Sunday, December 21, 2008
Week 13 (First Four Nights) Numbers; How the Sitcoms Did
Households: CBS: 8.4/13.5; NBC: 4.6/6.9; Fox: 3.5/5.6; ABC: 3.4/5.2; The CW: 1.1/1.7; MNT: 0.8/1.3.
Total Viewers: CBS: 13.45 million; NBC: 6.84 million; Fox: 5.59 million; ABC: 5.19 million; The CW: 1.6 million; MNT: 1.39 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 3.4/9.2; NBC: 2.6/7.1; Fox: 1.9/5.2; ABC: 1.7/4.6; The CW: 0.6/1.7; MNT: 0.4/1.2.
Analysis: Week 13 so far has seen CBS with a commanding lead through four days, but CBS has been new 3 of the 4 days for the entire night once again, as they were last week at this time. The other networks were primarily in repeats or aired holiday specials. Through the first four days, CBS has the lead in all categories, with NBC a distant second and Fox and ABC behind through the first four days. NBC, Fox and ABC are down a lot from this time last week, while CBS has gone up thanks to very strong Monday and Tuesdays killing the other networks who were airing repeats and holiday specials.
Last week, CBS won week 12 in HH, viewers, and even in 18-49. NBC was second thanks to a very strong Sunday Night NFL game lifting the network to second place in all categories and just .1 behind CBS in 18-49. ABC was third in HH/viewers, while Fox was third in 18-49.
Monday CBS was all-new and won the night with limited competition. CBS started with new episodes of their comedies then ended with CSI: Miami. The Big Bang Theory was all-new and did yet again a series high, this time at 11.22 million. This series is doing well, but the last two weeks it has gone way up because of no competition. This is fool's gold. A new episode of How I Met Your Mother followed with a season high of 11.37 million, and a SERIES high in 18-49 with a 4.6 rating. #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men followed with 17.92 million for an all-new showing and another season high for a CBS sitcom (and its best ever performance in the 9pm timeslot), while Worst Week didn't have to face a comedy and also did a series high of 12.04 million, but still losing a lot from its lead-in. At 10pm a new showing of CSI: Miami did 14.56 million, up from previous week...but not as much as good as the comedies this week. NBC was actually next, so you know this was a weak Monday, as its regular line-up had fall finales. Chuck did 7.66 million, up from previous week, followed by Heroes at just 7.87 million, up a bit from previous week, but how can this show almost lose to Chuck? The last episode of My Worst Own Enemy was next at just 3.92 million, up from series low the previous week. Fox was next with the very weak Sarah Connor at just 5.07 million, down a tad from previous week, and on its last legs Prison Break at 5.37 million, also down a tad week-to-week. Maybe it lost a few thousand because of the Monday Night Football game aired in Cleveland market on Fox. ABC started off the night decent with the holiday special I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown doing a solid 7.08 million, though not nearly as good as the classic 60s special the previous week which was nearly four million better. As with Fox, ABC was preempted in Philadelphia market for the Monday Night Football game, so ABC was more affected than Fox because Philly is the fourth largest market. ABC aired a special 20/20: Drama High - The Making of a High School Musical from 9-11pm and only did 2.91 million...ouch, but again ABC was preempted in the Philly area for the game. The CW was next with a repeat of Gossip Girl doing 1.61 million and a repeat of One Tree Hill did 1.15 million.
Tuesday CBS was all-new and again with not much competition, they thrived big. CBS's NCIS started the night off with 19.94 million for a series high, the second time this season it has reached a series high. Unbelievable! New drama The Mentalist followed with 19.31 million yet another series high. Who would have thought the combo of NCIS/Mentalist is the best 1-2 combo on any network? Honestly, I don't understand how. A new episode of Without a Trace did 14.48 million, as this show even reached a season high. Amazing how much CBS shows go up when there is no competition? NBC was next with the only competition of the night for CBS with the two-hour season finale of The Biggest Loser at 11.38 million, up two million from previous week, as but NBC faltered at 10pm without Law & Order: SVU as a special preview of the new reality series Momma's Boys only held on the half of its lead-in and did only 6.01 million...ah, so that is why Without a Trace went up so much. ABC was 3rd on night this, a second showing of the 60s holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas did 8.37 million, not bad for a special that had aired 8 days earlier as well. A new Christmas episode of According to Jim followed with 5.22 million, up a bit from previous week and a repeat episode followed with 4.52 million, down from previous week, but that was new, still it should be better. Jim lead into Eli Stone at 10pm at 5.15 million, but up some from previous week. Fox was next with a repeat of House at 6.44 million and a repeat of Fringe with 4.82 million, no more new episodes until Jan. 20 for this show. The CW aired a repeat of 90210 and only mustered 1.11 million, down a bit from previous week's repeat, and a repeat of Privileged only did 930,000 viewers, down from previous week's encore.
Wednesday was all CBS as its regular lineup was all-new. CBS started with sitcoms, as Old Christine did a decent 7.29 million, but down from previous week and Gary Unmarried did 7.38 million, also down from previous week. Criminal Minds followed with a nice 15.16 million, up some from previous week and at 10pm CSI: NY followed with 13.39 million, up a bit week-to-week and easily winning its hour. NBC opened the night with the new holiday special Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa doing 7.47 million, nearly three million more than the previous week's special, Life followed with only 5.22 million, down again from previous week...ouch. Law & Order followed at 10pm doing 7.02 million, down from previous week. ABC was next but it started off slow with Pushing Daisies only managing 4.67 million, down some from previous week...its last confirmed airing. Private Practice was next and did 6.61 million, down a bit week-to-week, as now the show officially is done with Wednesdays and will move to Thursdays starting Jan. 8. Dirty Sexy Money was next and did 5.13 million, down a bit from previous week...as this show also aired its last confirmed airing. Sad. This series deserves better. Fox was next with reality series Secret Millionaire and the series did decent doing 6.71 million at 8pm, down a bit week-to-week, followed by a Bones repeat at only 4.12 million, lower than the previous week. The CW had a special encore of this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show doing a solid 2.44 million, followed by an all-new Stylista doing 1.4 million, better than the previous week, but sad isn't it when a special encore does better than a regular series' new episode?
Thursday saw mainly repeats, but CBS repeats well than most and won the night. CBS opened with the return of Million Dollar Password on a special night and did 8.2 million, not too bad, a repeat of CSI did a solid 12.68 million, and a repeat of Eleventh Hour followed with 10.07 million, not bad. Fox was second for the night with a Thursday airing of Secret Millionaire at 5.82 million, up some from previous week, followed by a special Thursday airing of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? doing 6.3 million...up a lot from previous week, solid. ABC was next with all repeats...a repeat of Ugly Betty did 4.54 million, down some from previous week's encore, an encore of Grey's Anatomy was next and did 5.61 million, down from previous week, followed by a repeat of Private Practice doing 4.4 million at 10pm, but up a bit week-to-week. NBC was fourth with repeats of comedies. My Name is Earl repeat did 4.84 million, followed by a repeat of Kath & Kim at just 3.92 million, a repeat of The Office did5.02 million, followed by a 30 Rock repeat at 4.61 million. ER was preempted, so NBC went with more comedy repeats, as repeats of 30 Rock and The Office closed the night with 4.3 and 3.77 million, not too good. Smallville repeat on The CW did 2.13 million, lower than previous week, followed by a Supernatural repeat at 2.07 million, up slightly from previous week.
Now, as usual final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday and they actually had new episodes of Ghost Whisperer at 8 and a new NUMB3RS at 10pm.
Saturday was very slow, but Fox won the night, as holiday movies on ABC and CBS couldn't out throne police/crime reality on Fox.
Tonight CBS and NBC will win the night likely, but Fox also has an NFL overrun at 7pm, but their programming from 8-10pm are all repeats. CBS for some reason has an all-new line-up, 60 Minutes, I understand but why waste episodes of Million Dollar Password, Cold Case and The Unit so close to Christmas? NBC has a good Sunday Night Football game tonight between the Giants and Panthers, it won't be as much as last week's NBC SNF high, but still will do great. ABC's regular Sunday line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters, is in repeats, with Home Edition repeats from 8-10 and Housewives repeat at 10pm, preempting Brothers & Sisters.
As for the week, CBS will easily win the week in HH, viewers and 18-49. Why wouldn't they? They had new stuff all week but Thursday, while the other networks were primarily in repeats or preemption mode. NBC will finish a distant second, helped by the NFL, while Fox and ABC battle it out for third in HH/viewers, since ABC will be a clear 4th in 18-49. What to look for this week...spend time with your family! Nothing really of importance this week unless you for some reason want to watch Momma's Boys tomorrow at 9 on NBC and ABC's specials on Tuesday?
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Dec. 8-14)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - A repeat only did 5.57 million.
- King of the Hill (Fox) 3 repeats - 3 repeats tonight...7-8pm hour repeats did 2.41 and 3.88 millon only, while the regular slot did 4.54 million for a repeat.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 5.96 million, lower than usual.
- American Dad (Fox) - A repeat only did 5.16 million, not good.
Monday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 11.22 million for a new episode. A series high again! Though anyone could have said it would get a series high looking at the competition. Call it fool's gold.
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 11.37 million for a new episode...season high again! Again fool's gold though...but not denying it did very well.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 17.92 million, a season high and best ever numbers at 9pm. It did better when it aired after Raymond years back at 9:30.
- Worst Week (CBS) - 12.04 million for new episode. Series high! It may sound a lot, but again it should be doing better. I said last week it should be at 12-13 million, considering the lead-in, but the lead-in went up 2 million, and so did this show. So it should have done 13-14 million this week...but at least it is consistent.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 5.22 million for a new episode and 4.52 million for a repeat.
- Old Christine (CBS) - 7.29 million for a new episode...solid, but should be better.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 7.38 million for a new episode, also could be better.
Thursday Sitcoms
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - A repeat did 4.84 million....could be better or could be worse, though.
- Kath & Kim (NBC) - 3.92 million for a repeat...ouch.
- The Office (NBC) 2 episodes - 5.02 million for a repeat in its normal time and only 2.77 million for a repeat at 10:30pm. Why not air them together from 9-10pm? That's NBC for ya.
- 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - A repeat in its normal 9:30 slot did 4.61 million and a special repeat at 10pm did 4.3 million.
Friday Sitcoms
- Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) 2 episodes - 1.52 prelim million for a repeat in its normal 8pm slot and 1.31 prelim million for a repeat at 9...why not air them 8-9pm?
- The Game (The CW) 2 episodes - 1.34 prelim million for a repeat in its normal 8:30pm slot and 1.25 prelim million for a repeat at 9...why not air them 9-10pm?
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10 but are repeats.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Worst Week were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Old Christine, Gary Unmarried) or just plain old terrible (such as repeat of Kath & Kim, According to Jim).
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Blog DVD Review: The Best of Password - The CBS Years
The Best of Password: The CBS Years (1962-67) (BCI, $29.98) is now on DVD...but you'd better buy it while you can! For those of you not yet made aware, Navarre - the parent company of BCI - decided to close operations at BCI this past week, leaving any additional game show releases in question, as well as leaving doubts about the long term availability of this recently released DVD set. It is entirely possible the initial production run will be the only production run. Given that two of my favorite game shows were in the release pipeline for 2009 - Tattletales and What's My Line – I'd just like to take a moment to strongly encourage Navarre to continue to use the license negotiated by BCI so that fans may enjoy new titles *like* What's My Line, in addition to subsequent editions of Match Game and The Price is Right.
In regards to this release, however, contained within this DVD are 32 episodes of the classic game show Password - all from the 1960s CBS run of the show (hence, the title...). Included are 25 nighttime episodes, as well as seven daytime shows. 24 of the 25 nighttime episodes are in black and white, while the final nighttime episode as well as the 7 daytime shows included are presented in color. Celebrities included in the episodes presented include Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Fonda, Jack Benny, Robert Goulet, Sammy Davis Jr., Betty White (who ultimately would marry show host Allen Ludden during the series' run), Lucille Ball, Bob Newhart, Vivian Vance, Gene Kelly, James Stewart, Woody Allen, Nancy Sinatra, Frank Gifford, Elizabeth Montgomery...(takes a breath)...Bob Denver, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, Martin Landau, Lauren Bacall, Eddie Albert, Bea Benederet, Peter Lawford; not to mention the first THREE hosts of The Tonight Show - Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson.
As some of you may be buying the set for the extremely lengthy list of celebrities involved and not the game itself, a quick primer: Password was a game show in which two teams, featuring a contestant and their celebrity partner, attempted to get their partner to guess a word by giving them one-word clues. For example if the password were "dog," the easiest clue to give would be the word "cat," with an inflection to indicate that you're looking for an opposite. You couldn't use hand gestures, and you were limited to only one word at a time. If your partner guessed incorrectly, then the other team got to attempt to play the same word. Control alternated until the word was guessed correctly and points were earned, or the word couldn't be guessed in the maximum number of turns, at which point a new word was played. Guessing a word on the first clue was worth 10 points; the second try was worth 9, with the value decreasing by 1 point for every clue given. First to 25 points wins $250 and goes to the bonus game. Winning team plays the bonus game, in which the clue-giver has 60 seconds to get their partner to guess up to 5 different words. Each word guessed is worth $50, with the top payout being again $250, for a total of $500 per game. Depending on the point in the run, contestants may or may not be allowed to play an additional game.
With that over with, the episodes as presented, are about what you would expect for 45 to 50-year-old television programs whose episodes were never expected to even be reran, let alone released for home enjoyment four decades later. The episodes on discs one through three are all in black and white as the series was only preserved in black and white until very late in the show run. The video is fairly decent, though there are issues with a couple of episodes on the first disc - one in particular has significant issues. The 5th and 6th episodes on disc one (N022 – Jack Benny and his wife Joan; N028 – Anne Bancroft & Robert Goulet) both suffer from strange instances of color noise and distortions in the episodes. The Benny episode is particularly bad, and has another, more major, flaw in the audio. The audio is distorted through the entire episode, with a garbled sound affecting some vocals and sound effects. This episode was never rerun on GSN for precisely for this reason, and it is assumed that the problem exists with the master copy itself. The rest of the episodes look fairly well, and there are no other major flaws.
The episodes are presented in 2 two-disc slimcases inside a box. The packaging art on the slimcases is exceptionally clever, with the artwork depicting tickets to see the show. Having seen a number of old tickets to game show tapings in my day, these images are most likely based on scans of legitimate tickets, with only minor changes (such as insertion of disc numbers) made. The ticket on the first case is from a January 28, 1964 taping. The ticket on case #2 is from November 11, 1965. Also included in the set are "liner notes," whose front cover features a third ticket, this from the September 21, 1964 taping. The liner notes feature a full set of credits, a run-down of the format of the show and its history, information on its creating, and a set of Did You Know trivia bits. At the bottom of the second and final page is a dedication to Allen Ludden and Betty White, as well as credit to the two people who compiled the set and thanks to a few other individuals. While the liner notes aren't nearly as comprehensive as those included with their Price is Right or Match Game DVD sets in particular, they're still a great addition.
The only real problems with this DVD set are the rampant issues with the Jack Benny episode (which, as stated earlier, has never aired on Game Show Network in the channel's 14-year existence for precisely this reason), the smaller problems with the Bancroft/Goulet episode...and the fact that the publisher doesn't exist anymore as they were folded a few days ago. Strong sales of this title in particular could convince Navarre to push forward with future releases nonetheless, so if you're looking for a cheap stocking-stuffer or you're a fan of any of the celebrities involved OR if you're a fan of game shows or you want to see more game shows on DVD, then PLEASE purchase this DVD set. If you discover you're not a fan of the show after purchasing, then fine - sell it online or to one of the retailers who purchase used DVDs. Give the show a chance though and I think you'll like it. Or another reason to but this set is if you discovered the format in its new incarnation on Million Dollar Password on CBS Sundays and love that. Even if you don't, I still might get to see What's My Line, more volumes of The Price is Right, and so much more on DVD if enough people show interest in this set so I can't really recommend this set enough. STRONG RECOMMENDATION.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Password TV.com Page
Friday, December 19, 2008
TV Land Brings Back All in the Family, Other Minor Changes; CMT's Mama's Family Block on Dec. 27-28
Finally, effective Monday, January 5, All in the Family returns to the regular schedule airing weekdays at 9am replacing an episode of Sanford & Son. Sanford & Son will continue to air weekdays at 9:30am. All in the Family will go in order from the beginning but the first episode will be skipped. Boy the way Glenn Miller played!
View full schedules and highlights for TV Land January 2009.
Mama's back! Well for one weekend, that is. Mama's Family returns to CMT for a special weekend block on Saturday, December 27 and Sunday, December 28 from 10pm-2am ET on both nights. As you all know, Mama's Family airs from time to time on CMT, mostly in special marathon blocks. Episodes 17-32 will air on these two nights, so from "Naomi and the Stork" to "Mama's Birthday." I think CMT has not aired anything after season two, though they might have aired a few episodes in early season three.
Mama's Family was last seen on CMT on a Saturday this past September with an eight episode marathon. CMT briefly aired it weekday afternoons in summer 2007.
Next week is Christmas, but that won't stop us. As always, we will have a story everyday...including lots of great stuff early in the week, such as WGN America's January 2009 changes. Can that channel get any better? Find out Monday! But before that join us this weekend for a blog DVD review of Password and our last ratings report for 2008 on Sunday!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Nick at Nite January 2009 Highlights; BET Adds Family Matters and Proud Family Marathons; 15th Annual SAG Awards Nominees
Also, Family Matters fans take note...Nick at Nite will break into the regularly scheduled episodes starting Monday, January 12, so it can show you season one episodes! Nick at Nite has never showed season one, just three episodes (#4, #17, #21) from stunts. All 22 season one episodes will air in a row before going back to where it last left off on Jan. 11. The last season one episode airs on January 21 at 11:30pm, then it goes back to where it left off on Jan. 11 with #105/106 on Jan. 22.
View more on Nick at Nite January 2009 and also discuss it.
We told you before that BET will be having Christmas marathons featuring their sitcoms. Now BET has revised its Christmas sitcom marathons. Kicking off the sitcom week of marathons now will be Family Matters! Yes, Family Matters! The show will be only airing for a one-time only marathon and is being borrowed from sister Viacom station Nick at Nite. Both BET and Nick at Nite are owned by Viacom. Top-rated Urkel episodes and all the Christmas episodes will air. Family Matters marathon kicks off marathon week on BET on Tuesday, December 23 from 9am-6pm with select episodes being repeated from 12am-4am. Then on Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24), it will now be a marathon of the sitcom One on One from 9am-6pm. On Christmas Day (Thursday, December 25) itself, as we mentioned before, Smart Guy will air from 9am-8pm. A Different World fans can see a Christmas episode of the series that night at 3am. On Kwanza (Friday, December 26) we now get a marathon of the animated sitcom The Proud Family. The series will join the BET line-up in January, and we will have more details on that soon! The marathon will air 9am-8pm leading into the BET premiere of the feature film The Proud Family Movie. The series originally aired on Disney Channel. Finally, the marathons end with Girlfriends on Saturday, December 27 from 9am-4am, as we mentioned.
View episode info for BET Sitcom Holiday Week.
The 15th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG) nominees were announced today. Leading the pack were Boston Legal, Mad Men, The Closer and 30 Rock with 3 nominations each. Among the broadcast networks, NBC led with 8 nominations and ABC was right behind with 7. HBO led all networks with 9 nominations. The awards will air Sunday, Jan. 25, on TNT and TBS at 8 PM ET/PT.
Here are the main TV nominees:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
WILLIAM SHATNER / Denny Crane – Boston Legal (ABC)
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan – Dexter (Showtime)
JON HAMM / Don Draper – Mad Men (AMC)
HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House – House (FOX)
JAMES SPADER / Alan Shore – Boston Legal (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
MARISKA HARGITAY / Det. Olivia Benson - Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko – Saving Grace (TNT)
ELISABETH MOSS / Peggy Olson - Mad Men (AMC)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson – The Closer (TNT)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – 30 Rock (NBC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott – The Office (NBC)
DAVID DUCHOVNY / Hank Moody – Californication (Showtime)
JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold – Entourage (HBO)
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk – Monk (USA)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly – Samantha Who? (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA / Betty Suarez – Ugly Betty (ABC)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – 30 Rock (NBC)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER / Nancy Botwin – Weeds (Showtime)
TRACEY ULLMAN / Various Characters – Tracey Ullman's State of the Union (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boston Legal, ABC
Dexter, Showtime
House, Fox
Mad Men, AMC
The Closer, TNT
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 Rock, NBC
Desperate Housewives, ABC
Entourage, HBO
The Office, NBC
Weeds, Showtime
View the complete TV portion nominees and to discuss the nominees!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
ION Television January 2009 Sees Returns of Drew Carey and Quantum Leap; Nick at Nite Scores in 2008
In primetime, NCIS and Boston Legal will still rule, but a few minor changes will occur. Effective week of Jan. 5, NCIS will now air for the full night on Mondays from 8-11pm, while Boston Legal will now air for the full nights on Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 8-11pm. This is a better way to remember when these shows are on, as previously NCIS was on Mondays 9-11pm and Tuesdays 9pm, while Boston Legal was on Mon-Wed 8pm, Tuesday at 10, Wednesdays 9-11pm...confusing, now it is much easier. Of course Thursdays will be the theatrical movie in primetime and Fri-Sun in primetime it is the RHI film.
As for those movies, the theatrical ones will be James Bond themed for the most part in the month as we see classic '80s Bond flicks For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View to Kill (1985) on Thursdays in primetime, with a Bond week of these three films airing in primetime from Jan. 27-29. On New Year's Day we get the theatrical movie Double Impact (1991) in primetime on Thursday. Thursday and Friday early evening airings (Thursdays 5-8pm, Fridays 5-7p) include those movies above encores, Matchstick Men, Major League: Back To The Minors, and Sphere.
As for RHI Entertainment, some first time airings will air such as To Dance with Olivia, National Lampoon's Attack Of The 5'2" Women, Final Days of Planet Earth, and Human Trafficking. ION will also premiere the world premiere event for the miniseries The Diplomat on Saturday, January 24.
View complete details on ION Television January 2009.
Nick at Nite is total day's number-one basic cable network in 2008 with Adult 18-49 delivery. Marking its most-watched year in four years with A18-49, Nick at Nite placed second overall only to sister-channel Nickelodeon for the year with total viewers. The network posted 11 consecutive months (January - November 2008) of double-digit growth this year with both A18-49 and total viewers.
Nick at Nite is ranked number one with Adults 18-49 for 2008 in total day, according to Nielsen Media Research (12/31/07-12/14/08)--averaging a 0.6 rating (655,000 viewers 18-49) A18-49 (up 20% in rating over last year), and marking its most-watched year in four years with A18-49.
BOTH men and women watch. Among Men 18-49, Nick at Nite is cable's fastest-growing cable entertainment network, averaging a 0.4 rating (245,000 viewers) M18-49 (up 33% in rating) -- its most-watched year ever. Nick at Nite was the number-one ranked network with Women 18-49 for the fifth straight year in total day, averaging a 0.7 rating (410,000 viewers) W18-49 (up 17%).
In prime time, Nick at Nite averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.7 million total viewers--up 40% over last year (Nick at Nite airs 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT in primetime with Home Improvement and George Lopez hours).
Driven by family comedies and new original hits such as George Lopez, Family Matters, Home Improvement, and Gym Teacher: The Movie, Nick at Nite's programming highlights include:
* George Lopez (airs regularly at 10 p.m. [all times ET/PT]) averaged a 0.6 rating (716,000 viewers 18-49) with A18-49 (10 p.m.) for the year, up 50% over last year's like time period. The series also encores at 1 a.m. and does even better.
* Family Matters (airs regularly at 11 p.m.) averaged a 0.7 rating (753,000 viewers 18-49) with A18-49 in 2008, up 40%.
* Home Improvement (airs regularly at 9 p.m.) averaged a 0.4 rating (450,000 viewers 18-49) A18-49, up 33% over last year. The series also airs at 12 a.m. and does even better.
* Gym Teacher, a Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite original TV family movie (premiered Friday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m.) was the number-one telecast on broadcast and basic cable television for the night with kids 2-11, earning a 4.6 kids 2-11 rating and 1.6 million kids 2-11 viewers, up 59% over last year. Gym Teacher: The Movie drew 3.0 million total viewers (up 73%).
Stay tuned tomorrow for highlights and insight for Nick at Nite January 2009!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hallmark Channel Revises Sundays in January; Fox Announces Idol Dates, Orders New Midseason Series
Fox has announced the American Idol schedule through March 10 (3/11-5/20 dates and times will be announced at a later date). As we know, Idol launches Jan. 13 and 14 with a two-night premiere from 8-10pm both nights. Then it will regularly air 8-9pm on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but there are times when it will be expanded to 8-10pm and two special Thursday airings will air on Jan. 29 and March 5. March 5 is the first night of March sweeps, as this year there is no February sweeps due to the transition to DTV on Feb. 17.
Why is this Idol schedule important? Because it looks like Bones will be preempted on Thursday, Jan. 29 now, since Idol is airing that night leading into the season premiere of Hell's Kitchen. Bones will return the following week (Feb. 5), though. Bones moves to the Thursdays at 8pm slot on Jan. 15 leading into the final two episodes of Kitchen Nightmares on Jan. 15 and 22.
Also, only 4 episodes of Fringe will air after American Idol through March 10 it seems. Fringe is slated to air for four weeks in a row on 1/20, 1/27, 2/3, and 2/10, then Idol expands to two-hours the next four weeks AT LEAST, so Fringe will probably not return until the end of March sweep. The news is better for new drama Lie to Me out of Idol, Idol will only be two-hours on a Wednesday on Feb. 11, so Lie to Me will air for three straight weeks then be preempted then air again for another three weeks at least, maybe more.
Meanwhile, Fox has ordered 13 episodes of Glee, an inspiring musical comedy series from Ryan Murphy. The one-hour series follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to transform the school's Glee Club and inspire a group of ragtag performers to make it to the biggest competition of them all: Nationals. The show will debut in 2009 and features a soundtrack of hit songs from past to present. It could be the perfect fit out of American Idol, so Fringe and Lie to Me need to do very well, if not then Glee will fit like a glove likely out of Idol.
View our previous story on Fox's 2009 midseason schedule for the rest of the schedules besides Tues-Thurs.
Monday, December 15, 2008
TV Land Removes Four Sitcoms; TBS Schedules New Sitcom Meet the Browns for January and My Boys for March
View the rest of TV Land's January 2009 schedule and highlights.
After bringing his unique style to TBS with the enormously popular sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Tyler Perry is preparing to add to his successful track record with a spin-off based on characters of his popular play and hit movie, Meet the Browns. The series stars David Mann as the fun-loving but sometimes crass Downtown Leroy Brown, who also appeared in several episodes of House of Payne on TBS. This series opens with Leroy Brown trying to fulfill his father's dying wish by opening a retirement home. Helping him out are his daughter, Cora (Tamela Mann); his nephew Will (Lamman Rucker), a doctor; Will's wife, Sasha (Denise Boutte), a nurse; Carmen Martinez (Jeanette Sousa), a beautiful young social worker; and Jesus Hernandez (Antonio Jaramillo), a maintenance engineer studying to be a lawyer. Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns comes to TBS from Debmar-Mercury. As he does for his other series, Perry is once again serving as executive producer and director, as well as occasionally writing.
Meet the Browns launches Wednesday, January 7 airing back-to-back episodes for five weeks, as 10 episodes have been ordered, through and including February 4. House of Payne will lead-into the series from 8-10pm and lead-out as well from 11pm-12am, giving it an ample lead-in.
TBS has also scheduled all 10 episodes of Meet the Browns the weekend of Feb. 21-22, as part of a Tyler Perry marathon, in case you miss any. The first two will encore on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9-10pm, following two episodes of House of Payne from 8-9pm. Then TBS will air the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman at 10pm followed by a House of Payne marathon from 12:30am-8:30am on Sunday. Then the remaining eight episodes of Meet the Browns will follow from 8:30am-12:30pm, followed by another airing of Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and finally more House of Payne from 3-8pm...so it is all Tyler Payne for 24-hours!
Meanwhile, My Boys will return in March for a third season! This critically acclaimed comedy stars Jordana Spiro as PJ Franklin, a 20-something sports writer looking for love while also trying to maintain her close connection with her friends, most of whom are guys. Co-starring with Spiro is the show's top-notch ensemble cast, including Jim Gaffigan, Kyle Howard, Reid Scott, Michael Bunin, Jamie Kaler and Kellee Stewart. My Boys premiered on TBS in November 2006, ranking as ad-supported cable's #1 original sitcom of the year. This year, the show averaged 1.5 million viewers, up 14% when compared to last summer. My Boys comes to TBS from creator Betsy Thomas.
Speaking of third seasons, just a reminder, TBS's popular late-night comedy 10 Items or Less, a loosely scripted look at life behind the scenes at a family-run grocery store, returns for a third season on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 11pm. It is co-created by acclaimed comedy improv actor John Lehr. It delves into the offbeat lives of the employees at Greens & Grains. In addition to Lehr, the series stars Kirsten Gronfield, Chris Payne Gilbert, Greg Davis Jr., Christopher Liam Moore, Roberta Valderrama and Robert Clendenin, as well as new cast member Kim Coles. 10 Items or Less is written and executive-produced by Lehr and director Nancy Hower.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Week 12 (First Four Nights) Numbers; How the Sitcoms Did
(Network averages are not available thru Thursday, so we can only give you up until Wednesday, but final program numbers thru Thursday are available for our analysis)
Households: CBS: 7.8/12.4; NBC: 4.6/7.3; ABC: 4.5/7.2; Fox: 4.5/7.0; MNT: 1.4/2.2; The CW: 1.2/1.8.
Total Viewers: CBS: 12.12 million; NBC: 7.34 million; Fox: 7.25 million; ABC: 7.2 million; MNT: 2.38 million; The CW: 1.61 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 3.3/8.6; Fox: 2.8/7.3; NBC: 2.7/7.0; ABC: 2.1/5.7; MNT: 0.8/2.2; The CW: 0.7/2.0.
Analysis: Week 12 so far has seen CBS with a commanding lead thru three days (and four), as CBS has been new 3 of the 4 days for the entire night. Through the first four days, CBS has the lead in all categories, with NBC, ABC and Fox all battling for a distant second place thru three days. After four days, NBC pulled in front for 2nd place, since they were all-new on Thursday, and ABC had repeats, while Fox was new on Thursday, but didn't draw much.
Last week, CBS won week 11 in HH and viewers, while ABC was in a three-way tie for first in 18-49 with Fox and CBS, with ABC with slightly more 18-49 viewers. ABC was second in HH/viewers, NBC was third in HH, but fourth in viewers, while Fox was the opposite, fourth in HH and third in viewers. Because of the basic three-way tie in 18-49, NBC was fourth in 18-49, despite only trailing by .2 of a point. Worth noting, MNT finished ahead of The CW once again for the second straight week, and looks like this week as well.
Monday CBS was all-new and won the night beating 2nd place ABC. CBS started with new episodes of their comedies then ended with CSI: Miami. The Big Bang Theory did 10.5 million for yet another series high! Wow! A new episode of How I Met Your Mother followed 10.49 million, a season high and best showing of the series since the Britney episode last season. That felt like ages ago though, since Britney is back in full form again. #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men followed with 15.59 million for an all-new showing, while Worst Week didn't have to face a comedy and only did 10.44 million, losing a lot from its lead-in. At 10pm a new showing of CSI: Miami did 13.79 million, not bad at all. ABC started off the night very strong with all-time classic special A Charlie Brown Christmas doing a solid 11.02 million, despite being preempted in Tampa Bay for the Monday Night Football game. The two-hour series finale of Boston Legal followed with 9.88 million, but again ABC was preempted in Tampa area for the game, as they will air the series finale TODAY from 4-6pm. If Tampa aired it, we could have seen close to a million more than 9.88 million. NBC was next and as its regular line-up continues to be terrible. Chuck did 6.94 million, down from previous week, followed by Heroes at just 7.72 million, down from previous week. How will the fall finale do tomorrow? Can it even crack 9 million? The burn-off My Worst Own Enemy was next at just 3.63 million, a series low. Fox was next with the very weak Sarah Connor at just 5.25 million, down from previous week, and on its last legs Prison Break at 5.4 million, also down week-to-week. The CW was next with a new Gossip Girl doing a solid 2.99 million...but slightly off from previous week! One Tree Hill was again preempted as CW again aired a new episode of Privileged on a special night doing only 1.91 million, down from previous week.
Tuesday CBS was in repeats and still won the night in HH/viewers. CBS's quiet hit NCIS started the night off with 13.66 million for a repeat...how?? New drama The Mentalist followed with 13.69 million for a repeat, once again...how?? A repeat of Without a Trace did 8.56 million, as this show is no longer a bonafide hit. Fox was next with a new House at 14.05 million, up over a million week-to-week after a season low, followed by a repeat of Fringe with 6.95 million, no more new episodes until Jan. 20 for this show. NBC was next with another two-hour The Biggest Loser at a above normal 9.36 million, up from previous week, as the season finale is this week and Law & Order: SVU followed at 11.01 million, also up from the previous week. ABC was all the way to 4th on night this, a special all-new holiday showing of America's Funniest Home Videos on a special night and time did 7.03 million, but ABC does much better with actual holiday specials. Holiday themed episodes of According to Jim followed with 4.92 million and 5.15 million, both down from previous week...it should be better this week though. Jim lead into Eli Stone at 10pm at just 4.92 million, on par really from previous week. Just two more confirmed airings left (Dec. 16 and 30) unless ABC will unload the other remaining episodes in January on Saturdays? The CW aired a repeat of 90210 and only mustered 1.18 million, down a bit from previous week's repeat, and a repeat of the previous night's Privileged only did 1.06 million, but that was up from previous week's encore.
Wednesday was all CBS as its regular lineup returned after a week off. CBS started with sitcoms, as Old Christine did a decent 7.94 million and Gary Unmarried did 7.73 million, also not bad. Criminal Minds followed with a nice 14.68 million an at 10pm CSI: NY followed with 13.33 million, easily winning its hour. NBC opened the night with the new holiday special Little Spirit: Christmas in New York doing only 4.81 million, as Life followed with only 5.64 million, nearly down 2.5 million from previous week...ouch. Law & Order followed at 10pm doing 7.51 million, down nearly 4 million from previous week's season high. ABC was next but it started off slow with Pushing Daisies only managing 4.86 million, but really on par from previous week. Private Practice was next and did 6.86 million, down nearly a million week-to-week, though. Dirty Sexy Money was next and did 5.24 million, down a bit from previous week...what an ending to that episode! Go watch that episode on abc.com if you missed it! One of the best episodes of any series this year. Fox was next with reality series Secret Millionaire and the series did decent doing 7.26 million at 8pm, better than the previous week at 8pm, followed by a Bones repeat at only 4.47 million. The CW had a repeat of Stylista doing just 1.2 million, on par really week-to-week though, followed by an all-new Stylista doing the 1.32 million, better a bit than the previous week. MNT did VERY good for the special airing of the holiday movie Home Alone doing 3.64 million!
Thursday saw CBS easily win as ABC was in repeats. CBS opened with Survivor: Gabon at 13.05 million, up from previous week, a new CSI with the first episode of Laurence Fishburne followed with 20.86 million, its best showing since the season premiere, and a new Eleventh Hour followed with a series high 13.4 million due to a lack of competition. NBC was actually next, but a distant next, with My Name is Earldoing just 6.55 million, though up a bit week-to-week, followed by Kath & Kim at just 5.38 million, also up slightly from previous week, while The Office perked up to 8.76 million, up from previous week, followed by 30 Rock at 7.38 million, up a bit week-to-week and a new ER closed the night with 9.04 million, up from previous week. ABC was next with all repeats...a repeat of Ugly Betty did 5.09 million, an encore of Grey's Anatomy was next and did 6.26 million, followed by a repeat of Private Practice doing only 4.23 million at 10pm. Fox was fourth for the night with the Thursday premiere of Secret Millionaire at only 5.4 million, followed by a special Thursday airing of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? doing only 4.59 million...ouch. Smallville repeat on The CW did 2.5 million, better than previous week, followed by a Supernatural repeat at 1.98 million, down slightly from previous week.
Now, as usual final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday but down from usual as they aired holiday specials from 8-10, so Ghost Whisperer was preempted and NUMB3RS was a repeat. NBC, Fox, and ABC all did about the same.
Saturday was very slow, but Fox won the night, with CBS second in HH/viewers, but fourth in 18-49. ABC and NBC's holiday movies did about the same.
Tonight once again NFL plays a big role to what will happen. CBS will probably start very fast since they have an overrun of an NFL game into the 7pm hour, followed by 60 Minutes, and the Survivor: Gabon finale. That could be down big from usual because NBC has a GREAT Sunday Night Football game tonight between the Giants and Cowboys...oh boy. ABC's regular Sunday line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters, is preempted, but AFV is still new at 7pm and the holiday airing of The Santa Clause 2 won't win the night, but will do solid. Fox will be in repeats for their animation, so they are out of the mix.
As for the week, CBS will easily win the week in HH, viewers and 18-49. Who will be second? Likely NBC after a huge NFL showing likely tonight, with ABC third and Fox in fourth, but Fox could nip ABC in 18-49. What to watch for this week? Holiday airings will rule...CBS Monday has a lot of them! Monday also has the fall finales of Sarah Connor on Fox and Heroes on NBC. A Charlie Brown Christmas is on again this Tuesday on ABC and a Christmas episode of According to Jim with Steve Guttenberg. Tuesday also has the fall finale of Biggest Loser and the premiere of Momma's Boys on NBC. Wednesday, NBC has a new Muppets Christmas special at 8. And finally Million Dollar Password returns this week on Thursday and next Sunday at 8 on CBS! Note: Our ratings will likely be off until the new year as we get into repeat mode. Maybe we will have a report next week, or maybe not...stay tuned.
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Dec. 1-7)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - a new episode at a special time of 8:30pm following the BCS Selection Show only did 6.43 million...ouch.
- King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 6.6 million, not bad and did more than The Simpsons, and was new.
- American Dad (Fox) - A repeat only did 5.31 million, almost as same as a new one the previous week. But still not too good.
Monday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 10.5 million for a new episode. A series high! Can tomorrow do even better with lesser competition?
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 10.49 million for a new episode...season high!
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 15.59 million, what else can be said about this show?
- Worst Week (CBS) - 10.44 million for new episode. It may sound a lot, but it should be doing better. 12-13 million from that lead-in would be better. Even 11.5 million would be respectable.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 4.92 and 5.15 million for two new ones...not good.
- Old Christine (CBS) - 7.94 million for a new episode...solid.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - 7.73 million for a new episode, also decent.
Thursday Sitcoms
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - Only 6.55 million...but up from previous week.
- Kath & Kim (NBC) - 5.38 million only for a new episode, but at least up over 5 million this week.
- The Office (NBC) - 8.76 million for an all-new showing...decent.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - 7.38 million for a new episode, not bad, but could be & should be better.
Friday Sitcoms
- Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) 2 episodes - 1.59 million prelim for a new episode and a repeat...not too good.
- The Game (The CW) - preempted.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 7-10 but are repeats.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and The Office were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Old Christine, Worst Week) or just plain old terrible (such as Kath & Kim, According to Jim).
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Blog DVD Review: Mr. Bean - The Ultimate Collection (12/16)
Mr. Bean - The Ultimate Collection (A&E, $69.95) brings us everything Mr. Bean! This is the ultimate fan collection, as we get every episode of the hit TV series, both feature films, the animated series and all the bonus features we have gotten in the past all in one complete collection!
Based on a character developed by Rowan Atkinson at university, the series followed the exploits of Mr. Bean, in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process. The series lasted five seasons in the United Kingdom and is one of the most famous British series known worldwide. Mr. Bean didn't as a regular series in the UK, it aired as a series of stand-along specials, lasting 14 episodes in five years.
Mr. Bean: The Movie is a 1997 feature film based on the television series Mr. Bean. It stars Rowan Atkinson, as Mr. Bean of course, and also Peter MacNicol. The movie was about Mr. Bean coming to America, as he conquers Los Angeles by storm.
The second feature film, Mr. Bean's Holiday, came out 10 years later in 2007. The film is about Bean taking a holiday to France.
And finally we get two volumes of the animated series. For some reason we are not getting all 26 episodes of the animated series, which doesn't make sense. We get 9 of the 26. Characters from the original live action series included Mr. Bean, Irma Gobb, Mr. Bean's teddy bear, and the mysterious driver of the Reliant Supervan, with the addition of Mrs. Wicket, Bean's landlady, and her evil cat Scrapper. The series aired in 2002-2003 in the United Kingdom.
Packaging has a nice box holding seven slimcases. The cover of the box is yellow-orange color with five different shots of Mr. Bean. My his facial expressions were priceless! A New York Times quote is also on the box art. On the back of the box we have a series description and info on the set along with credits for every series/movie. We also have a box listing all of the bonus features.
Menus are the same as how they were on the original sets for the series and animated series. Now, A&E has never released the two movies, but Universal Home Video has. So I don't have those movies from Universal, so I cannot compare.
As with the menus, audio and video are the same as the individual releases. The video is OK at best, but it could be better. The movies look way better obviously. And the animated series might be just as good in terms of audio and video. The original series might be the worst looking, but of course it is the oldest, too. The original series usually had episodes around 25 minutes or so, while the animated series is around 22...so nothing is edited. The movies are about 90 minutes each.
Special features are all over the place! Though, there is nothing actually new, since these sets have all came out individually before, but I will list them all for you. For the original series, everything is on the third slimcase (Volume 3), we have "The Story of Mr. Bean," a 40-minute documentary giving us the inside scoop on the series and how it was born. Then we have "never before seen on TV" sketches titled "Bus Stop" (approx. 6 min.) and "Library" (approx. 9 min.) Funny stuff! Then we have two sketches from the UK series "Comic Relief" titled "Blind Date" (approx. 14 min.) and "Torvill & Bean" (approx. 7 min.). Then we have a trailer for the animated series, just like on the third volume when it was released originally. We also have a nice text biography and filmography of Rowan Atkinson.
For Bean: The Movie, we get the music video "I Love L.A." running about 3 minutes. We also have more biographies, this time the entire main cast of the movie.
For Mr. Bean's Holiday, we have a lot of extras. We have lots of deleted scenes totaling about a quarter of an hour! We also have some behind the scenes features, "French Bean" (about 11 min.), "Bean in Cannes" (about 6 min.), and "The Human Bean" (about 6 min. also). We learn a lot from these three features. You can watch this movie in French, too.
Finally, the last two discs are for the animated series. Once again I will reiterate, we do NOT have every episode of this series. Just the first 9 of the 26 for some reason. As far as extras go, the first disc for the animated series has trailers for the animated series and some photos in a photo gallery. The second disc is much better and has a nice 20 minute or so documentary about this animated series. We find out really how and why Mr. Bean was brought back, but this time in animation.
This is a wonderful set. Any fan of Mr. Bean will want this. I never got a chance to get or review "The Whole Bean" DVD, but this set is good. The only major fault for this set is that there are not every episode of the animated series. Not even half, but oh well. I personally liked the series and movies WAY better, especially the series. A&E did a good job by acquiring the two movies for this set, as those were Universal products. Well, we are nearing Christmas, and what better way to spend Christmas with Mr. Bean. He is perfect to watch with the family, especially during the holidays. So get your teddy bear out and get into your pajamas and watch BEAN! I'm Bean!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Mr. Bean TV.com Page
Friday, December 12, 2008
Leave it to Beaver Christmas Marathon on RTN; Unsolved Mysteries To Return on Spike TV in January
You will see 64 classic episodes of the sitcom that featured Jerry Mathers as the Beaver. Among the episodes you'll see are "In the Soup," "Beaver's Report Card," "Wally's Dream Girl," "Beaver's First Date," "Eddie Quits School," and the very last episode "Family Scrapbook."
This is a marathon you will not want to miss! Spend Christmas with your family watching the Cleaver family on RTN! I just always wondered why there never was an actual Christmas episode of Leave it to Beaver? View full episode info for the marathon.
Many of you have been wondering what has happened to Unsolved Mysteries on Spike TV lately? Spike TV decided to give all-day marathons of CSI and CSI: NY all December long and thus the entire schedule has been preempted this month, with James Bond movies during Christmas week. Even Married...with Children is not airing weekdays. Not to worry everything will be back in January! But first, week of December 29 will feature a marathon of one show per day. The marathon starts with a Married...with Children all-day marathon on December 29 and concludes on January 2 with Unsolved Mysteries. Unsolved Mysteries. will then have a week-long marathon from Monday, Jan. 5 to Friday, Jan. 9 from 9am-6pm each day! Talk about returning in style! But what about airing regularly? That will happen, too! Effective Monday, Jan. 12, Spike TV will have a new weekday line-up. The Shield kicks it off at 9am, followed by four episodes of Married...with Children from 10am-12pm, then Unsolved Mysteries will launch in its new time period with three episodes in a row from 12-3pm. The schedule continues with CSI: NY from 3-7pm and CSI from 7-9pm. Then we have primetime from 9pm-12am, and in the late night we have CSI: NY at midnight, Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol at 1am, Spike's Most Amazing Videos at 2am, and Star Trek: Voyager at 3am. Some nights late in week from 1-4am we get episodes of Married...with Children, The Shield, and MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge as well. You Unsolved Mysteries fans can see the series on most Sunday afternoons as well in January.
View complete details for Spike TV January 2009.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
66th Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominees; SAG to Vote Whether to Strike Or Not
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (Showtime)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (Showtime)
COMMENTS: Pushing Daisies not in it this year. The Office returns.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife (USA Network)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
COMMENTS: No Housewives again for second straight year, same list as last year except Messing is in, Friel is out.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
David Duchovny, Californication (Showtime)
Kevin Connolly, Entourage (HBO)
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
COMMENTS: The love for Pushing Daisies from last year is gone, as now Shalhoub gets in over Pace.
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
In Treatment, (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)
COMMENTS: Damages & Grey's Anatomy didn't make it from last year. Still no Lost, as it really deserves it. Surprised Breaking Bad didn't get in. Too much cable.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
January Jones, Mad Men (AMC)
Anna Paquin, True Blood (HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
COMMENTS: Field and Sedgwick only remain from last year. Last year we had 7 nominees actually. Can't believe Hargitay made it.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors (Showtime)
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment (HBO)
COMMENTS: Same as last year but Byrne instead of Bill Paxton. Nearly all cable shows again. Wonder why Boston Legal is gold at the Emmys but not at the Globes?
Since the nominees for Supporting Actors/Actresses in Comedy and Drama are mixed in with TV movies and in just one category for actor and one for actress, I won't give the full nominees, but here are the TV series players (see link below for full list):
Melissa George, In Treatment (HBO)
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
Blair Underwood, In Treatment (HBO)
View the FULL list of television nominees and to discuss this.
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced that strike authorization ballots will be mailed to paid-up SAG members on Friday January 2, 2009, and will be tabulated on Friday, January 23. A yes vote by 75% of members voting is required to pass the measure, which would authorize SAG's national board of directors to call a strike, if and when the board determines it is necessary.
Since the counting will take place on Jan. 23, the Golden Globes will not be affected or canceled like they were last year during the writers' strike. But if there is a strike, the Oscars could be affected. Let's all hope and pray for the sake of the TV business that there is NO actors' strike, as we saw what the 100-day writers' strike did last season. So hopefully they vote no and resolve all this. I don't want to be doing this come February (or whenever it could start): "SAG Strike Day 30."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Honeymooners New Year's Bash Nationally on WGN America, Also Still On WPIX in NY; Other WPIX Holiday Programming Includes Yule Log
Remember The Honeymooners airs regular on WGN America on Saturday nights at 12 midnight ET and Sunday in primetime at 9pm & 9:30pm ET.
That's not all for The Honeymooners! It wouldn't be a New Year's celebration in the Big Apple without Jackie Gleason and company as WPIX in New York brings you their annual tradition of The Honeymooners New Year's Blowout Bash! WPIX's marathon starts when the clock strikes midnight and we enter 2009! 16 hours, 32 episodes of classic Honeymooners episodes will air. From 12am-4:30am and 9am-8pm, WPIX brings you 32 classics from the original 39 and the lost episodes as well! Episodes airing on WPIX starting at 12 midnight: "The Sleepwalker," "Pal O' Mine," "Hello Mom," "Please Leave the Premises," "Deciding Vote," "Something Fishy," "A Matter of Record," "Ralph Kramden, Inc.," and "Pardon My Glove" then we have a morning news break thru 9am. Episodes starting at 9am are: "Woman's Work is Never Done," "Here Comes the Bride," "Matter of Life & Death," "Brother Ralph," "Oh My Achin' Back," "The Baby Sitter," "Head of the House," "The Worry Wart," "A Dog's Life," "Trapped," "Better Living Thru TV," "A Man's Pride," "The Golfer," "Funny Money," "Young at Heart," "Dial J for Janitor," "Bensonhurst Bomber," "Unconventional Behavior," "Man From Space," "TV or Not TV," "The $99,000 Answer," and "Mama Loves Mambo."
The Honeymooners regularly airs on WPIX Sunday nights at 1am and 1:30am, part of a Viewer's Choice Hour where fans choose episodes.
We haven't had a chance yet to give you WPIX's holiday programming, but we will today! It wouldn't be a holiday in New York without The WPIX Yule Log! The Yule Log, the famous film loop of a burning log in a hearth, has mesmerized viewers since it debuted on WPIX in 1966. To celebrate the Log's 42nd anniversary, WPIX-11 will air The Yule Log from 9am-1pm on Christmas Day (Thursday, December 25), expanding the coverage to four hours! At 1pm, immediately following The Yule Log, WPIX will air the beloved holiday classic, March of the Wooden Soldiers.
In recent years, The Yule Log has been digitally re-mastered and fully restored. In 2001, while searching the company's archives, the original 35mm Yule Log film was found where it was misfiled in a Honeymooners film can titled "A Dog's Life." At that time, the original film was color corrected and cleaned of scratches. In 2003, the Log was up-converted to High Definition (WPIX now airs a simultaneous HDTV Yule Log on WPIX-HD) and in 2005 WPIX made The Yule Log available to viewers as a downloadable podcast.
We menioned the Yule Log will be seen nationally on WGN America on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but it can also be seen locally on many other Tribune stations: KTLA in LA 5-8am, WGN local in Chicago 1:30-6:30am, WPHL on Philly 9a-noon, KDAF in Dallas 8-11am (airing their own version of the Yule Log), WDCW in DC 8-10am, KCPQ in Seattle 5-9am, WSFL in Miami 7-10am, KWGN in Denver 5-9am, KTXL in Sacramento 4:30-9am, KPLR in St. Louis 8am-noon, KRCW in Portland 5-10am, WXIN in Indianapolis 5-9am, WTTV in Indianapolis 5-8:30am, WTIC in Hartford 8-10am, WXMI in Grand Rapids 5-7am, WPMT in Harrisburg 5-10am, and WGNO in New Orleans 5-7am. Times listed are for each city's respective time zone.
WPIX will also celebrate the holidays with movies and holiday episodes as well. Catch movies such as Jack Frost, I'll Be Home for Christmas, and Christmas at Water's Edge, and holiday episodes of The Jeffersons, Frasier, Friends, South Park, The Odd Couple, and more in the regular time periods on Christmas week!
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
NBC Cuts 10PM From Primetime and Adds Jay Leno to 10PM; ABC Adds Special Wipeout on Super Bowl Sunday; 2009 WGA Awards Nominees
Leno will sign off as host of The Tonight Show on Friday, May 29, 2009. His new show will showcase many of the features that have made Leno America's late-night leader for more than a dozen years. Signature elements will include his opening monologue and well-known comedy segments "Headlines," "Jaywalking" and "Battle of the Jaywalking All-Stars."
As previously announced, Conan O'Brien will take over The Tonight Show hosting duties on Monday, June 1, 2009, broadcasting from the state-of-the-art studio currently under construction on the Universal lot. O'Brien will continue an unmatched late-night legacy that includes Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and, for the last 16 years, Jay Leno. Jimmy Fallon will assume the role of host of Late Night on March 2, 2009.
So what does this all mean? NBC is in terrible shape right now both in the ratings and financially. They have been stuck in 4th place in the ratings for some years now and recently many employees were laid off. With this move, NBC will slice off five-hours from their weeknight schedule and air the cheaper Leno series. The new Leno deal is up to 50 million a year for 5 years, while the show doesn't cost too much to produce so NBC will benefit from a financial aspect in this hour as shows like Law & Order and ER cost a lot to produce. This means many primetime shows on NBC could be cut next fall. Many of them could be veteran series. Nothing has been officially announced as dead yet but series such as Kath & Kim, My Name is Earl, Knight Rider, Life, and Friday Night Lights could be cut, while Chuck, Medium, and the original Law & Order series could go either way. ER is already ending this season, so that will obviously be gone, while Lipstick Jungle is canceled and the cheap Crusoe is also canceled despite low production costs but the ratings were terrible. And if Heroes continues its downward trend, NBC could cut it also as that series costs a lot to make. Law & Order: SVU, The Biggest Loser, The Office, are some of the series likely to remain on NBC.
There is word also that NBC could give Saturday nights back to their affiliates to program. So that would be another three-hours that NBC could lose. As of now, they will only program 17 hours a week, and could be as low as 14 if they lose Saturday. That would be lower than Fox, which has 15.
What do I think? I think this is great for Jay Leno and I am happy for him but what is NBC thinking? I know they have to cut costs and stuff, but there is no way they can expand on finding hits without the 10pm hour. Leno gets 4 million or so in late night and will likely go up a bit in primetime, but every weekday it will get tiresome. Leno will have to face entertainment dramas and not go up against similar late night shows. This also could hurt NBC's other late night shows, as now they will have yet another one. They already have The Tonight Show, Late Night, and Last Call. Four talk shows in one night? You can expect ABC and CBS's 10pm shows to rise next fall without NBC. It is still not known though if NBC will even count Leno's series in their primetime averages. NBC's 10pm shows the last few years have been a bright spot for them with series such as Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, Medium, and even ER doing higher ratings than anything from 8-10pm. It is not a guarantee they can just move down an hour and generate the same ratings. Law & Order moved to Wednesdays at 9 a few years ago and got crushed by Criminal Minds on CBS, and was quickly moved back to 10pm. NBC has made some weird moves lately and have already back-fired. Last development season, they eliminated the expensive pilot process, a move that saved money but backfired after all of its fall shows flopped, such as My Worst Own Enemy. They picked-up series without actually seeing a pilot. Also, their "infront" last April was a total bust. They announced line-ups for Fall 2008, Winter/Spring 2009 and Summer 2009 in advance, and ended up changing the schedule around anyway. What is the point to all this NBC? Stick with tradition and get yourself back on track by trying to find quality shows instead of giving up. Just my two cents.
The news gets worse for NBC. ABC has announced it plans to counter program NBC's Super Bowl entertainment telecasts with a sports-star-studded episode of the summer obstacle-course megahit Wipeout.
ABC will air a brief football-themed Wipeout special against NBC's official halftime show headlined by Bruce Springsteen. Then, during NBC's post-Super Bowl presentation of The Office," ABC will air an hour-long Wipeout in which cheerleaders compete against male "couch potato" sports fans.
The two-part ABC special, "Wipeout Superball Sunday," pulls out all the stops to cater to NFL fans: Hall of Famer Michael Irving will lend sideline commentary, the Navy's Blue Angels will perform a flyover, the USC marching band will storm the course, contestants will run a gantlet with quarterbacks pelting them with footballs, NFL luminaries will stop by the commentary booth, and the show's signature Big Balls obstacle has been converted into jumbo-sized footballs, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The special is one of the most ambitious Super Bowl Sunday programming plans ever mounted by a non-host network. Yet for the reality show's producer, Endemol, it's familiar territory. In 2002, NBC enjoyed some of Fox's big game thunder by airing a special episode of the Endemol-produced Fear Factor featuring Playboy Playmates as contestants against the halftime show. Fear Factor did 11.4 million viewers that night. The family-friendly Wipeout could attract even more.
ABC plans to air repeats of Wipeout against the game directly itself, with AFV encore from 7-8pm ET. The Super Bowl starts at about 6:30, and the halftime show will likely be around 8pm so the Wipeout halftime special will air then, then they will air two Wipeout repeats from about 8:30ish-10:30ish, before the hour Wipeout special at about 10:30 against The Office. Wipeout will return as a series this summer for a second season. Goodnight and big balls!
Finally, we leave you today with the nominations for the 61st Annual WGA Awards. Comedy wise, 30 Rock, Entourage, The Office, The Simpsons and Weeds were nominated for their writing work. While Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Lost, Mad Men and The Wire took writing nominations for dramas. Among the other categories, Life on Mars and Breaking Bad were among the nominees for best new series, Ugly Betty, Eli Stone, 30 Rock, and The Office were among the nominees for actual episodic writing.
View the full nominees.
Monday, December 08, 2008
TV One January 2009 Highlights Sees Jeffersons, Sanford and Son Regular Slots; Remembering Beverly Garland and Nina Foch
On Saturday mornings starting Jan. 10, the sitcom line-up has changed a bit. In the 7am hour will now be Where I Live, replacing Parent'hood. And in the 11am hour now will be All of Us instead of Where I Live. Where I Live will no longer air Sundays 6-7pm either, but at least it is still on...on Saturdays from 7-8am and all 21 episodes will air. Viewers will have another chance to unravel the mystery as the action drama series Day Break starring Taye Diggs returns to TV One airing Saturdays at 12 midnight beginning on Saturday, January 10. The series will have encore airings on Fridays at 11am and 2am starting Jan. 16. So, to recap, The Jeffersons (weeknights 10p, 10:30p, 12a) and Sanford & Son (weeknights 11:30p) are in, The PJs and For Your Love are out, Day Break is back and Eve is off the regular line-up but will remain Fridays from 12-4pm.
Other highlights include: On Saturday, January 17 beginning at 12 Noon thru 8pm (and again 2-6am), as the nation prepares for a new first couple to take residence in the White House, TV One salutes our own first couple of comedy Overton and Synclaire (John Henton and Kim Coles) from the sitcom Living Single with a marathon that showcases the couple's relationship, engagement, wedding, and honeymoon.
On Sunday, January 18 beginning at 1pm, TV One is solid as a Roc as they present a marathon to showcase characters from the urban sitcom Roc starring Charles S. Dutton as Roc Emerson, a city garbage collector who balances the pressures of work with the everyday crises of family life.
Finally, on Tuesday, January 20 beginning at 9am, TV One celebrates the election of the first African-American President of the United States with coverage of the Inauguration Barack Obama, the US' 44th President. Coverage of this historic Inauguration begins at 11am while post inaugural events and inaugural ball coverage begins at 8pm.
Beverly Garland, the actress who starred in 1950s movie cult hits like Swamp Women and Not of This Earth and who went on to play Fred MacMurray's TV wife on the family sitcom My Three Sons, has died. Garland died Friday at her Hollywood Hills home after a lengthy illness. She had a 50-year career that included 40 movies and dozens of television shows. She starred in the crime series Decoy in the late '50s as police woman Casey Jones. Garland showed her comedic chops as Bing Crosby's wife in the short-lived sitcom The Bing Crosby Show in the mid-'60s, which led her to be cast as the second wife of MacMurray's widower Steve Douglas during the last three seasons of the popular sitcom My Three Sons that aired from 1960 to 1972.
Her television credits also include playing her fair share of mothers in TV series. She was Stephanie Zimbalist's mom in the 80s series Remington Steele, Kate Jackson's mom in the 80's series Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and Teri Hatcher's in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the '90s. She also had MANY other TV credits to her name such as appearing on episodes of Hawaiian Eye, The Millionaire, Perry Mason, Rawhide, The Fugitive, Here's Lucy, Gunsmoke, Mannix, Love American Stle, Ironside, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Marcus Welby MD, Charlie's Angels, Trapper John MD, Hart to Hart, Magnum P.I., Hotel, Friends, Ellen, Diagnosis Murder, Teen Angel, and The Simple Life. She recurred on Mary Hartman Mary Hartman as Cookie LaRue, on the ABC soap Port Charles as Estelle Reese, and as Ginger Jackson on 7th Heaven, with her last episode in 2004, as her last role.
Her name may not be recognizable to many, but her face probably is. She appeared in so many TV series and movies, everyone had to have seen her once. She will be deeply missed and remembered. She was 82.
We also remember Nina Foch today. Nina Foch, the Dutch-born actress who often played cool, calculating women in films, theater and television and was a respected coach of aspiring actors and directors has died. Foch died Friday at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center of complications from the blood disorder myelodysplasia. She became ill last week while teaching at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. Foch had taught at USC for 40 years.
What many people know about Nina is that she was the acting teacher for the late John Ritter when he attended USC from 1966-71. She taught John well and was one of her favorite students of all-time. She even worked with John on the big screen movie Blake Edwards' Skin Deep in 1989, in which John was the star. John had a supporting role in the movie Shadow of Doubt in 1998 and Nina also worked with John then. And you John Ritter fans know that Nina was interviewed in many John Ritter documentaries such as John Ritter's Biography episode.
Foch's career goes back all the way to the 40s. Her lengthy television credits include Prescription: Murder in 1968, which launched the popular Columbo detective series starring Peter Falk, the miniseries War and Remembrance in 1989 and episodes of Studio One, Rawhide, Route 66, I Spy, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Mod Squad, That Girl, Hawaii Five-0, Trapper John MD, Hunter, LA Law, Murder She Wrote, Just Shoot Me, Bull, Dharma & Greg, NCIS and most recently on The Closer. She earned an Emmy nomination for best supporting actress in a drama series in 1980 for her work on an episode of Lou Grant.
She was known for her film work as she earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in Executive Suite in 1954. But her dedication as an acting teacher at USC was her legacy and many actors and actresses have respect for Nina Foch. "Believe it or not, teaching is the most rewarding thing I do," Foch told United Press International in 1994. "It has been the most successful thing I've done in my life." She will be remembered for her work, her wonderful teachings, and for her support for the great John Ritter. Nina was 84 and never retired.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Week 11 (First Four Nights) Numbers; How the Sitcoms Did
Households: CBS: 7.6/12.1; ABC: 5.3/8.4; NBC: 5.2/8.3; Fox: 4.3/6.6; The CW: 1.2/1.9; MNT: 1.1/1.7.
Total Viewers: CBS: 12.33 million; ABC: 8.39 million; NBC: 8.21 million; Fox: 6.9 million; The CW: 1.77 million; MNT: 1.68 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 3.4/8.8; NBC: 2.9/7.7; ABC: 2.7/7.2; Fox: 2.7/7.0; The CW: 0.7/1.9; MNT: 0.5/1.3.
Analysis: Week 11 so far has seen a mix of new and repeats, with CBS on top thus far. Through the first four days, CBS has the lead in all categories, with ABC second in viewers and households but NBC is right behind and ha a slim lead for 2nd in 18-49, with Fox in fourth across the board, but is in the same still in 18-49.
Last week, CBS won week 10 in HH and viewers thanks to an NFL overrun, while ABC won the week in 18-49. ABC was second in HH/viewers, while CBS was second in 18-49 for the week. NBC was a distant third across the board and Fox was fourth across the board as well.
Monday ABC was without Dancing with the Stars, as the season ended the previous week, so of course so their ratings obviously were down. CBS was in repeats but yet still won the night beating 2nd place ABC. CBS started with repeats of their comedies with CSI: Miami. The Big Bang Theory doing 7.63 million for a repeat, not bad. A repeat of How I Met Your Mother followed 7.88 million, building a bit from is lead-in. #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men followed with 13.63 million for a repeat, yet only down a million or so from the previous week when it was all-new, while Worst Week finally had an encore and it did only 7.79 million, but all things considered...it isn't too bad. At 10pm a repeat of CSI: Miami did 11.16 million, not bad at all. Don't know how these shows repeat so well. ABC started off the night very strong with the new holiday classic Shrek the Halls doing a solid 11.14 million followed by all-time classic special How the Grinch Stole Christmas building with a nice 11.41 million. Not bad, even though last year they did considerably better, but that was when Shrek the Halls first premiered and surprised everyone with over 20 million. ABC then aired back-to-back all-new episodes of Samantha Who and did not do as well as it does doing 6.04 and 6.51 million, but at least it built through the hour...maybe many fans didn't know of the special 9pm time? A new Boston Legal followed with 8.11 million, on par really from the previous week. The series finale is tomorrow night...ABC will go with a two-hour finale, so I'm guessing it will be double digits in viewers, maybe 10 and 13 million for the two-hours? NBC was next and as its regular line-up continues to falter. Chuck did 7.34 million, up from previous week though and was the bright spot for them, followed by Heroes at just 8 million, up a bit from previous week, but really should be doing much better than this. The burn-off My Worst Own Enemy was next at just 3.94 million, but actually up a bit from previous week. Fox was next with the very weak Sarah Connor at just 5.82 million, but actually up over a million from previous week's terrible ratings, and on its last legs Prison Break at 5.84 million, also up week-to-week. The CW was next with a new Gossip Girl doing a solid 3.11 million...there you go, it is back on track! One Tree Hill was preempted as CW aired a new episode of Privileged on a special night doing only 2.2 million. Privileged will be airing on this night tomorrow, too. If I were to guess, it's one season and done for this series.
Tuesday it was all CBS by miles. CBS's quiet hit NCIS started the night off with 18.52 million...up a bit from previous week. New drama The Mentalist followed with 18.74 million, up 3 million from previous week and a series high as there is no more Dancing to compete with. WOW! Breakout hit of the fall, but do you actually know anyone who watches? A new Without a Trace did 12.32 million, up two million week-to-week, as it was affected by Dancing the previous week. Fox was next with a new House at 12.52 million, down a bit week-to-week for a season low, followed by the fall finale for lead-in dependent Fringe with 8.54 million, up from previous week. NBC was next with another two-hour The Biggest Loser at a above normal 8.75 million, up two million from previous week, as again Dancing affected the previous week and Law & Order: SVU followed at 10.33 million, also loads better than the previous week. But still who would have thought 10.33 million for SVU would be a great number? For this year that is outstanding for it...in other years that would be pretty below normal. ABC was all the way to 4th on night this, but started off decently with the holiday classic Santa Claus is Comin' to Town at a solid 8.9 million, as this special is no where near the ratings hit of other specials, but still solid. No more Dancing with the Stars: The Results until March, so ABC is airing holiday themed episodes of According to Jim this month instead and two new episodes did OK with 6.13 million and 5.46 million, the concern is why the drop at 9:30? Jim lead into Eli Stone at 10pm at just 4.94 million. Just two more confirmed airings left unless ABC will unload the other remaining episodes in January on Saturdays? The CW aired a repeat of 90210 and only mustered 1.21 million but a repeat of the previous night's Privileged only did 850,000 viewers.
Wednesday was a strange night. NBC and CBS had something to cheer for while ABC and Fox didn't do so bad either. NBC opened the night with the annual special Christmas at Rockefeller Center doing a nice 10.32 million, boosting Life to a season high of 8.15 million, or is it because CBS's Criminal Minds was not on? Probably a bit of both. The above average night for NBC helped Law & Order at 10pm doing a season high 11.31 million, up over 4 million from previous week's SERIES low. Go figure. CBS also aired a holiday special to start the night off as sitcoms Old Christine and Gary Unmarried took a seat for the holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer doing 11.81 million, but that was down a lot from last season, but that was on a Tuesday. Next was the Grammy Nomination Concert at just 6.99 million, costing CBS this night, as Criminal Minds would have doubled that. At 10pm CSI: NY was also preempted but CBS did decent with the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show doing 8.68 million but even better 3.6 18-49 rating...both up big from last season. Fox was next but Bones was preempted as Fox aired a two-hour premiere for new reality series Secret Millionaire and the series did decent doing 6.67 million at 8pm but rose to 8.05 million and won the hour in 18-49 actually. A nice series to air in December indeed. ABC was next but it started off slow with Pushing Daisies only managing 4.87 million, but up from previous week. Private Practice was next and did a solid 7.78 million, winning the hour in households Dirty Sexy Money was next and did an OK 5.64 million...I wished more people watched this show, it is amazing. The CW had a repeat of Stylista doing just 1.25 million, followed by an all-new Stylista doing the same 1.25 million, no Top Model lead-in, no good ratings.
Thursday saw CBS nip ABC in HH/viewers, but ABC took the night in 18-49 with a Barbara Walters special. CBS opened with Survivor: Gabon at 12.73 million, a new CSI followed with a a season low of 17.48 million, and a new Eleventh Hour followed with 10.86 million. ABC was next with a great episode of Ugly Betty doing 8.37 million, Grey's Anatomy was next and did a solid 15.28 million but won the hour in 18-49 with a 5.5 rating to CSI's 4.6. ABC closed the night very strong with the annual special Barbara Walter's 10 Most Fascinating People doing 13.19 million for first place at 10pm. NBC was next with My Name is Earldoing just 6.13 million, followed by Kath & Kim at just 4.91 million, while The Office perked up to 8.46 million, followed by 30 Rock at 7.18 million and a new ER closed the night with 8.2 million. Fox was fourth for the night with two repeats of Kitchen Nightmares at 3.62 and 4.06 million. Smallville repeat on The CW did a 2.29 million followed by a Supernatural repeat at 2.0 million.
Now, as usual final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with Ghost Whisperer and NUMB3RS, while the combo of the holiday movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas and 20/20 was 2nd for ABC. NBC again didn't do much even with a holiday countdown at 8pm.
Saturday numbers were not available but it is expected for ABC to win big thanks to the Big-12 championship game on the season finale of Saturday Night College Football.
Tonight NFL plays a big role to what will happen. CBS will probably have a below normal night as they will air a Hallmark movie from 9-11pm. ABC's regular Sunday line-up of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters, is all-new tonight, so they should be in the game. NBC will be solid with the SNF game, but not as high as usual with the Ravens/Red Skins. Fox will do big for the overrun of the Cowboys and Steelers leading into the BCS selection show at 8pm and an all-new Simpsons at 8:30, but the rest of Fox is repeats.
As for the week, CBS will win the week in HH and viewers and might hang on to 18-49, but it depends on low CBS does tonight and how high the NFL overrun is for Fox tonight. 18-49 rating can go anyway this week with Fox as high as 1st place or low as 4th place. Very tight. What to watch for this week? Boston Legal series finale airs tomorrow on ABC, with more holiday classics airing as well.
Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of Nov. 24-30)
- The Simpsons (Fox) - a new episode did a below normal 7.8 million.
- King of the Hill (Fox) 3 episodes - A new episode at 8:30 did 6.33 million...the usual, while two repeats at 7pm only did 2.71 and 3.72 million.
- Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 6.99 million, not bad.
- American Dad (Fox) - A new episode only did 5.56 million without the support of a new Family Guy.
Monday Sitcoms
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.63 million for a repeat, not bad at all...but they should have aired a new one as it will be new tomorrow. Better for momentum.
- How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.88 million for a repeat, and built from the lead-in's repeat numbers. Good.
- Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 13.63 million, and that was for a repeat...wow.
- Worst Week (CBS) - 7.79 million for a repeat of the pilot...not great, but not too bad either.
- Samantha Who? (ABC) 2 episodes - Two new episodes did 6.04 and 6.51 million, down of course because it doesn't have Dancing as the lead-in..but at least it grew in the hour.
Tuesday Sitcoms
- According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - The return did 6.13 million and 5.46 million...not too bad but concerned for the drop in the second episode.
- Old Christine (CBS) - preempted for Rudolph.
- Gary Unmarried (CBS) - preempted for Rudolph.
Thursday Sitcoms
- My Name is Earl (NBC) - Only 6.13 million...the same as According to Jim this week...uh oh.
- Kath & Kim (NBC) - 4.91 million only for a new episode makes this a big loser for the week for sitcoms.
- The Office (NBC) - 8.46 million for an all-new showing...decent.
- 30 Rock (NBC) - 7.18 million for a new episode, not bad, but could be & should be better.
Friday Sitcoms
- Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - preempted for holiday specials.
- The Game (The CW) - preempted for holiday specials.
Saturday Sitcoms
- None.
Airing tonight (Sunday) are Fox's animated comedies from 8:30-10 but only Simpsons is new at 8:30.
Summing it up. Two and a Half Men repeat , The Office, How I Met Your Mother repeat, and The Big Bang Theory repeat were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as 30 Rock, According to Jim 9pm) or just plain old terrible (such as Kath & Kim, According to Jim 9:30pm).
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, September 1
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 31)
Tuesday, September 1
- Zendaya (K.C. Undercover/Shake It Up) - Catch Zendaya on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) and Matt Rogers (No Good Deed/I Love That for You) - Bowen and Matt are guests on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Danielle Brooks (Close Enough) - Danielle talks about If I Go Will They Miss Me on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - NBC's Today has Charading Places with Kathie Lee Gifford and Michelle in the 10am hour.
- Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Kit and Melissa check out How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Drew shares a little bit more from her interview with Regina on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/20/26 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27/26 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11/26 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
04/11/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
04/21/26 - Famous Studios Champion Collection (Blu-ray) (DVD)
05/19/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
05/19/26 - Looney Tunes Cartoons - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
06/16/26 - Difficult People - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
06/30/26 - Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
07/14/26 - The Office - The Complete Series - Superfan Extended Episodes (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Bill Dana Show - The Complete Series (DVD)
07/28/26 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series - 75th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
07/28/26 - The Paper - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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