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 »
Network TV has to stop trying to make artsy programming
Why is no one watching Kings? I don’t get it. I think it’s a really good show, and even my brother, who is a complete and total snob about television, likes it. Granted, I understand that it is fairly high concept, a bit heavy handed, and has some dense language; it’s not for everyone. Clearly, it’s not for everyone if the ratings are correct, and I have no reason to believe they aren’t. Certainly the show is not as bad as the ratings indicate, and certainly the ratings should be better. In my opinion an hour long program that featured Ian McShane reading the phonebook into the camera would be worth watching. Kings is so much more than that though; it has interesting characters, a fair amount of intrigue, great acting, and a fascinating concept.
Sitting down and giving the situation some thought has led me to one conclusion: network TV has to give up.
Dollhouse premiere ratings – Place your bets
I imagine that the big event for the average TV viewer this week was probably the premiere of Survivor, or maybe the kickoff to the NASCAR season, if you swing that way (CliqueClack doesn’t judge). But if you are taking time out of your day to visit us here at CliqueClack, you’re no average viewer. You are one of those internet people. And if we know one thing about internet people, they love them some Joss Whedon. So, for our purposes here, the big event of the week is most definitely the premiere of Dollhouse.
The show hasn’t even launched yet, but it’s already such an interesting story: re-tooled pilot, script issues, naked Eliza Dushku promo pics, production shutdown, Grindhouse trailer, moved from Monday to Friday, and from being paired with 24 to being paired with Terminator:TSCC. Early reviews are all over the map, and Whedon’s history with Fox just adds fuel to the fire. What will it all mean when the ratings come in? With all that in mind, a poll seems to be in order. Read the rest of this entry »
Ratings Clack – Following Lost is the new Friday night
(1/19 – 1/26)
The subject of the Friday night death slot comes up fairly regularly around here. Moreso recently, what with the Terminator/Dollhouse debut right around the corner. I’m not one to argue in the face of so much damning evidence, but I do think there is a plucky young upstart with eyes on the crown. Life On Mars made it’s debut following Lost this week, and it just wasn’t good. Barring some drastic change in the numbers, or an odd act of kindness from the network, it’s looking like the island is ready to take its next victim. Elsewhere this week, Idol continued to roll, NCIS & CSI scored big, and The Bachelor was up, again. Read the rest of this entry »
Can Heroes be saved? Please tell me it can!
NBC
One of the women’s magazines used to have a popular column called “Can this marriage be saved?” That’s how I feel about Heroes. I need a mediator to help me work through my feelings about Heroes. Who among you is willing to take on this monumental task?
Clearly, the show is doing some major damage control lately. Publicists are staying up late trying to figure out which entertainment mags will do cover stories, and interview requests are flying fast and furious (I’ve had a few land in my inbox unsolicited). They are BEGGING viewers to keep watching this show, but it might be too much too late, if ya know what I mean.
The machines win! Is Fox about to cancel Terminator?
Fox
Things just don’t look good for the Connors. I mentioned in our ratings column that last week’s Terminator:TSCC didn’t do well. This week, it got worse. The show dropped another 400,000 viewers, along with another tenth in the demo, coming in at 5.4 million viewers and a 2.1. It’s dangerously close to being surpassed by Gossip Girl in the demo, which could only be described as a complete disaster.
Now, our pals over at SyFy Portal are reporting that Fox could stop production as early as this week. According to their sources some executives think the show is dragging down the numbers for Prison Break. They also refer to the demo number as being “in the toilet.” That’s a good way to put it. I imagine it’s a tough call because the network tried so hard to force this thing into being a hit. Terminator got as much of an early promotion push as just about any show I’ve ever seen, but it never worked. The SyFy piece suggests that production will stop and Fox may try to show some of the episodes that are already completed. My guess is that we’ll be seeing encores of House and Bones on Monday night before too long.
Ratings Clack – 9/21 to 9/27
NBC
With a fresh new fall season underway, Ratings Clack is the place to talk about what’s up (HIMYM), what’s down (House), and to ponder just what the hell were they thinking (Tie – Knight Rider/Do Not Disturb). Looking at our first big week of programming, the big story to me is that NBC is just flat out screwed. America’s Got Talent and the NFL are the only programs that managed to top 10 million viewers. In a week where Heroes, SVU, Knight Rider, Earl, The Office, and ER were all new, that’s really bad.
Most Commented (Past Week)