Sunday, December 11, 2005

Remembering Richard Pryor; Week 12 Ratings Numbers Through Thursday; How the Sitcoms Did

Today we will pay tribute to one of the best comedians ever--Richard Pryor. Mr. Pryor was a great stand-up comedian on stage and brought great laughter to his roles in the movies. While he never was a sitcom star, we will still pay tribute to him. Pryor died yesterday morning of a heart attack. Pryor battled alcohol and drugs in the early '80s, in fact he burned 50% of his body while freebasing cocaine at his home. Later Pryor battled multiple sclerosis for many years. Through all that, he still cracked jokes, even at himself. Pryor did have some sitcom history in him, despite not ever starring in one. He wrote a few episodes of the '70s sitcom Sanford & Son. He made a few guest stints on some sitcoms such as The Partridge Family, Martin, Malcolm & Eddie, and Norm. In 1977, NBC gave Pryor his own show titled, The Richard Pryor Show. It was a comedy-variety show, but did not last long at all. Tim Ried and Robin Williams also starred, with Williams also a writer. The ratings were not good, despite the show being of good quality.
But it was the stand-up and the movies that he was more known for. He especially was known for all the movies he did with his good friend Gene Wilder. He starred with Mr. Wilder in hit movies such as Stir Crazy and See No Evil Hear No Evil. Mr. Pryor was also nominated for an Emmy for his guest stint on an episode of the CBS drama Chicago Hope. Mr. Pryor just turned 65 on December 1. He will be missed by many and we all will always remember him flying with Superman through the clouds.

Week 12 numbers (first four nights, Mon-Thu):

Households: CBS: 8.8/13.6; NBC: 7.1/10.9; ABC: 6.4/9.9; FOX 3.6/5.4; UPN: 2.3/3.5; The WB: 2.3/3.4
Total Viewers: CBS: 13.86 million; NBC: 10.77 million; ABC: 9.87 million; FOX 5.65 million; UPN: 3.33 million; The WB: 3.29 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 4.5/11.5; NBC: 4.0/10.1; ABC: 3.5/8.9; FOX 2.6/6.6; UPN: 1.4/3.6; The WB: 1.4/3.4.

Analysis: It was the first full week of week after November sweeps. Repeats dominated the schedule with shows like Lost, Two and a Half Men, Commander in Chief, and CSI: NY in repeats. NBC was the only real network that had mostly original programming, hence their ratings were decent. The CBS comedies repeated pretty well on Monday, but Monday Night Football took home the prize. CSI: Miami repeat did very well with 15.33 million. It was not so well for Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential, which both aired original episodes and bombed. Tuesday saw NBC having an all original line-up with My Name is Earl and Law & Order: SVU leading the way. Fear Factor returned, but not many tuned in. The Office was its usual self, losing a lot from the lead-in. ABC's A Charlie Brown Christmas was the highest rated in 5 years. CBS relied on Victoria Secret Fashion Show but unforunately that special was the lowest rated one ever. On Wednesday, again NBC was all original and won the night thanks t Law & Order. ABC's Alias at a special night and time was not too good, but a Lost repeat did well. CBS bombed with part two of the Pope movie. Thursday was all original for both CBS and NBC, with CBS's CSI drawing 30.95 million viewers! Take that Donald! The Donald only had 11.27 million. Don't expect The Apprentice to return to Thursday nights after the Winter Olympics.
Not included in the ratings are Friday and Saturday. Friday saw CBS winning with its dramas. NBC bombed with one of the last episodes of Three Wishes. ABC saw moderate success with the new Charlie Brown Christmas special, I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. A new Hot Properties didn't draw much of an interest. Saturday was pathetic as usual.
CBS will for sure win by a wide margin in total viewers for the week and adults 18-49. ABC Sunday has no Housewives this week but a special two-hour holiday themed Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the Christmas episode of Grey's Anatomy will battle the Survivor season finale. Who will be second place for the week in adults 18-49? NBC or ABC? It all depends on tonight!

Monday Sitcoms

  • The King of Queens (CBS) - 9.26 million for a repeat is very good.
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - Will CBS move this show in March to Wednesdays? Something will have to air then as Still Standing and Yes, Dear are expected to get the boot by then. 8.72 million tuned in for this repeat broadcast.
  • Arrested Development (FOX) - Only 4.09 million for an all-new episode. I guess this will never be a ratings smash despite whatever Fox does.
  • Kitchen Confidential (FOX) - A big loss with a repeat on UPN almost beating it! 3.14 million tuned in. Just for that Fox has officially canceled this sitcom. Look for repeats of ArD to takeover until January 9.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - A repeat scored 14.11 million.
  • Out of Practice (CBS) - The consistent sitcom scored decent with a repeat at 11.01 million.
  • One on One (UPN), All of Us (UPN), Girlfriends (UPN), Half and Half (UPN) - Repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats! Scored in similar levels as they usually do for encores.

Tuesday Sitcoms
  • My Name is Earl (NBC) - With no House on Fox and Commander in Chief in a repeat, Earl was the most watched show with 13.99 million. Can it do that number Thursdays at 9? If it does, NBC will be happy, as The Apprentice can not get that anymore.
  • The Office (NBC) - Again a four million drop--but at least it is consistent! A loyal audience I guess.
Wednesday Sitcoms
  • George Lopez (ABC) - Up from last week to 8.08 million and a 2.9 adult 18-49 rating.
  • Freddie (ABC) - Down from last week in total viewers to 7.44 million but up in A18-49 with a 3.1 rating. No original Lost episode tonight hurt the overall numbers.
  • That '70s Show (FOX) - Young audience is there, but not overall.
  • Stacked (FOX) - How can more people watch this show than Arrested Development? ArD has more buzz and press. 5.07 million. I bet it will do even worse Thursdays.
Thursday Sitcoms
  • Joey (NBC) - Up from last week's repeat airing of 7.32 to 7.77 million. Decent, but NBC needs to jump start this line-up with something else again.
  • Will & Grace (NBC) - Jumped big from lead-in to 8.79 million.
  • Everybody Hates Chris (UPN) - Like last week, 4.43 million tuned in for a repeat.
  • Love, Inc. (UPN), Eve (UPN), Cuts (UPN) - It was repeats all around tonight. Worse than last week though, as Cuts only did 1.89 million.

Friday Sitcoms

Not even going here. Fox's Malcolm and Bernie were not in their normal 8 p.m. slot, but repeats aired in the 9 p.m. hour, but was dead last with The WB even winning! ABC's Hope & Faith was a repeat and scored a 4.2 rating, but Hot Properties was all new and did terrible with a 3.5 rating. The WB did its normal ratings. Close to a 2.

Summing it up. Out of Practice, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and The King of Queens were the only impressive sitcoms this week. Everything else was OK (such as Freddie, George Lopez) or just plain old terrible (such as Stacked, Bernie Mac, Malcolm in the Middle).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, April 26

Animal Control - "Giraffes, Gorillas and Penguins" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The crew must contain a freak zoo break; Frank realizes that he needs to break up with Yasmin; Emily finds an unexpected benefactor in a celebrity businesswoman.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 21)

Friday, April 25

  • Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Watch Kathy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Tracee appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Paul and Greta are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Yvonne Orji (Insecure) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Yvonne who is now hosting Pop The Balloon Live on Netflix, so check your local listings.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are joined by Carla Hall in the kitchen to whip up some delicious cozy food on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - The cast of the new movie Kinda Pregnant join Drew to dish on their new film on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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