On the whole, it was a rather uneventful week of ratings. The most interesting story might have been what we didn’t see. As in, new programming on CBS. Despite the lack of anything of note to report in the ratings (even Harper’s Island was a repeat), CBS managed to average the most viewers on six of the seven nights. The network was only topped on Wednesday, and even then only trailed NBC by less than half a million viewers. Of course, that’s just viewers. FOX managed to win four of the nights in the demo. Still, without even trying, CBS is having a successful summer. Elsewhere, more good news to report on the cable side for HBO, Oxygen, ESPN, and BET. Read the rest of this entry »

ABC

5:00p/4:00 Central

• The farmed out CW Sunday is all repeats tonight, kicking off with two 4Real installments. However, I can’t find any details as to which episodes are airing.

6:00p/5:00 Central

• The CW repeats continue with the first of two Valentine repeats on the night. Again, I’ve no idea which one this is, or any of The CW shows tonight.

7:00p/6:00 Central

• NBC kicks off another Football Night in America, while CBS’s 60 Minutes sits down with some of President-Elect Barack Obama’s closest advisors.
• But if that gets too boring, you can always switch over to ABC at 7:30p/6:30 Central and watch a 30-minute edition of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
• The CW repeats continue with In Harm’s Way. The lack of information coupled with the reported production halts really make me wonder how much longer this Sunday lineup will remain.
• FOX starts off their night with animated repeats. First up is the King of the Hill episode where Bill got diagnosed with diabets. That’s followed by The Simpsons repeat where Homer becomes a bounty hunter.

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Showtime

5:00p/4:00 Central

• At 5:30p/4:30 Central, The CW’s 4Real takes Red Hot Chili Peppers wild man Flea to Haiti to meet a rural health care worker.

7:00p/6:00 Central

• Like something out of a movie, a man pretended to be a narcotics agent, tricked local law enforcement and proceeded to make a series of illegal arrests. Find out how he did and what happens next on a new 60 Minutes on CBS.
• Or start getting psyched because the NFL is back on Sunday nights this week. Kick off your Football Night in America on NBC.
• Over on The CW, check out the very real dangers of volcanologists on a new In Harm’s Way. What could possibly be dangerous about studying volcanoes?

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ABC

We’re starting to settle into a groove with the 08/09 season now. That’s good for some shows, and rather daunting for others. That should figure in as the networks start handing out full season orders. We saw a couple of those last week (The Mentalist, Terminator:TSCC) that were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Following up on last week’s installment, I set the over/under for the Wil Wheaton Criminal Minds at 15 million, which was pretty close. The show came in with 14.71 million viewers. Excited by my Vegas like accuracy, I’ll go ahead and set the over/under for USC next weekend at 53 points. Yeah, it’s not ‘TV’, but watching the complete destruction of Husky football week after week is still more interesting than Kath & Kim.

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AMC

5:00p/4:00 Central

• The CW starts off their long farmed out Sunday night with a 4Real repeat featuring Casey Affleck. That’s followed by a new 4Real features Mos Def visiting the City of God outside Rio de Janeiro.

6:00p/5:00 Central

• Stick with The CW for a repeat performance of the series premiere of Valentine. See, apparently everybody missed it the first time around. Are you going to miss it again? It’s okay, so am I.

7:00p/6:00 Central

• CBS’s 60 Minutes explores credit default swaps, T. Boone Pickens mission to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, Greg Carr’s mission to bring more tourism to the poorest parts of Africa.
• NBC offers up Football Night in America, recapping last week’s action but won’t have NLF Sunday Night Football tonight due to the World Series. If that depresses you, you can always tune into ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos. Apparently shots to the crotch are still funny.
• On The CW, a new In Harm’s Way looks at land mine clearance. Talk about a tough job, you can’t pay me enough to walk a minefield looking for mines … What’s that? Oh they don’t– Oh. Technology. Yeah, that would work better.

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Comedy Central

5:00p/4:00 Central

• The New CW Sunday begins early at 5:30p/4:30 Central with Casey Affleck’s excursion to Pawnee-Oklahoma to meet with and learn about the Native Americans who make this their home in a new 4Real.

7:00p/6:00 Central

• Then, In Harm’s Way takes a look at the dangerous profession of war photographer. Alternately, NBC kicks off their night of football with Football Night in America, while ABC offers up a fresh America’s Funniest Home Videos. Is there anything we haven’t seen yet ever on this show?
• CBS’s 60 Minutes offers up stories of bullfighting brothers in Spain, warfare in Afghanistan, and the multi-billion dollar bank bailout in the US.

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CBS

It was a week that brought another round of premieres. Some (CSI) impressed, some were surprising (Kath & Kim, Life On Mars), and others (Valentine, Easy Money) were just disastrous. The big story for the week was the Thursday night showdown between CSI and Grey’s Anatomy.

Grissom’s troops took this round, but they had more than a little help from Warrick. There are many more battles to be fought in that war. Much like their partners in crime at 10:00, who have an interesting little battle of their own brewing. I’ll get to that, and a whole bunch of other ratings stuff, after the jump.

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