Ratings Clack – Favre and Baseball create havoc
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. Read the rest of this entry »
DVR Emergency: the 2009 season begins in earnest
All right, everyone! I hope you’ve cleared your DVRs and TiVos of all those Housewives of Atlanta episodes, the selective Daily Show programs from three months ago, and all the Eurekas you recorded during the Viewer Picks marathon of a few weeks ago. According to my sundial, the Fall 2009-2010 season begins in earnest tonight. And, if you only own one digital recording device that can only mean one thing: DVR Emergency!
Yes, once again you need to peruse the TV schedules and select only those shows that you will absolutely watch sometime in the next nine months. This week is particularly bad since 1) a majority of shows are premiering, and 2) many of these shows are offering extended premieres to kick off the season. Other than Saturday, you probably won’t get a break from DVR scheduling either, thanks in part to all the summer shows still running on cable. Needless to say, the term “hosed” seems adequate.
Take tonight’s schedule, for example.
CliqueClack’s 2009 finale and premiere guide: the sequel
April 1st, 2009 — The day that CliqueClack released the most comprehensive list of finales and premieres ever to grace the Superinterweb.
April 2nd thru present — The days that the networks released a poop-load of new information.
So goes the world of television. That’s okay, because we can keep up with them just as fast. So, that’s why, if you follow the link above or below, you’ll see premiere updates for a number of new series as well as some of your favorites. You’ll also find the start and end dates for the remaining episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money, which is probably very important to many fans.
Plus, everything is sanitized for your protection. And, with the crap that will be oozing out of your TV this summer, sterilization is a good thing. I mean, don’t you feel dirty after watching an episode of Wipeout?
New entries to the guide signified with an asterisk (*)
Tonight on the tube: The Cha$e begins
Sci Fi
8:00p/7:00 Central
- It’s prom night on ABC Family’s Lincoln Heights. ABC offers up a special performance recap show of Dancing With the Stars. At 8:40p/7:40 Central Gavin and Stacey learn that house hunting is harder on a relationship than one might think over on BBC America.
- Gibbs finds himself second-guessing his judgment on the case of a deadly robbery on CBS’s NCIS. Alternately, FOX’s House never second-guesses himself. Even when he’s wrong. Tonight he’ll probably get it wrong at least twice when treating an agoraphobic man in his home.
- The winner of last season’s The Biggest Loser joins a show full of surprises. The contestants will start competing individually while the eliminated contestants will return for a chance to get back in the competition. That’s on NBC. On Lifetime at the half hour, Rita Rocks has proven itself well enough to get a full season order.
- Over on The CW, you’ve got Annie’s sweet sixteen and Jennie Garth returning to 90210. In honor of this Veteran’s Day, MyNetwork TV offers up Heroes at Home, a special showcasing the sacrifices and experiences of six real-life service men and women of the war in Iraq.
Tonight on the tube: Election coverage, few alternatives
Comedy Central
7:00p/6:00 Central
- Maybe you’ve heard. There’s a Presidential Election in the US tonight, and coverage of it will pretty much consume ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and most of the major news cable outlets. Many of those have already started. Who will declare a winner first, and probably before all the polls close? Will anyone call it for the wrong candidate like they did in 2000?
8:00p/7:00 Central
- If you get bored with watching the numbers come in all night long, you can always flip it over to The CW. They don’t really have a news team, so they’re sticking with 90210. Tonight, a sleepover turns into a house party as Annie releases her frustration about Harry’s son given up for adoption. ABC Family is also all new with Lincoln Heights.
Tonight on the tube: Coolio hopes to Rule Oxygen
Oxygen
8:00p/7:00 Central
- While ABC Family deals with Johnny’s accident on Lincoln Heights, Dr. House and team tackle a man with accidental blackouts and time lapses over on FOX. Meanwhile, is Cuddy ready to adopt?
- Over on CBS, a killer plays a game of cyber cat and mouse on NCIS, because killers always think that makes them look cool. Alternately, Rita demands respect of her own on Lifetime’s Rita Rocks when she starts to feel her kids are taking her for granted. That one’s on at 8:30p/7:30 Central.
- It was only a matter of time, but it looks like our first 90210 kid is checking into rehab on The CW tonight. Also, Ryan learns more about Kimberly than he could have ever suspected.
- One of the contestants sets a new record on The Biggest Loser on NBC at the weigh in. Nessa and Smithy see the first scans of their baby, while Stacey is less than thrilled with Essex life on BBC America’s Gavin & Stacey at 8:40p/7:40 Central.
Tonight on the tube: Meet the Wolfman and Frank TV
TBS
8:00p/7:00 Central
- Before the next elimination, check out a recap of the season so far on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars: Recap Special. In other reality programming, it’s time for a six-week checkout on NBC’s The Biggest Loser.
- Alternately, Lifetime continues their week long premiere for Rita Rocks with another new episode. Or, if you want to know more about Thirteen’s personal life, and her lesbian love life, tune into FOX for a new House. Whats Lizzie going to do on a new Lincoln Heights on ABC Family? Will it be Johnny or Devin? BBC America’s Gavin & Stacey worries about a whole different kind of who when Smithy learns who the father of Nessa’s baby is.
- Over on CBS, Gibbs comes face to face with Agent Fornell while tracking a marine’s murderer on NCIS.
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