue pit bulls from the streets of L.A.

Sunday, January 17th

8:00 Human Target (FOX) — New Mark Valley action drama. Moves to its regular Wednesday, 9:00 pm timeslot on January 20th.

8:00 The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC) — Hosted by Ricky Gervais.

9:00 24 (FOX) — Season 8 premiere. Runs to 11:00 pm. Yes, on FOX!

Monday, January 18th

8:00 24 (FOX) — Season 8 time slot premiere, in which Jack Bauer dies and comes back during each episode.

8:00 One Tree Hill (CW) — Season 7 resumes.

9:00 Life Unexpected (CW) — No idea what this is about. Though, I’m sure it will involve hyper-sexed teens or young adults who are oh-so hip.

10:00 The Buried Life (MTV) — Four guys traval in a purple bus to prusue their dream goals while making a difference in the lives of others.

Tuesday, January 19th

10:00 The Millionaire Matchmaker (Bravo) — Third season premiere

10:00 White Collar* (USA) — Continuation of the freshman season. New time.

Wednesday, January 20th

Being Erica (Soap) — Season 2 premiere

Thursday, January 21st

8:00 The Deep End (ABC) — New series about four young lawyers trying to get a spot in a prestigious law firm.

8:00 The Vampire Diaries (CW) — Continuation of first season

9:00 Supernatural (CW) — Continuation of fifth season

10:00 Burn Notice (USA) — Continuation of third season

Friday, January 22nd

9:00 Caprica (SyFy) — The Battlestar Galactica prequel that we’ve waited 150 years for.

9:00 Say Yes to the Dress (TLC) — Season four premiere

10:00 Spartacus: Blood & Sand (Starz)

Monday, January 25th

9:00 The Inbetweeners (BBC America) — New comedy series from across the pond.

10:00 Greek (ABC Family) — Continuation of season three.

10:00 Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Showtime) — Season three premiere

10:00 Be Good Johnny Weir (Sundance) — Reality show about Olympic hopeful Johnny Weir.

10:00 Damages (FX) — Season three premiere.

10:30 State of the Union (Showtime) — Season three premiere

11:00 La La Land (Showtime) — British comic Mark Wootton is highlighted in this sketch comedy series.

Wednesday, January 27th

10:00 Psych* (USA) — Season 4 continuation. Wednesday nights at 10:00, huh?

Friday, January 29th

8:00 Smallville (CW) — Season 9 continuation

9:00 Dollhouse (FOX) — Series finale, and another nail in the coffin between Whedon and FOX.

9:00 Kitchen Nightmares (FOX) — Season 3 premiere

Sunday, January 31st

8:30 The Cleveland Show (FOX) — Continuation of freshman season. Moves to 9:30 pm as of March 14th.

9:00 Family Guy (FOX) — Season 8 continuation

9:30 American Dad (FOX) — Season 5 continuation

FEBRUARY

Monday, February 1st

9:00 RuPaul’s Drag Race (Logo) — Season two premiere.

10:00 Kell on Earth(Bravo) — Reality series (it’s Bravo, after all) about fashion PR expert Kelly Cutrone.

Tuesday, February 2nd

9:00 Lost* (ABC) — Sixth and final season.

Wednesday, February 3rd

11:00 Shear Genius (Bravo) — Season three premiere.

Thursday, February 4th

9:00 Fringe (FOX) — Mid-season finale

10:30 The Sarah Silverman Program (Comedy Central) — Season 3 premiere

Monday, February 8th

9:00 Heroes (NBC) — season 4 finale

10:00 NFL Full Contact (truTV) — Behind the scenes look at the NFL, from draft day to first game.

Thursday, February 11th

8:00 Past Life (FOX) — Premieres at its 9:00 pm time slot on February 18th.

Sunday, February 14th

8:00 The Amazing Race (CBS) — Season premiere.

9:00 Celebrity Fit Club* (VH1) — Season 7 premiere.

10:00 How To Make It In America (HBO)

10:00 Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (VH1) — Season 3 premiere

10:30 The Life & Times of Tim (HBO) — Season two premiere.

Friday, February 19th

9:00 Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) — Season 8 premiere.

MARCH

To Be Determined

Justified (FX) — Formerly Lawman, with Timothy Olyphant

Monday, March 1st

9:00 Parenthood (NBC) — Though, since there was already an attempt at a Parenthood TV series, would this really be considered brand new?

Tuesday, March 2nd

10:00 Southland (TNT) — Run on TNT begins, complete with unaired season two episodes. Take that, NBC!

Wednesday, March 3rd

8:00 America’s Next Top Model (CW) — Season 14 premiere.

Thursday, March 4th

9:00 FlashForward (ABC) — Premiere season resumes

Sunday, March 7th

10:00 Breaking Bad (AMC) — Season 3 premiere

Monday, March 8th

8:00 Dancing With the Stars (ABC) — Season 10 premiere.

9:00 Gossip Girl (CW) — Continuation of the 3rd season.

Tuesday, March 9th

8:00 90210 (CW) — Season two resumes.

9:00 Melrose Place (CW) — Premiere season resumes.

Wednesday, March 10th

10:00 South Park (Comedy Central) — Season 14 premiere.

Sunday, March 14th

8:00 The Marriage Ref (NBC)

8:30 Sons of Tucson (FOX)

9:00 The Apprentice (NBC) — Season 9 premiere. Another Celebrity Apprentice edition.

9:00 The Pacific (HBO) — Steven Spielberg’s follow-up (of sorts) to Band of Brothers

Sunday, March 21st

10:00 Breaking Bad (AMC) — Season three premiere

Monday, March 22nd

10:00 Nurse Jackie (Showtime) — Season two premiere.

10:30 The United States of Tara (Showtime) — Season two premiere

Tuesday, March 30th

10:00 V* (ABC) — Will follow Lost

APRIL

Thursday, April 1st

9:00 Fringe (FOX) — Season two continuation

Sunday, April 11th

9:00 The Tudors (Showtime) — Season 4 premiere.

Tuesday, April 13th

9:00 Glee* (FOX) — Continuation of season one.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Amazon’s Black “Friday” deals: Tuesday

Keith McDuffee — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:30 +0000

We started things off yesterday and we’ll continue on through the week. Here are some notable, REALLY good deals on TV-on-DVD at Amazon.com today and through the week:

Lightning Deals (today only):

Smallville – The Complete First Season and Smallville – The Complete Second Season: $9.99 each @ 7-11PM EST
Not TV, but can’t pass this up: Young Frankenstein for $2! 7-11PM EST

All day today only(?)

Supernatural – The Complete Second Season: 75% off
Supernatural – The Complete First Season: 70% off
The Simpsons – The Complete Ninth Season: 69% off
The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season: 69% off

All week:

Full House – The Complete Series Collection: 44% off
All (or most) seasons of Seinfeld for $15
True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series): 43% off
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Seasons 1-6: 66% off

Other deal days this week: Monday

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Ratings Clack – The Prisoner, it’s no Mad Men

Brett Love — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:04:26 +0000

The biggest premiere last week came from cable, as AMC finally released their modern take on The Prisoner. I had been planning for months to make a comparison between that and media-darling Mad Men. I always find the amount of coverage that Mad Men is able to generate, despite the fact that its latest season hovered around 1.7 million viewers for most of its run, fascinating. We can still make that comparison, of course, but it didn’t work out the way that I expected. The initial sampling was good, with (2.22m/.8) checking out the two hour Prisoner premiere. Unfortunately, those people were clearly not impressed. The following nights were both a forgettable (.95m/.3). That’s really not good.

Back on the networks, it was a tough week for genre. Heroes found a new low, V dropped again, there is cause for concern at FlashForward, and the must-see Fringe managed to lose two-tenths in the demo. The news was better for Dancing With The Stars, The Mentalist, and Melrose Place. Although, “better” where Melrose is concerned is a very relative term.

ABC - The week started on a positive as Sunday was up across the board with Extreme Makeover (11.71m/3.7), Desperate Housewives (14.72m/5), and Brothers & Sisters (10.09m/3.2). The good news continued Monday as Dancing With The Stars (18.84m/3.9) continued to grow as they head for the finale. That was good for Castle (10.53m/2.5). It will be very interesting to see what happens to those Castle numbers after DWTS finishes.

Tuesday took a step back with V (9.32m/3.1) continuing to drop. DWTS Results (16.02m/3.2) and the returning The Forgotten (7.53m/1.8) were off pace as well. Wednesday, the network found an improvement for Hank with a Modern Family repeat (6.13m/1.9). The Middle (7.06m/2.4), Modern Family (9.16m/3.7), Cougar Town (7.92m/3.2) and Robin Roberts: Janet Jackson (6.62m/2.3) were all solid following.

FlashForward (7.98m/2.4) continued to slip on Thursday. That’s a far cry from the (12.47m/4) of the premiere. Survivor and Bones have long since moved on, leaving the show in third place in both measures. More troubling though is the increasingly poor comparison to Ugly Betty at this time last year. For example: 11/20/08 Ugly Betty (8.3m/2.6). It’s certainly not doomed, but it’s also not a hit by any stretch. The night was finished by Grey’s Anatomy (14.07m/5.1) and Private Practice (8.93m/3.1).

CBS - It was a mostly uneventful week, as most things were in-line with expectations. Sunday started with steady performances from Amazing Race (11.39m/3.4) and Three Rivers (8.19m/1.8). Cold Case (9.59m/2.1) was up, prompting the network to call for a swap with Three Rivers on the next go. Monday was, oddly, off in the 8 o’clock hour with How I Met Your Mother (8.16m/3.4) and Accidentally On Purpose (7.28m/2.8), while gaining at 9 with 2 ½ Men (13.69m/4.7) and Big Bang Theory (13.23m/5). CSI: Miami (13.26m/3.7) came back down after the big crossover.

Tuesday and Wednesday both had solid numbers across the night with NCIS (20.34m/4.1), NCIS: LA (14.87m/3.4), The Good Wife (12.7m/2.6), Old Christine (7.27m/2.2), Gary Unmarried (7m/2.4), Criminal Minds (13.7m/3.7), and CSI: NY (13.62m/3.2). Survivor (12.33m/3.8) remains #1 in its hour on Thursday. And it is worth noting that The Mentalist (15.85m/3.7) again was above CSI (14.91m/3.5). The week finished with a typical Friday, featuring Ghost Whisperer (8.43m/2), Medium (7.8m/1.9), and Numb3rs (7.84m/1.7).

FOX - The return to the regular animation schedule brought expected results for The Simpsons (9.13m/4.3), Cleveland (7.13m/3.4), Family Guy (8.49m/4.2), and American Dad (6.18m/3). House (12.67m/5) and Lie To Me (7.23m/2.7) were off, but within reason on Monday. So You Think You Can Dance continues to soldier along on Tuesday (5.99m/2.4) and Wednesday (5.65m/2.1), along with their pals on Glee (7.36m/3.3).

Thursday brought another solid performance from Bones (9.88m/2.7), and more questions where the Fringe (5.9m/2) experiment is concerned. Despite the extra promotion for the episode, and the fact that ABC, NBC, and CBS were all down week-to-week, the show suffered another two-tenths drop in the demo.

NBC – Sunday Night Football (22.39m/8.6) was as strong as usual to start the week. And then things went a bit off the rails on Monday as Heroes (5.08m/2.2) found a new low. Could we really see Heroes fall below 5 million viewers, or a 2 demo this season? Trauma (5.18m/1.8) wasn’t helped by that. The Biggest Loser (9.56m/3.7) gave up a half hour on Tuesday for Merry Madagascar (8.97m/2.9), which did rather well.

Wednesday found Mercy (7.76m/2) climbing out of 1 point demo territory, while L&O: SVU (8.44m/2.4) continued to struggle to find its year-ago levels. Thursday night was down across the board with Community (4.87m/2), Parks & Recreation (4.55m/2), The Office (7.39m/3.7), and 30 Rock (5.72m/2.8). For those playing along at home, the 11/20/08 Kath & Kim was (5.47m/2.3). Law & Order (7.52m/1.5) finished things off on Friday.

Leno continues to trip along, making no notable waves. The real story, if there is anything more to this then what we have already seen, will come as we enter the long stretch of holiday repeats. If Leno is going to make any gains, it should happen then. The numbers for the week:

Monday 4.45m/1.4
Tuesday 5.99m/1.9
Wednesday 4.79m/1.4
Thursday 4.77m/1.6
Friday 4.75m/1.3

CW - One Tree Hill (2.63m/1.2) and Gossip Girl (2.25m/1.2) got the week off to an uneventful start. The exciting bit was to come on Tuesday though. The struggles of Melrose Place are well known, and this was the week that was all to change. The return of Heather Locklear was set to put the show back on The CW map. Yeah … it didn’t quite work out like that. After a typical 90210 (2.1m/1.1) outing, the Locklear fueled Melrose (1.57m/.8) still landed in a distant last place on the network. Next Top Model (3.69m/1.8) had a strong finale on Wednesday, while Vampire Diaries (3.57m/1.6) and Supernatural (2.51m/1.2) continued to hold down Thursday night. Smallville (2.45m/1.1) finished off the week on Friday.

CABLE – Looking back at the 11/13 numbers, things seem to be stabilizing for White Collar (4.28m/1.1) and Stargate Universe (1.8m/.7). Sanctuary (1.67m/.6) seems to have found its audience as well. The other cable numbers for the week:

Dexter (1.7m/.8)
Sons Of Anarchy (3.48m/1.9)
Nip/Tuck (1.89m/1)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (1.26m/.5)
Californication (.83m/.4)
South Park (2.87m/1.5)
Secret Girlfriend (1.27m/.7)
It’s Always Sunny (1.49m/.9)
The League (.86m/.5)
Next Iron Chef (2.59m/1.1)
Top Chef (2.81m/1.5)
Mythbusters (2m/.9)
Ghost Hunters (2.6m/1.1)
Project Runway (4.28m/1.9)
The Hills (2.25m/1.4)

Photo Credit: AMC

Ratings Clack – Should FOX switch Fringe and Lie To Me?

Brett Love — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:23 +0000

After the dramatic entrance of V last week, there were no similar big splash stories to lead things off this week. Then, as I was perusing the year-ago numbers, something occurred to me. It’s quite possible that FOX could improve both Monday and Thursday at 9:00 if they swapped Fringe and Lie To Me. If you look back to the initial Fringe run, it had a lot of success following House. In fact, while the House numbers are virtually unchanged from Tuesday to Monday, Fringe was holding much more of the House audience on Tuesday than Lie To Me currently is on Monday.

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)

Photo Credit: FOX

Ratings Clack – V gets off to a great start

Brett Love — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:30:08 +0000

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)

Photo Credit: ABC

Jor-El on Earth? I call shenanigans!

Ivey West — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:41 +0000

In its eight and a half odd seasons, Smallville has brought many faces from the comics to television, and its worked very well. From Perry White to Bart Allen, Bizzaro to Brianiac, characters good and evil have come to help or hinder Clark Kent in his quest to protect humanity. But one ongoing story line involves Kryptonians visiting Earth in the past, which has now lead to the arrival of Jor-El on Earth. I think his appearance detracts from the mythos of the show, instead of helping them.

There are a couple of caveats to his showing up. First, it’s a clone of Jor-El, created well before Clark was born, the destruction of Krypton, or even before Zod turned all kinds of evil. And I realize that Jor-El showing up is 100% tied to Zod being on Earth as well, a plot point I have really enjoyed. Finally, I get that there is always the Kryptonian computer with Jor-El’s sentience uploaded. Unfortunately, I don’t think Clark’s biological father should have ever physically showed up on earth.

Clark is an orphan of a dead planet, taken in by an incredible family, whom raised them as their own. But as great as the Kents were, they were always just stand-ins, who really can’t relate with Clark’s desire to know about his heritage. Meeting his father, even just momentarily, takes away from that isolation that, to an extent, defines who Clark Kent really is.

Other stuff:

All of the Kandor stuff was pretty damn cool.
As much as I don’t like seeing Jor-El, I did like seeing how (at least in this timeline) they were once the best of friends.
Loved the tongue in cheek references to the fact that Erica Durance’s contract isn’t for the full count of episodes.
I loved the trial of Jor-El, with the mise-en-scene shout out to the films.
“Whether she doth or not, I can guarantee she won’t be revealing anymore tonight.” – Tess and Zod have a nice bit of chemistry working
I really, really like what Tess Mercer has brought to the show … Her conversation with Clark showed that while she has differing agendas, she really does want to be trusted by him.
Tess tells Clark that Zod took Jor-El, but then it’s a mystery that needs solving who killed him?

Photo Credit: CW

Smallville – Major Zod is a bad ass!

Ratings Clack – The Mentalist knocks off CSI

Brett Love — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:00:29 +0000

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)

Photo Credit: CBS

Ten reasons why Oliver Queen is a more interesting character than Clark Kent

Ivey West — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:36:05 +0000

Sure, the name of the show is Smallville, and we didn’t even meet the Green Arrow until the sixth season of the show, but at this point, I think he’s the star of the show. I’ve said before that I have, in past seasons, had trouble following this show during the season, and I think I’ve finally admitted to myself the reason why. Clark Kent, as a separate character from Superman (or in this case, the Red-Blue Blur) is supposed to be plain, understated, mild-mannered even, but unfortunately, both of his personas on this show are just kind of boring.

Oliver Queen, on the other hand, doesn’t have that problem. He’s a much more compelling leading man than Clark, and these are the reasons why:

Queen has better chemistry with every single woman on the show, including Chloe, but especially Lois.
Lets face it, tortured rich boy is way more interesting than tortured farm boy.
He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty: Have you seen Lex Luthor around recently?
Cooler costume: Hey, Clark, Neo called and he wants his costume back.
Better backstory with the resident quasi-bad girl: I’m not 100% sure Tess Mercer is all bad these days, but I am sure that her history with Queen makes for an interesting dynamic, where as Zod (bad ass, by the way) still hasn’t even met Clark yet.
Better superhero name: Seriously, its time for “the Red-Blue Blur” to retire.
Better Charity work: Did any of the people Clark tried to save wear boots like Mia did this week?
Oliver is the reason the Justice League is around; Clark just left those guys blowing in the wind.
I’m not going to say that Justin Hartley is the more interesting actor, but, Justin Hartley is the more interesting actor.
Oliver has actually experienced change over the course of the show, while Clark still just feels like his trying to figure out what his place is on this planet (Which, if I remember correctly, has been the theme since the Pilot, right?).

I don’t expect them to change the name of the show anytime soon, but as long as they continue to focus on the Green Arrow and Oliver Queen, I’m sticking around.

Photo Credit: CW

Ratings Clack – Smallville continues to defy the odds

Brett Love — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:00:19 +0000

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)

Photo Credit: The CW

Ratings Clack – Where is FlashForward headed?

Brett Love — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:00:41 +0000

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)

Photo Credit: ABC

Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc

Brett Love — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:00:43 +0000

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)

Photo Credit: FOX

Smallville – Metropolis: 28 Days Later

Jason Hughes — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:00:21 +0000

In an obvious nod to 28 Days Later, the episode even opened with Clark in a hospital. Yes, I know it wasn’t really a hospital, but Clark was laid out on a table with medical equipment nearby, so close enough. The filming was reminiscent of the recent cult classic as well, and in a good way.

As a mostly stand-alone episode, “Rabid” was extremely well put together. I thought opening the episode with Clark finding Lois in the throes of the infection was incredibly effective. I know it’s a common enough storytelling device in television, but it was still put to good use here.

And I was glad to see the return of Green Arrow. It looks like whatever his journey is going to be this season, he may come out of it an even more interesting character. Is that proposed Green Arrow spin-off still a possibility?

Oliver Queen is in a very dark place right now, and he’s lost a lot of confidence in himself. In fact, it was his self-loathing that allowed Lois to fall asleep and succumb to the infection in the first place. Though, I’m not sure he could have kept her awake had he actively been slapping her in the face the whole time. She went down fast.

I did find myself wondering how they were going to clean out the Daily Planet building, and how many of Lois and Clark’s coworkers died during this outbreak? Will that be addressed? The water supply will get people taking showers (if they’re not symptomatic by then) and the rain gets anyone who goes outside, but that still leaves a legitimate segment of the population who’ll do neither. Are they in danger?

It was a cool reveal to see that it was one of the rogue Kryptonians who unleashed this in an effort to out Jor-El. Of course they’re going to assume the red-blue blur is Jor-El. They probably know nothing of Kal. Problematic for Clark, though, is that they think that he is intentionally keeping them from gaining their yellow sun abilities.

I’m not exactly sure what is, to be honest. In the end, the episode established an interesting story arc for Oliver Queen to go on this season, as well as continuing the growing threat of whatever Zod is up to. And Clark is still struggling to figure out who he wants to be in his new life.

You know, the show could transform into it’s own spin-off and solve the “no flight, no costume” rule. Shift it to The New Adventures of Superman and all your problems are solved. Or, if you don’t want to be that direct in the title, call it Metropolis.

Photo Credit: The CW

Ratings Clack – Is Dollhouse about to get pulled?

Brett Love — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:39 +0000

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)

Photo Credit: FOX

I liked this episode of Smallville better when it was called Iron Man

Ivey West — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:51:43 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on the Superman mythos. I’ve seen all of the movies, just about every episode of Smallville, read the novelization of The Death and Life of Superman, and well, am an “in-general” geek. Thus, I’m really not that familiar with the character of Metallo. His origin story (of sorts) that was told tonight was just a bit too similar to Iron Man (at least the theatrical version, of which I’m familiar).

It seems that the basic back story of the comic version of Metallo is that he was John Corben, reporter (slash thief) at the Daily Planet who was in an accident, and now lives as either a robot with Corben’s brain, or some kind of cyborg-ish creature. Both are powered, of course, by Supe’s one weakness, Kryptonite. This story, though, looked a bit familiar.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to knock the backstory, but as shown, it was too damn much like Iron Man for its own good. The blacking out and back in, the discovery of what had happened to him, all of it just felt like Robert Downey Jr. should have woken up on that table. The saving grace, actually, was Brian Austin Green, who played the role pretty well. Green is one of those guys that I think needs to catch a break, as Terminator didn’t pan out. But hey, if Joshua Jackson can finally get a great role, so can Green.

Good to see Clark Kent back in action. His self-imposed isolation from his friends wasn’t working for him, or frankly, for the show. Plus, he kept failing at keeping away. I guess that they will probably end the show with Lois never figuring out Clark’s secret. I think that her finding out early is a departure from the source I would gladly accept.

Other stuff

SHELBY!!!! (That’s Clark’s dog, for the uninitiated)
Lois was hunting down a “real life terminator” … Really? I love homages, but that was a little too overt for my tastes
Chloe and Clark’s makeup needs to stick, because the animosity is killing me
Best part of the night was watching Dr. Gaeta get thrown across the ER by Metallo
Very little Tess/Zod stuff tonight, diverging from the best part of the premiere
And I might feel stupid for asking, but who is the kid working for Tess?

Photo Credit: CW

CliqueClack TV » Smallville

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