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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

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

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

Reality Clack – Evil Russells, mylar balloons over Colorado

Jackie Schnoop — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:00:41 +0000

Lately on television, reality shows have really been a bad example of the real reality in which we live. For example, on Survivor: Samoa, we have two Russells. One is definitely an “Evil Russell.” But the Good Russell is exhibiting poor leadership skills — he was the Chosen One to lead his tribe in the beginning of the season. The supposed Good Russell has a chip on his shoulder the size of Wisconsin, too.

The latest route for many of the reality shows I watch is to get the most obnoxious self-absorbed folks ever in the cast. Then they focus on those people for the action almost more than any physical competitions or such. I suppose it does take a quirky personality and a dubious psyche to want to be on the shows, but give me a break.

Then there’s the mylar balloon boy

Thankfully I was at work and my daytime television wasn’t taken up with the balloon hoax this past week. Since I’m talking poor behavior, obnoxious and self-absorbed Hollywood wannabes, I can’t write this column without a mention of this event.

I saw the original Wife Swap show with the Heene family. As a sometimes watcher of WS, I just can’t fathom where they get these extreme families. Hey, my own family was as dysfunctional as they come, but not to the zealot or bizarre level of the families they get for this reality show.

When I first saw the events on the news about the little boy (not) in the mylar balloon and they announced the family, I figured it was a hoax. Has the reality TV genre created monsters amongst us? It used to be that if you wanted to be on stage, in movies, or on television, you got a waitstaff job at a restaurant and went to audition after audition before landing a gig (or not). Now it seems evil and whacked-out seem to be the criteria. Don’t get me going on the Jon and Kate stuff.

What’s up with all the arguing these days?

I might be wrong by throwing in a tabloid show in the reality genre, but I’m doing it anyway. I sometimes have The Insider on as it’s after the CBS Evening News which is a habit for me. They’ve changed the format and now everyone on a panel takes sides in a debate?

I’m sure this says something about the state of our society that they can’t just report the Hollywood gossip without arguing pros and cons about it. For me, it would be easy. Jon and Kate are egocentric Hollywood wannabe rich kids with kids who want a free ride because they had too many kids. Case closed.

The good of reality television

There’s So You Think You Can Dance. I love this show. I can’t dance even if I had to dance for my life even though I attended obligatory tap dancing lessons for years as a child. I find the show both entertaining and refreshing. Why refreshing? Well, because the young adults on the show at this stage have all worked so hard at their craft. They aren’t sailing by on being evil or weird. They’re working hard and they’re amazing.

For the most part, The Amazing Race is still showing the good. Sure, they have the occasional ugly American or bickering team. But overall, it’s a look at a world that most of us couch surfers aren’t going to see. It allows us to get glimpses of lands, cultures, and people so far removed from our own lives. And, they’re not dependent on evil or whacked for casting.

Photo Credit: CBS

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

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

Survivor: Samoa – Russell needs to worry about more than just seeds

Jason Hughes — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:30:24 +0000

I’m pretty sure, based on prior seasons, that an Immunity Idol is an Immunity Idol. That means that even though Russell found the one in Foa Foa that was intended for Galu, it’s still valid should he choose to play it.

Speaking of Russell, though, I applaud the Machiavellian way he’s attacking this game, but he needs to realize that there are bigger things afoot than just planting those Russell seeds.

Going into tonight’s episode, we’re only seven days in and already Foa Foa is down three members. All the control in the world in Foa Foa isn’t going to help much if the tribe is decimated and massively outnumbered come the merge. Foa Foa needs to win.

Unfortunately, they didn’t. Again. It made me realize something else. Because Foa Foa has been on this losing streak all season, not only is Galu still ten members strong, but we don’t really know any of them yet. It’s going to be like a whole new show when we finally do start getting deeper into this tribe.

We did learn that their Russell, as their leader, made a pretty bone-headed decision. I can understand his thought that comfort is important, but at the same time the tarp is a big deal. They’re right, soaking wet pillows and blankets aren’t nearly as soft. And it’s only been seven days, so comfort shouldn’t be a priority at this point.

And then there’s Foa Foa Russell. I think I’m actually rooting for him now. Yes, he’s a self-serving villain, but he’s also turning the game on its head. I was pleased to see that he’s willing to be a little bit flexible in his own machinations to appease his tribe. Thus, he flipped to getting rid of Ben.

But even as Ben was going down in flames this week, the only person he had anything nice to say about was Russell. Come on, you’ve got to give Russell credit for his gameplay! He just needs to be careful and think about the big picture, and the very big Galu tribe bearing down on Foa Foa.

Photo Credit: CBS

Ratings Clack – Greg, Anthony, and Meredith rule

Brett Love — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:00:44 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally, a few cable numbers from the week.

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

Photo Credit: FOX; CBS; ABC

Survivor: Samoa is ghetto-fabulous!

Jason Hughes — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:35:12 +0000

Because Russell has been getting so much attention, and it’s well-deserved, we haven’t really spent much time with too many of the other contestants.

This week, we got a chance to spend a little more time with Yasmin. In fact, Foa Foa got to spend a little more time with Yasmin. And she proved herself to be quite a … personality. When the episode opened and she was talking about how out of sorts she was in the jungle, it reminded me of Cirie. I loved Cirie. Okay.

But then she got to Foa Foa and decided she was going to “help” them. What what?!

I don’t know if she has no social skills at all or if her intention was to insult and piss off every member of the Foa Foa tribe. They’d just lost three challenges in a row to her tribe, Galu. They’d also just lost one of their tribe members, Mike, to injury and were facing losing another at Tribal Council. And here she is telling them that she wants to help them strategize and be better. After all, it’s no fun beating them so soundly. It’s “like taking candy from a baby.”

This was her tactic for helping them out? She was serious about that? Then she tore into Ben for tackling her at the challenge. How dare he! She’s a girl! Granted, Ben ultimately got thrown out of the challenge for a rough trip, so he may have been overly aggressive, but she made it out like he was supposed to just let her do whatever she wanted.

This is always an issue when the men and women compete physically with one another in challenges, but my thinking is that shit happens. If he tackled her, so be it. It’s a tough game for a million dollars. How can she possibly expect preferential treatment because she’s a girl?

Ben got his digs in to her face and in front of Jeff at tribal council, but Russell proved that he’s still in control of Foa Foa and orchestrated Betsy’s removal. She was an easy target, because the young almost always want to pick off their elders, but she was also the most suspicious of Russell.

Photo Credit: CBS

Ratings Clack – Heeere’s Jay Leno

Brett Love — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0000

After a summer of wondering what the result of NBC just giving up on the 10 PM hour would be, we now have our first look at the numbers. Jay Leno started with a bang (over 18 million viewers), and then quickly started the slow grind to reality. The week also saw the premieres of One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Biggest Loser, The Beautiful Life, SNL: News, Parks & Rec, The Office, Community, Bones, and Fringe. Some of those were more successful than others.

NBC - Jay Leno really was the big story of the week. Something that won’t happen again until NBC pulls the plug on the show. It is too early to call just when that might be though. The premiere certainly got some attention. Here are all the numbers for the week:

Monday (18.42m/5.3)
Tuesday (11.09m/3.4)
Wednesday (13.36m/3.5)
Thursday (8.82m/2.7)
Friday (7.69m/2.1)

That’s a huge drop, but not one that was unexpected. It’s hard to say where bottom is at this point, but we should know more this week. Monday will have Jay facing off with CSI: Miami and Castle. Elsewhere for NBC, there was more good news. Sunday Night Football (21.1m/8.6) is still a winner, as is America’s Got Talent (13.9m/3.3 – 15.79m/3.5). The Biggest Loser (9.9m/3.8) also returned with strong numbers.

Things were a bit more mixed on Thursday. The combination of the SNL: News special (5.47m/2) and Parks & Recreation (4.89m/2.1) left much to be desired. To put that in perspective, last season Earl (7.01m/2.8), and even Kath & Kim (7.46m/2.3), premiered better. Unfortunately for SNL, there’s no election this year. And unfortunately for Parks & Rec, it’s just not very good.

Things did pick up at 9. The Office (8.21m/4.1) was off from last season’s premiere, but those are still great numbers. Community (7.88m/3.8) was also down over the spot last year (SNL election news), but was above where 30 Rock finished the season. It will be curious to see what happens when the show moves to 8.

FOX - Things weren’t quite as exciting for FOX, but they do still have some heavy hitters yet to debut. Unfortunately, what was thought to possibly be one of the heavy hitters kind of fouled one off. Fringe (7.81m/3) came out from behind Paula’s skirt, and House’s lab coat, to stand naked under the guise of the squints. That’s not a great result. It dropped 2.5 million viewers from the Bones (10.36m/3.1) audience. Worse, at the end of last season, Hell’s Kitchen was beating that demo number while facing off with new episodes from Grey’s and CSI. That’s something the Fringe folks will try their hand at this week.

In other FOX news, So You Think You Can Dance (5.67m/2.4) and Glee (6.69m/3.2) were down week to week, but I don’t think it’s time for real concern. They were against the AGT finale, and I still expect the SYTYCD audience to grow once it gets into the competition. For Glee, the demo is solid, but it remains to be seen how loyal the Gleeks are. If they stick around, the show will be just fine. Three finales wrap up the FOX week, as we say goodbye to King Of The Hill (6.26m/3 – 6.04m/2.9), More To Love (4.2m/1.7), and Fifth Grader (5.02m/1). Great numbers for KOTH, and I’m now setting the over/under for Dollhouse at the Fifth Grader numbers. Take the under in viewers, and the over in the demo.

CW - Well, we’ve now seen 80% of the new CW schedule, and it’s really not looking like a good year. One Tree Hill (2.31m/1.2) and Gossip Girl (2.55m/1.4) premiered. The network was quick to point out how these are the best numbers since December. Hopping in the wayback machine, that was with no DWTS on ABC, and the Terminator/Prison Break trainwreck on FOX. This week, DWTS, House, and Lie To Me come online. Good luck!

Things actually got worse after that. 90210 (2.31m/1.2) is also off from last year, but did remain close to the week ago numbers. Melrose Place (1.81m/1), on the other hand took a sharp dip. That’s approaching the kind of numbers that got Privileged canceled. And, it gets worse. Next Top Model (2.79m/1.4) was above all of those shows, but that’s as low as a new Next Top Model has ever been. That didn’t offer any help to the premiere of The Beautiful Life (1.38m/.6). Yikes.

The good news, came on Thursday. It would appear that this will once again be the strongest night of the week for the network. Vampire Diaries (3.77m/1.6) and Supernatural (2.78m/1.2) took the expected drop from premiere week, but have the best average night for the network.

CBS - With the whole thing set to get rolling this week, the week belonged to the finish of Big Brother (6.59m/2.1 – 7.78m/2.8). The only premiere the network rolled out early was Survivor (11.66m/3.6). That’s down year to year, but the show still looks to be the #1 show in the 8 o’clock hour.

ABC - Nothing exciting to report this week. No premieres, just the end of the summer programming slate, including Shaq Vs (4.43m/1.7), Wipeout (6m/2.1), Crash Course (3.51m/1.4), and Primetime: Family (4.11m/1.4). Shark Tank (4.2m/1.4) had another iffy outing that makes it’s fall prospects look all the more shaky. And Defying Gravity managed to go up in the ratings (2.45m/.8 – really, it went up to get to that), but still disappeared from the schedule.

Finally, here are a few of the big numbers from cable for the week:

Mad Men (1.8m/.6) – It’s the 30 Rock of cable. Lots of awards, but nobody watches.
True Blood (5.11m/2.9) – Solidified as HBO’s new crown jewel.
Hung (2.9m/1.5) – Season 2???
Drop Dead Diva (3m/.9) – Cute, and a surprising success.
Army Wives (3.91m/1.3) – ??? I’ve never watched, but good viewer numbers.
VMAs (8.97m/4.6) – I hope they sent Kanye a thank you card.
Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins (6.11m/1.3) – Live action works on the cartoon network.
Monday Night Football (11.95m/5.7) – Great for ESPN, not in the ballpark of the OG MNF.
Sons Of Anarchy (3.71m/1.9) – Big drop, but still solid.
Warehouse 13 (2.93m/1) – Winding down a great first season.
Top Chef (2.67m/1.4) – Still the king of cooking shows.
The Ultimate Fighter (4.11m/2.5) – Featuring the bloodiest fight ever on the show. Just grisly.
Ghost Hunters (2.45m/1.1) – Uh… boo?
Dark Blue (1.61m/.6) – Without Leverage, this one sinks.
It’s Always Sunny (2.25m/1.4) – How does this show not get crazy Emmy consideration? It’s funny, and has low viewer numbers….
Project Runway (3.62m/1.6) – Different network, still a cable hit.

Photo Credit: NBC

Survivor – The most diabolical player ever

Jason Hughes — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:00:35 +0000

Jeff Probst promised that we’d see the worst villain ever in the history of Survivor, and it looks like he’s going to be able to deliver on that promise. How could someone play the game with a shit-disturbing strategy and expect to win? Indeed.

I’m pleased to see that there are already several distinct and exciting personalities on the show, across both tribes. Even better, so far the tribes appear to be evenly balanced. And Jeff couldn’t resist throwing some more “twists” our way.

It was interesting that right off the top we had two racial stereotypes explored. One was that Asian people are smarter — based on sight alone, Elizabeth was chosen as the smartest member of her tribe.

In an interesting stereotype reversal, Jaison was correctly identified — by sight alone — as a strong swimmer. Immediately after this we got a shot of Mike being surprised by his selection, because African-Americans aren’t generally good swimmers. Gotta love people!

The silent opening was intriguing. The tribes had to select a leader before any of them could talk to one another, and then those leaders selected various members they felt were the strongest in several attributes. That’s what led to those stereotypes mentioned earlier.

But the dominating force of this episode was Russell H. I feel sorry for the other Russell on the show, the voted-leader of his tribe, because if Russell H. sticks around, he’s going to have way too much money being pure evil.

I was trying to figure out how someone could come in wanting to win this and play in a purely heartless and wicked way, and Russell H. explained it. He’s an oil company owner (not helping our stereotypes of oil company magnates), and if he’s not lying, he’s a millionaire as well. He doesn’t care about the money; he wants to show how easy it is to win this game.

He’s just screwing around with people, and does so by dumping out all their water, making secret alliances with all the “dumb girls,” preying on the New Orleans tragedy to make up a sympathetic lie about himself having survived it, and really anything else he can think of to create chaos at camp. It’s surreal to watch, and I’m not sure what I think about it.

He tested his strength of persuasion by orchestrating Marisa’s elimination for no real reason at all, other than her saying she was worried about him and not sure what to think.

If he does win, will that negate the strength of the format? Probably not. If people want to play the game just to screw around now, has Survivor jumped the shark?

If Russell Hantz wins, it would prove that no one strategy is a guarantee for victory.

Photo Credit: CBS

Fall 2009 pre-season predictions: Thursday

Brett Love — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:00:27 +0000

Good grief … Thursdays are going to be tough on viewers. I don’t know about your schedule, but it looks like I’m going to have to find time to watch 7½ hours of television Thursday night. At least, initially. As for the ratings game, there are a number of interesting new additions to the night. The big questions I see: Is FlashForward more toward the Lost side of the scale, or The Nine side? Is Community an upgrade from My Name Is Earl? And what will happen when Fringe doesn’t have the Idol juggernaut opening the night?

Thursday
	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00	10:30
ABC	FlashForward		Grey’s Anatomy		Private Practice
NBC	Community	Parks & Rec	The Office	30 Rock	Jay Leno
CBS	Survivor		CSI		The Mentalist
FOX	Bones		Fringe
CW	Vampire Diaries		Supernatural

Kicking things off at 8:00, I’ve purposely ignored the series of SNL: Weekend Update specials that will start the season. It’s not really the regular programming, and Community is the better story. That said, it’s worth noting for the simple fact that NBC has done a smart thing in letting Community open the season behind The Office, before moving to 8:00 to lead off the night. That will offer up a lot more exposure for those first few episodes. Will it make a hit? Not really. The pilot has been well received, and it does fit in well with the NBC comedy block. But given the competition, and the style of Community, it’s not going to be a breakout phenomenon. I think it will still do well enough, bettering the numbers that Earl was bringing to the network. A better lead-in won’t hurt Parks & Recreation, either, but then without something drastic changing, I don’t see that one picking up much at all either way. It’s just not that good.

That will likely land NBC in fourth for the hour, but those top three positions are a tougher call. If you want to go with the history, Survivor is still the front-runner. Even after all these years, the show is capable of getting 12 million viewers and a 3.5 demo. Bones brought new life to Thursdays for FOX, but three million viewers, and a point in the demo is a lot of ground to make up. I do expect it to get closer, but it’s not ready to topple Survivor just yet. The real question mark though, is FlashForward. ABC is really banking on this being the big hit show for the new season. I can’t help thinking of The Nine every time I hear about the idea of the flashes. And man, did that not pan out well last time.

The long con is always a tougher sell on TV, and this has all the makings of that. The producers have been proactive about promising that the first season is a complete story, and the questions asked in the pilot will be answered, etc. But come on now … we’ve heard that before. It’s the kind of stuff that chases a certain segment of viewers away, and I think it’s what keeps FlashForward from challenging Survivor. With all the promotion though, and good early buzz, the battle for second with Bones could be very interesting.

At 9:00, they’re at it again. Grey’s Anatomy and CSI will once again square off to see which is the number one show for the night. In recent history, CSI has held the edge in viewers, with Grey’s taking the lead in the demo. The tide started to swing with the departure of Grissom, though. The end of last season was not kind to the CSI numbers, opening the door for Grey’s to take the night outright this season. CBS has announced their plan to right the ship, which involves updating Dr. Langston’s (Laurence Fishburne) wardrobe…. Seriously, I don’t think the new duds are going to be much help, but planned absences for Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) could factor in. At the end of the day, Grey’s wins the night, with CSI second.

Although … that could just be second in viewers, depending on how much the demo drops for CSI. It’s actually possible that we could see CSI fall as far as fourth in the demo. The Office was beating CSI regularly last season, but the drop for 30 Rock usually pulled NBC to third for the hour. If 30 Rock can make any gains — and it’s entirely possible given all the good press that show gets — NBC could finally get over the hump against CSI, possibly bringing the first (very early) signs of the end of the franchise.

But then there’s Fringe. The numbers from last season would be good enough to lock the show in at second place in the demo. So the question becomes, how much are they going to drop now that Idol isn’t in front of the show? My best guess is Fringe averaging 8 million viewers and just over a 3 demo. That should give it a few more viewers than the NBC hour, and a little less demo. It will be a noticeable drop for the show. The good news though, is that it will still be a success for FOX. With that, Bones and Fringe will now be a solid Thursday night for the network. Something it hasn’t had in a very long time.

At 10:00, it’s another win for CBS. The interesting battle isn’t Private Practice vs. The Mentalist. It’s The Mentalist vs. CSI. Given the numbers the show was turning in last season, The Mentalist could actually do better than CSI on the night. And here’s a thought: Crazy as it seems after so many years with CSI as the big Thursday hit, if that pans out, the smart move might be flipping the two shows. Private Practice should continue to do well after Grey’s, as ABC has finally found a pairing that works for viewers. But The Mentalist will take the hour. And this is one night where Leno has no shot at anything other than a last place finish.

Finally, our old friends at The CW are doing something rather odd on Thursday. They’re breaking up what was easily the network’s most consistent night last season. Despite all the ridiculous competition, Smallville and Supernatural continued to grind out solid numbers all season. I find the moving of Smallville very odd, indeed. And I have to say it looks like a downgrade for the night.

Naturally, we’ll have to wait to see how the show pans out, but Vampire Diaries feels tired to me already. They are just too late to the game with their vampire entry. It won’t measure up to the Smallville numbers from last season. Fortunately for Kripke and the crew at Supernatural, their fans are hardcore. A change in lead-in isn’t going to mean much to Supernatural. It will continue to do its thing, with or without Clark’s help.

Photo Credit: NBC

Presenting CliqueClack’s guide to the 2009-10 fall season

Richard Keller — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:00:42 +0000

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 with links to our reviews as we publish them.

Welcome to CliqueClack’s guide for the 2009-10 fall season! Or, in the case of NBC, The Great Experiment. Now, if you didn’t realize it already, this fall season is going to be different from past years. First, there’s no ER, which will feel a little weird. Second, Lost will be ending its run in the spring of 2010. Third, American Idol will be without Paula Abdul. And finally, Jay Leno is going to come into your homes at 10 PM each night and try to convince you that scripted programming is dead.

Once this season pans out, that may or may not be the case on the big Four and a Quarter networks. With so many viewers moving to other venues of original, scripted programming like cable and the Internet, the networks are fighting for life … again. Well, NBC and ABC probably are: CBS and FOX are doing okay for the time being. So, the big question is whether or not they can come back with ambitious programs like Flash Forward, comedies like Hank and The Middle, which feature known stars, remakes like Parenthood and Melrose Place, and Chevy Chase?

Only time and ratings will tell. In the meantime, CliqueClack TV is here to present you with the most comprehensive premiere schedule on the Internet. Something that you will come back to time and time again to peruse in order to plan your day. Just be aware that dates and times of these premieres may change at the whim of a network executive with too much gas. Now, without further typing…

Guide Notes:

New series premieres in bold italic

* – denotes new time/day

? – asks why the f%*&k this show is still on the air

September

To Be Determined

3:00 and 4:00 The Tyra Banks Show(CW) – Season 4 premiere. First on CW. Airdate to be determined.

Monday, September 7th

Dinosaur Train (PBS) – Check local listings for times.

Electric Company (PBS) – Check local listings for times.

10:00 Durham County (ION) – The network’s first original drama

Tuesday, September 8th

8:00 90210 (CW) – Season 2 premiere

9:00 Melrose Place (CW) – Coming next season, remakes of Booker and The Heights.

10:00 Sons of Anarchy (FX) – Season 2 premiere

Wednesday, September 9th

8:00 America’s Next Top Model (CW) – Season 13 premiere

8:00 So You Think You Can Dance (FOX) - Season 6 premiere

9:00 Glee (FOX) - A feel-good show on FOX? Nah, can’t be! (here’s our preview of Glee’s return)

9:00 Inside the NFL (Showtime)

10:00 Destination Truth (SyFy) – Season 3 premiere

Thursday, September 10th

8:00 The Vampire Diaries (CW)

9:00 Supernatural (CW) – Season 5 premiere

Friday, September 11th

10:00 20/20 (ABC)

Saturday, September 12th

8:00 COPS (FOX) – Season 20 premiere. Coming up this season — the 700th episode!

9:00 Robin Hood (BBC America) – Season 2 premiere

9:00 America’s Most Wanted (FOX) – Season 23 premiere

Sunday, September 13th

7:00 Football Night in America (NBC)

8:15 NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC)

Monday, September 14th

Dr. Phil (Syndicated) – Season 8 premiere. Check local listings for times.

Oprah (Syndicated) – Season 24 premiere. Check local listing for times.

The Rachel Ray Show (Syndicated) – Check local listings for times.

8:00 Lincoln Heights (ABC Family) – Season 4 premiere

8:00 One Tree Hill (CW) – Season 7 premiere

9:00 Gossip Girl (CW) – Season 3 premiere

10:00 The Jay Leno Show (NBC) – The start of The Great Experiment. Guest stars for the premiere include Jay Z, Kayne West, Rhianna, and Jerry Seinfeld.

Tuesday, September 15th

8:00 The Biggest Loser (NBC) – Weekly shows from 8-10 pm, followed by Jay Leno’s show. Yes, this is the new face of NBC.

Wednesday, September 16th

9:00 The Beautiful Life (CW)

Thursday, September 17th

8:00 Survivor: Samoa (CBS) – 19th season premiere

8:00 Bones (FOX) – Season five premiere. Here’s hoping Booth recovers from his coma.

9:30 Thursday Night Live (NBC) – Season 2 premiere. Not too sure what they’re going to talk about now that the election is over.

8:30 Parks and Recreation (NBC) – Season 2 premiere

9:00 Fringe* (FOX) – Season 2 premiere

9:00 The Office (NBC) – Season 6 premiere.

9:30 Community (NBC) – Chevy Chase returns to TV, and not in a talk show format! (Here’s a Guest Clack post about the show)

10:00 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX) – Season 5 premiere

Friday, September 18th

10:00 Crash (STARZ) – Season 2 premiere

Sunday, September 20th

9:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) – Season 7 premiere

10:45 Bored to Death (HBO)

Monday, September 21st

8:00 Dancing With the Stars (ABC) – Season 9 premiere. And … Donny Osmond!

8:00 How I Met Your Mother* (CBS) – Season … wait for it … 5 premiere.

8:00 House (FOX) – Season 6 premiere. Will House get out of the looney bin? Only a two-hour episode will tell.

8:00 Heroes (NBC) – Two-hour, season 4 premiere

8:30 Accidentally on Purpose (CBS)

9:00 Two and a Half Men (CBS) – Season 7 premiere

9:30 Big Bang Theory* (CBS) – Season 3 premiere

10:00 Castle (ABC) – Season 2 premiere

10:00 CSI: Miami (CBS) – Season 8 premiere

10:00 Madventures (Travel) – An actual travel show on the Travel Channel? Get out!

Tuesday, September 22nd

8:00 NCIS (CBS) – Season 7 premiere

9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

10:00 The Forgotten (ABC)

10:00 The Good Wife (CBS) – The return of Julianna Margulies

10:00 The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck (Oxygen) – And you can all get your minds out of the gutter with that title.

Wednesday, September 23rd

8:00 The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) – Season 5 premiere

8:00 Mercy (NBC) – It might be me, but this show really belongs on Lifetime. (Here’s our preview post on the show.)

8:30 Gary Unmarried (CBS) – Season 2 premiere. Hey, the show isn’t half-bad!

9:00 Criminal Minds (CBS) – Season 5 premiere

9:00 Law & Order: SVU* (NBC) – Season 11 premiere.

9:00 Modern Family (ABC) – All-star cast, including Ed O’Neil and Julie Bowen, give this comedy a chance (Check out our preview post on this show.)

9:30 Cougar Town (ABC) – Courtney Cox’s new comedy. (Check out our preview post on this show.)

10:00 Eastwick (ABC) (Check out our post about this show.)

10:00 CSI: NY (CBS) – Season 6 premiere

Thursday, September 24th

8:00 Flash Forward (ABC) – Another series full of mysteries. How long before people’s heads begin to explode? (Check out our review of the pilot script and preview of the pilot episode.)

9:00 Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – Season 6 premiere

9:00 CSI (CBS) – Season 10 premiere

10:00 The Mentalist* (CBS) – Season 2 premiere

Friday, September 25th

8:00 Ghost Whisperer (CBS) – Season 5 premiere

8:00 Smallville (CW) – Season 9 premiere

8:00 Brothers (FOX) – One-hour series premiere.

8:00 Law & Order* (NBC) – Season 20(!) premiere. And, maybe its last.

9:00 Medium (CBS) – Season 6 premiere (1st season premiere on CBS)

9:00 Dollhouse (FOX) – Season 2 premiere. Yes, I’m being serious!

10:00 Numb3rs (CBS) – Season 6 premiere

Saturday, September 26th

10:00 48 Hours Mystery (CBS) – Because there isn’t enough crime on the CBS schedule.

11:30 Saturday Night Live (NBC) – Season 35, which may have been about 15 seasons too long. Allegedly, Megan Fox will be host. So, if the show sucks, at least we can look (leer) admiringly at her.

Sunday, September 27th

7:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) – Season 10 premiere. Prepare for tissue stocks to skyrocket.

7:00 60 Minutes (CBS) – The whopping 42nd season premiere.

8:00 The Amazing Race (CBS) – 15th season premiere

8:00 The Simpsons (FOX) – The big 2-0 for this long-running animated comedy.

8:30 The Cleveland Show (FOX) – After a year of promotion this show finally gets its chance.

9:00 Desperate Housewives (ABC) – Season 6 premiere

9:00 Family Guy (FOX) – Season 8 premiere, which is supposed to be their Empire Strikes Back parody. But, it’s only a half hour. Hmm…

9:00 Dexter (Showtime) – Season 4 premiere.

9:30 American Dad (FOX) – This fifth season(!) premiere ends the first week of “Seth Sunday” on FOX.

10:00 Brothers & Sisters (ABC) – Season 4 premiere

10:00 Cold Case (CBS) – Season 7 premiere

10:00 Californication (Showtime) – Season 3 premiere

Monday, September 28th

8:00 Lie to Me* (FOX) – Season two premiere

9:00 Trauma (NBC) – ER with more explosions. (Here’s our preview post on the show.)

Tuesday, September 29th

8:00 Shark Tank (ABC) – The press release says “in-season premiere,” which means it’s either a continuation of the summer run or the beginning of season two.

9:00 Dancing With the Stars the Results Show (ABC)

10:00 The Hills (MTV) – Season 5 premiere

Wednesday, September 30th

8:00 Hank (ABC) – Kelsey Grammer’s new sitcom

8:30 The Middle (ABC) – Patricia Heaton’s new comedy

October

To Be Determined

3:00 Let’s Make a Deal (CBS) – Hosted by Wayne Brady

Thursday, October 1st

10:00 Private Practice (ABC) – Season 3 premiere

Friday, October 2nd

8:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon) – Season 2 premiere

8:30 ‘Til Death* (FOX) – Season 4 premiere. Though, I have a feeling they’ll be burning off a number of season three episodes as well.

9:00 Stargate Universe (SyFy) – Eh, I don’t know about this one.

Sunday, October 4th

7:00 America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) – Holy frak! This is the show’s 20th season. I wonder if Bob Saget will make a cameo.

9:00 Three Rivers (CBS) – The return of Alex O’Loughlin

9:00 The Next Iron Chef (Food)

Monday, October 5th

7:00 Sherri (Lifetime)

7:30 Rita Rocks (Lifetime) – Season two premiere

Wednesday, October 6th

9:00 Scare Tactics (SyFy) – Season 2 premiere

Thursday, October 7th

10:00 South Park (Comedy Central) – Season 13 premiere

Friday, October 8th

10:00 TOSH.0 (Comedy Central) – New episodes from this summer’s premiere.

Friday, October 9th

10:00 Sanctuary (SyFy) – Season 2 premiere

Monday, October 13th

10:00 Disaster House (DIY) – Houses are wrecked to show the wear and tear that are inflicted upon them over the years. Obviously small children that are full of sugar are involved.

Wednesday, October 14th

10:00 Nip/Tuck (FX) – Season 6 premiere

Thursday, October 15th

9:30 30 Rock (NBC) – Season 4 premiere. And you thought Studio 60 would have been the show that came out the winner.

Friday, October 16th

8:00 Supernanny (ABC) – Oy!

8:00 Ugly Betty* (ABC) – Two-hour, season 4 premiere

Sunday, October 18th

8:00 Occupation (BBC America) – American release

11:00 The Venture Bros. (Cartoon) – Season premiere

Friday, October 23rd

9:00 Southland* (NBC) – Season 2 premiere.

10:00 White Collar (USA Network) – Tiffany Theisen!

Wednesday, October 28th

Friday Night Lights (DirecTV) – Season 4 premiere

November

Tuesday, November 3rd

8:00 V (ABC) – Yet another remake on the fall schedule (Here’s our preview post about the show.)

Saturday, November 7th

11:00 The Wanda Sykes Show (FOX)

Monday, November 9th

11:00 Lopez Tonight (TBS) – Another weeknight talkshow

Midseason Premieres

24 (FOX)
American Idol (FOX) – The Paula Abdul-less version
Better off Ted (ABC)
Blonde Charity Mafia (CW)
Caprica(SyFy)
Chuck (NBC) – Yeah!
Day One (NBC)
Human Target (FOX)
Lost (ABC) – Last. Season. Ever!
Life Unexpected (CW)
Parenthood (NBC)
Scrubs (ABC) – Or, Scrubs 2.0

Photo Credit: ABC

Reality Clack – American Idol, Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars

Jackie Schnoop — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:00:52 +0000

Well, there were probably a lot of non-fans of the reality television genre breathing huge sighs of relief this past week as yet another season of American Idol wrapped up. Survivor Tocantins also ended last Sunday night, but on a very different note. Both shows went out in gala style. However, one was a shocker and the other was pretty much a given.

I personally don’t care so much who won what on the reality shows I watch. Sure, there are folks like delusional Ben “Coach” Wade whom I want off my TV set the moment I see them. But my criteria for a good season always remains … was I entertained? Regarding Survivor and American Idol, yes. Yes, I was very entertained.

That was the week it was

I’ll touch on the Survivor finale first just to get the old news out of the way. As usual, we had the three-hour night of the show — two hours of gameplay, then the live reunion show. I always wish that The Amazing Race would put on something similar to the reunion show during their finale. Phil Keoghan could definitely do a Jeff Probst kind of interviewing session with the cast. No, I don’t think Julie Chen could handle that sort of show with Big Brother as she often seems oblivious to what’s been going on. But, just as Jeff is perfect to grill the castaways, so could Phil.

The fact that JT won the season and that it was unanimous when he was paired up in the final two with Stephen came as no surprise to me. I think JT would have won over anyone. Perhaps if Taj had been in the final two with him, she would have gotten some votes. Surely, he would have won anyway. I’m satisfied with the winner — he excelled in many areas.

Could he have done it all without Stephen and Taj? I don’t think so. I think, had they not been at his side in the alliance, he would have been targeted. I enjoyed watching all three of them take over the game. I only wish that Stephen and JT had taken Taj to the final three instead of Erinn. That was just wrong.

The Survivor finale was nothing compared to the season finale of American Idol this year. Before I even mention the winner, I have to say that the finale show itself was one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen in ages. Usually I’m not so keen on the AI finale, but I have to give ‘em kudos for the array of artists involved. I mean … we’re talking Steve Martin on banjo, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz, Carlos Santana, KISS, The Black-Eyed Peas, on and on … and on. What a spectacular event!

As for the season itself, I think most of the Idol-wannabes were of a higher caliber than in previous seasons. There were no Sanjayas in the final bunch. Sure, Megan Joy Corkrey could be a bit iffy at times. But, overall, there was a huge amount of young talent this year.

The controversy over why Kris won runs the gamut from the anti-gay vote to the pro-Christian vote to the Danny Gokey exodus vote to the judges pushing an Adam vote and beyond. I noticed that the teenybopper girls went crazy for Kris, so that’s sure to be a factor, too. It really doesn’t matter. The show opened doors for both Kris and Adam. Now all they have to do is pursue their dreams in music — they both have built-in fan bases to support them. May they live long and prosper … or something like that. It was a good season for the show. Let’s see ‘em top it next year! (It’s so much better than a Reuben Studdard stand there and sweat although possessing a decent voice win!)

On the Dancing With the Stars finale, it was Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas for the win. I should note that at 17-years-old, Shawn is the youngest competitor ever on the show. Her Olympic gymnast background definitely gave her the grace and discipline for DWTS. Congratulations! I think of her and newly 17-year-old American Idol contestant Allison Iraheta, then think back to what I was doing at that age. Um, well. I was in college then, but doing a lot of things I shouldn’t have been doing!

This past week started the new season of So You Think You Can Dance. While I’ve never been a big fan of Dancing With the Stars, I’m practically rabid over SYTYCD. Don’t ask me why. And, no. I can’t dance. I can’t sing either. I’m glad these shows weren’t around when I was the age for contestants. Back then I thought I could dance and sing. Thankfully I never embarrassed myself on national (international these days) television. Now, if there was a show called So You Think You Can Hole Up in Your Apartment Alone for a Month and Read Books … that I could win. Once we get through the audition phase and into the real show of SYTYCD, I’ll be entertained once again. Until then, I might read some books.

Photo Credit: FOX

Ratings Clack – 2008-2009 goes out with a bang

Brett Love — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:01:53 +0000

Just like that, the 2008-2009 season is done. We are now firmly in the grips of the summer television season. That means there will be a months long wait (10 if you’re a Chuck fan!) for new episodes. On the bright side, you’ll have plenty of time to watch the Women’s College World Series (Danielle Lawrie is awesome!) or the French Open (I’ve got Nadal and Safina). Or maybe you’ll join me in reading World War Z (Zombies!). Before you get started on that fancy new summer schedule, we have one last week of numbers to take a look at.

FOX - It was the biggie, so let’s begin with Idol. There was a fair bit of chatter about how the numbers were down for the Idol finale, but let’s be realistic. The final performance show (23.82m/8.6), and the big finale announcement (28.84m/10), were so far ahead of everything else on TV that it doesn’t even matter. Consider that only two other shows, 2 ½ Men and Dancing With The Stars, were even able to crack 5 in the demo. Even in a ‘down’ year, Idol is far and away the number one show on television.

Elsewhere, the Sunday animation block got the week off to a slow start. Perhaps it was the presence of the Survivor and Housewives finales. Simpsons (5.85m/2.9), King Of The Hill (5.22m/2.6), Family Guy (7.35m/3.7), and American Dad (5.64m/2.8) were all down a bit. That theme continued on Monday. 24 (9.65m/3.1) missed having Dr. House at 8. Tuesday did bring some good news, in addition to Idol. Glee (9.62m/3.9) premiered to critical raves and managed to post what I would call very Fringe-like numbers. The kids from So You Think You Can Dance (8.47m/3.4) kicked off the FOX summer on Thursday, winning the night in the demo. And Friday, Don’t Forget The Lyrics (3.4m/1) made its return to Friday, with very Dollhouse looking numbers.

ABC - As with FOX, ABC’s final week was carried by their reality powerhouse. Dancing With The Stars remains a legitimate hit, posting excellent numbers for Monday’s performance show (19.17m/4.4), and the big Tuesday finale (20.31m/5.2). Tom and Samantha passed the Monday keys off to The Bachelorette (8.69m/3) which was below where The Bachelor left off. However, as we saw with that one, casting is everything.

Elsewhere, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (9.27m/3.1) and Desperate Housewives (13.96m/4.7) wrapped things up on Sunday. Those numbers are down year to year, and it is the lowest rated Housewives finale ever, but still solid. The only other programming of note was the two hour finale of Ugly Betty (6.27m/1.9).

CBS – Not to be outdone, CBS had a big reality finale of their own as Survivor wrapped up with the final episode (12.94m/4.2) and the reunion show (11.58m/4.1) on Sunday. The week continued with Rules of Engagement illustrating just what the power of a good lead-in will do: Rules Of Engagement (7.49m/2.7), How I Met Your Mother (8.73m/3.7), 2 ½ Men (16.18m/5.3), Rules Of Engagement (12.87m/4.4). Having watched both episodes, I can assure you, the second one wasn’t 5 million viewers better. CSI: Miami (14.19m/3.8) finished Monday with their finale. That demo number is an interesting one, as it is .4 better than the original CSI managed with its finale. Could it be that Horatio is now the top dog in the CSI universe?

Good news continued Tuesday as NCIS (16.51m/3.4) continues to hold up amazingly well against Idol. Likewise, The Mentalist (16.82m/3.7) was just fine up against DWTS. Without A Trace (11.21m/2.5) wasn’t quite as successful, and can now be added to the list of shows that entered Tuesday @ 10 and never made it back out. The short week wrapped up on Wednesday with uneventful finales from Old Christine (5.55m/1.6) and Gary Unmarried (5.52m/1.7), and another solid cliffhanger from Criminal Minds (13.99m/3.5).

NBC - It was what I would call a bizarro reversal week for the peacock. Next season there will be no scripted programming in the 10PM slot, as the network is going all Jay, all the time. Last week, the only new scripted programming was at 10PM. It wasn’t a good week. The highlight was Law & Order:SVU (6.92m/2.5) on Tuesday. Unfortunately, that highlight was the lowest rated SVU ever. The original L&O (6.66m/2) wasn’t any better on Wednesday. Medium (6.56m/1.9) made its final NBC appearance on Monday. Look for that viewer number to jump by a good two million when the show moves to Friday on CBS. Finally, Southland (6.45m/1.9) finished its inaugural season. Don’t look for those numbers to improve on the NBC Friday.

CW - It was a short week, with only four hours of new programming. Gossip Girl (2.33m/1.1) went out with a steady number. Their partner in crime, One Tree Hill (2.68m/1.3), saw a small bump, most likely aided by the announced casting changes. Tuesday, Reaper (1.71m/.7) suffered another small drop. And 90210 (2m/1.1) finished off the week.

Next week, everything changes. And by that I mean the weekly post. With so little new network programming, we’ll begin the shift to Ratings Clack Lite for the summer. We’ll still follow the new things on the networks, and start mixing in some cable results as things like Burn Notice, Psych, and Eureka get new seasons under way.

Photo Credit: ABC

Survivor – How did they pull this one off?

Jason Hughes — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:00:11 +0000

It is a valid question. How did three outnumbered tribesmen manage to eliminate a rival tribe of six players to be the last team standing … and Erinn? The trick was keeping an eye on the big picture. While Timbira got distracted by their own internal power struggles and feuds, the Jalapao three were able to carefully orchestrate their elimination one by one.

Going into tonight, I was feeling pretty confident that JT had wrapped this thing up. I even said so in Thursday’s review of Survivor. I’ve watched all but one season of Survivor, and I’ll probably go back and watch “The Amazon” just so I can stop having to asterisk my devotion to the show.

Generally, I’ve developed a pretty good feel for how things are going to play out, which is why I should probably be on the show. There comes a point where everyone is just going to act and react a certain way based on what’s been going down, leaving the only real wild card as the Immunity Challenges. With the social game direction established, it’s just in controlling those Challenges. So did JT do that?

Hell yeah, he did. He won every single one of the final three Challenges and that’s what gave him the million dollars. He played every move right. I even agree with Taj being eliminated in the number four slot because had she found a way to squeak a victory when it was down to three, she was JT’s only real challenge in the final Jury Vote.

Erinn hadn’t earned anyone’s respect for her game play, and for all his degrees and fancy education, Stephen kind of comes across like a dork and people just don’t like dorks as much as they like country boys. JT knew this and played up his charming southerner side.

Even bringing Stephen to the final pool was strategy. He knew he could beat either Erinn or Stephen, but by showing loyalty to Stephen, he’d look even better in the eyes of the jury. If he’d betrayed his last ally for the million, he may have risked some votes.That good ol’ boy was one of the shrewdest players to every play the game, playing the jury until the final moment.

And it paid off with a unanimous victory for him. I couldn’t be happier, because I don’t think there’s anyone else I would have wanted to win over JT of the people who made it late into the game. That said, I think a Tyson/Coach final two would have made for one helluva debate at that final jury pool.

Other Things

Can we institute a ruling that if you’ve already won the million dollar grand prize, you should no longer be eligible for the $100,000 “most popular player” prize … or the Rupert prize as I like to call it. It’s just piling on at that point.
I have got to remember to check back online to see if Jeff got Coach’s story certified as true. One of you on here replied when I talked about that story that it was true and now a lie detector seems to be backing that up … at least that he got captured by natives.
Why did everyone hate Sierra? Sure she was a whiny little girl, but that happens. She never seemed as god-awful as people made her out to be.
How much did you love the “bromance” of JT and Stephen getting tested at that last tribal council? My wife thought for sure they wouldn’t be friends anymore, but I figured a lot of that was 39 days of frayed nerves, lack of nutrients and sleep and general crankiness. They’re the reality JD and Turk, it’s gonna take a lot more than words to break them up.
A couple of ideas we have for you, Survivor. Have a “First Out” edition of Survivor, where you grab up everyone who got voted out first on the show and give them all a second chance. Also, though there aren’t as many, I think you need an “Injured Reserve” edition as well so everyone who got medically evacuated can try again if they want to.

I don’t know what it is, but this game keeps working for me season after season. Even if it starts out slow, I find myself getting sucked into these personalities and by the time we’re nearing the end I actually care about who goes home and who ultimately wins. I can’t even say that about American Idol this year.

Photo Credit: CBS

How a douche named Coach saved Survivor – Open Letters

Scott Tunstall — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:00:41 +0000

Dear Survivor producers:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for casting Coach on the latest installment of your never-ending reality series. If it wasn’t for his melodramatic, self-involved, pain-in-the-ass antics, this season would have been incredibly dull. All the eye candy (Carolina, Sydney) and big breasts (Candace) got booted early, along with the annoying old broad (Sandy).

Sure, Sierra hung around longer than expected, which was nice, but her striped shirt/skirt made her look like the “Get Out of Jail Free Card” guy from Monopoly. Tyson played the cocky alpha-male prick role superbly and Debbie had that MILF thing going for her, but both were too smart (or dumb) for their own good.

That left Coach: aka Benjamin, The Zen Master, The Dragonslayer, The Ultimate Warrior and King of all Douchebags. As much as it hurts to admit — Coach saved Survivor for me. I was ready to give up on the show. The last couple seasons have been less than stellar, so I was apprehensive when I settled in for the first episode. Then the man in black opened his mouth. I remember uttering to myself, “This clown is reality TV gold.”

Well, I was right. Once he started regaling his fellow competitors with tales of yore, I knew we were in for something special. His account of being kidnapped and molested by Amazonian pygmies was topped only by the whopper about his freeing his estranged wife from the grip of money-hungry terrorists while trapped in a downtown Los Angeles high-rise.

No, wait. Allow me to retort. Coach’s best anecdote had to be the one about his perilous journey upriver to assassinate a lunatic Army Colonel, or maybe it was his daring rescue of passengers aboard a runaway bus armed with a bomb. Man, there are just too many to choose from. The guy has lived a life only those addicted to hallucinatory drugs can claim.

After coming to terms with his exit on Thursday’s edition, I can proudly say I will miss Coach’s preening and posturing. I sure hope his ailing back and asthma have improved since leaving the harsh Brazilian Highlands. Could you provide me a mailing address? I would very much like to send him a care package. I have some framed quotes from Sun Tzu and Confucius I think he might enjoy, and a pocket-sized Buddha he can take with him on his next life-threatening adventure.

Please consider arrogant asses like Coach when deliberating future casts. Nice guys and soccer moms are fine, but we need more people like Coach to spread their hackney inspiration to all corners of the world. So, thank you again Survivor producers for doing the right thing by your loyal viewers. I was teetering on the precipice, but you and a fool named Coach pulled me back.

Gratefully,

A still dedicated fan

PS – Hands down, the number one Coach chronicle was his mission to secure an ancient religious artifact before it fell into the hands of the Nazis. Truly memorable!!

Photo Credit: CBS

Survivor – J.T. is just kind of wrapping this thing up

Jason Hughes — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:06 +0000

He’s likable, he’s smarter than everyone seems to think and he’s a tough competitor in these challenges. And yet, everyone is basically letting him run the show. Yes, I’m giving away right here that J.T. didn’t get voted off Survivor tonight, so if you don’t like it you can suck it! I once wrestled a polar bear to the ground to get the coordinates to the Swan Station from it so I could save Charlie from Kate’s horse, so I’m not afraid of you. Oh wait, that was Coach. My bad, sometimes I mix up fiction and fact.

I’ll admit, I’ve been a little unclear as to where the real alliances have been this season, though many of you have had no problem following all the blatant lies these yahoos have been telling one another. And it continued tonight, though at the same time it wasn’t a surprising elimination at all.

I’ll be honest, I thought there was a real chance that Erinn would get eliminated tonight just because these players have allowed last minute comments made change them into getting rid of someone just to stop them from talking. Still, you have to give it up to J.T. Whether or not he intended for Coach to go home the way he did, the fact that Stephen was the swing vote and Coach knows J.T. voted Erinn assures J.T. one more vote in the finals.

Honestly, who can beat him? Stephen could give it a try but he doesn’t have nearly the charisma or charm. Everybody loves Taj but she’s married to Eddie George and they don’t even know about her own celebrity past. I just don’t see them giving the money to a woman who’s not wanting financially over J.T.

And I don’t see Erinn even making it that far unless she pulls off a huge upset in the last Immunity Challenge, and if that happens who would vote for her? And the last Immunity Challenge may be leading up to a Final Two. Did Jeff say three tribal councils? That would bring us to a Final Two, which we haven’t had in several years.

I’ve liked the idea of the final three because it made it more likely that you’d have two worthy competitors sitting there out of the three. With two it was becoming too common for someone to drag a chud up there with them to ensure their victory. This season that chud would have likely been Coach, but these players aren’t doing that.

Even though it wasn’t Coach that was kept, they are staying true to their alliances and I don’t think it fair to say that any of these four are completely undeserving of even a chance at a million dollars. But then I give almost anyone who makes it this far credit for doing so no matter what their strategy is. There’s no one way to play Survivor, and if its riding coattails or just keeping quiet that gets you into the finals, then that’s a valid strategy. It worked, didn’t it?

Photo Credit: CBS

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