Ratings Clack – Finale bonanza
The 2008-2009 television season is quickly coming to a close. Last week saw some 30 season/series finales hitting our screens. The resulting numbers were all over the place. Some shows took advantage of the situation, pulling out all the stops and hitting numbers they hadn’t seen in some time. Others held steady. And a few signed in with troubling drops.
I’ve mentioned before that these final numbers could hold sway as the networks prepare to release the fall schedules this week. That does still apply, although, after all the shenanigans over the weekend, with Dollhouse and Better Off Ted being renewed, just how much sway becomes a little more cloudy. Read the rest of this entry »
Ratings Clack – Good news for Castle, not so much for Dollhouse
We’re on the verge of it now. Over the next two weeks all of our favorite shows are going to be ending, and some of those tough decisions will have to be made by the networks. These final few ratings numbers will play heavily in those decisions. With that in mind, the week brought good news for a couple of bubble shows (Castle, Lie To Me), and bad news for others (Better Off Ted, Cupid, The Unusuals, Dollhouse, Reaper, My Name Is Earl). Read the rest of this entry »
Ratings Clack – Eli Stone vs Aqui y Ahora? It’s a draw.
(12/30 – 1/04)
Christmas and New Years are now in the rearview, so we can finally start getting back to something that passes for a regular television viewing schedule. If someone could just make this damn snow stop, I’d be a happy guy. Before we rejoin some of our favorite shows for the beginning of 2009 though, we’ve got one more really slow week to talk about. The hits were few and far between, but there were a couple interesting bits hidden away in there.
Ratings Clack – The slow grind to the end of the year
(12/22 – 12/29)
Yikes. That was not what you would call a good week of television. As usual, the holiday tossed the broadcast schedule into disarray, and new scripted programming was mighty hard to find. The only thing that passed for regular programming was the CBS Sunday night. Elsewhere, it was a mish-mash collection of movies, reality, and game shows. The interesting bit of that is found in the numbers. In some cases it looks like the networks would be better off going with repeats, as opposed to cheap, albeit original, filler programming.
You’re a Sore Loser, Mr. Zucker
As you probably know by now, the bright bulbs over at NBC have decided to give up on programming the 10 PM slot with new scripted shows. Instead, they will be giving Jay Leno, a man that they tried to kick off of the network not too long ago, a five-night-a-week gig during that time frame. Needless to say, people are confused and angry about this, with much of the anger going to NBC head mugwug Jeff Zucker.
So, in order to honor this momentus decision by Mr. Zucker, I decided to put together a little ditty sung to the tune of the famous “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” To Albert Hague and Thul Ravenscroft, I apologize.
You’re a sore loser, Mr. Zucker.
I mean really, what’s the deal?
You’re as intelligent as a boulder,
with a black heart that doesn’t feel.
Mr. Zucker.
You couldn’t run a network
Unless you had five nights of Deal or No Deal.
Tonight on the tube: Rosie’s Variety Show & the season finale of Sons of Anarchy
8:00p/7:00 Central
- Dwight begins wooing Vivian, while the gang investigates the murder of a millionaire and the modern day Robin Hood who may have done her in on ABC’s Pushing Daisies. Over on FOX’s Bones, Brennan’s father shows up to help work a case involving bones in a wooded preserve.
- MyNetwork TV offers up The 2008 World Magic Awards, while NBC tests a new format with Rosie’s Variety Show: Rosie Live. It’s just weird to me that they’re talking about this like it’s a format we haven’t seen on television in a long-time when Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson just did one a few years back. If you watch this one in enough numbers, it might become a regular thing.
- Discovery’s Time Warp looks at warped trail bikes and cheerleading tonight. CBS looks at a warped woman on The New Adventures of Old Christine, when Christine and Matthew head home for Thanksgiving. Then, Gary and Allison argue over which one of them is hosting the annual feast on Gary Unmarried.
- The CW has a repeat of the fifth installment of Stylista.
9:00p/8:00 Central
- History takes us to The White House: Behind Closed Doors in a 90-minute special. The CW’s Stylista offers up a clip show of unseen footage from the first five episodes, while NBC throws out a special Deal or No Deal. Showtime, meanwhile, takes you Inside the NFL.
- It’s a surprise visit from her brother, who’s also a surgeon, on ABC’s Private Practice. Uh-oh. It’s a pick-up artist who’s at the core of the new case on CBS’s Criminal Minds.
- FOX offers up the second half of last season’s House finale.
10:00p/9:00 Central
- Barbara Walters is back at it on ABC with Barack Obama: The Barbara Walters Interview. Bravo’s Top Chef is offering up a Foo Fighters Thanksgiving.
- Reality offerings include Discovery’s Prototype This, Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter, and A&E’s Parking Wars. At the half hour you can flip to G4 for another Human Wrecking Balls, or check out David Alan Grier on Comedy Central’s sketch comedy Chocolate News.
- The investigators must extract the bones of an unidentified body in a crushed car on CSI: NY over on CBS. On NBC’s Law & Order it’s a falling crane at the center of that investigation. FX has the 90-minute season finale of Sons of Anarchy.
11:00p/10:00 Central
- TruTV has the two-part season finale of Ski Patrol to wrap up the night.
Tonight on the tube: Larry the Cable Guy’s Christmas special
8:00p/7:00 Central
- It’s the first season finale of Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod on the Discovery Channel. Nome is less than 100 miles away and it’s time for the racers to dig deep.
- Tonight on ABC, Wife Swap features switches between a mother who’s given up her own dreams to allow her husband 30 years of delusions that he can still be a rock icon and a mother of nine who rules with an iron fist. TLC brings another Real Simple. Real Life.
- Over on CBS, Melinda tries to help a man suffering from amnesia on Ghost Whisperer. And I’ll bet Jim’s hanging around, too. In fact, if you’ve seen last week’s episode take a wild guess who the man with amnesia is.
- Much easier to figure out is MyNetwork TV’s WWE SmackDown! See a man. Smack him down. All hail Vince! Have we had the wrestling edition of FOX’s Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? yet? How about the babes of wrestling edition of NBC’s Deal or No Deal?
- Chris’ popularity is put to the test in high school when the dorkiest girl in school asks him out on The CW’s Everybody Hates Chris. Then, on The Game, Melanie finds a “McHottie” at work.
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