(1/05 – 1/11)
TV for 2009 started spinning up the turbos last week, and will be at full boost when Idol comes online this week. That will, of course, send numbers in all kinds of crazy directions. It should anyway, unless I got the animal sacrifices and the Gregorian chanting right this time. Once I find the formula, Idol will be finished! But we’ll talk about Randy, Simon, Paula, and that new chick, next week. This week, there were a few surprises on the schedule. Superstars Of Dance and True Beauty debuted to better numbers than I expected. Flashpoint looks to be a perfect fit for the CBS Friday. And, apparently, Old Christine fans are g0ing to watch anyway, new or repeat.
CBS - Let’s start with the oddness that was this week’s repeat of Old Christine (7.89m/2.1). Only two of the new episodes this season have beaten that number. Odd. It’s nice to be up against Knight Rider, I guess. Elsewhere, Flashpoint (10.06m/2.2) made its debut at 9 on Friday. That fits nicely between Ghost Whisperer (10.63m/2.5) and Numb3rs (10.08m/2.4). Dollhouse fans, that’s the competition. The bar has been set. There was more good news on Tuesday. NCIS (19.1m/3.8) and The Mentalist (19.62m/4.0) took advantage of their last Idol free week.
NBC - I was surprised by the numbers for Superstars of Dance on Sunday (10.55m/3.1) That was against new episodes of Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Cold Case, and The Unit. And after seeing it, I was even more surprised by the numbers on Monday (9.67m/2.7). The show just isn’t that good. It’s an unexpected success for NBC, helped by picking the perfect time to debut the show. Something that wasn’t surprising, was Knight Rider (5.74m/1.7). The show kicked off its big reboot, and I actually agree with the decision on that. Unfortunately, it really looks like its too little, too late, and the show will not be saved. The other non-surprise of the week? Biggest Loser (11.92m/4.5) was again the highest rated show on the network.
ABC - There were premieres to be had all over the place. The Bachelor (8.74m/3.1) kicked things off at expected levels. Unexpectedly, it was actually bested in the demo by True Beauty (7.6m/3.2). Was that just rubber-necking? People wondering if it could really be that bad? Or does True Beauty actually have an audience? Homeland Security (7.77m/2.3) followed that up on Tuesday. Those numbers were better than I expected, leading into two episodes of Scrubs (6.74m/3.1 – 6.61m/3.2). That’s not exactly setting the world on fire, but given the state of comedy at ABC, if Scrubs can maintain those numbers, another season, without J.D., is a real possibility. Elsewhere, we finally got a look at a new Private Practice (8.98m/3.3) following a new Grey’s Anatomy (13.87m/5.2). The overall numbers took a hit from the BCS Championship, but Private Practice is already ahead of where Life On Mars was.
FOX - Getting ready for premiere week of Idol must take an awful lot of work back at network HQ. So much that they could only manage one new night of programming. If you are going to just run one night of programming though, it’s a good idea to have the BCS Championship game (26.77m/9.5). Unfortunately, with those numbers, we’re not getting any closer to a playoff system for college football.
CW - Things are powering back up now that the holidays are over. Gossip Girl (2.95m/1.3), One Tree Hill (2.67m/1.2), 90210 (2.8m/1.4), and Privileged (1.67m/1.1) all came in around the expected levels. The unknown, 13: Fear Is Real (2.41m/1.1), didn’t break any records, but that is a reasonable debut. We’ll just have to wait and see how many people come back next week.
Next week, things really get interesting. We’re going to see how The Bachelor and Superstars Of Dance hold up against 24, and a night of new episodes from the CBS comedies. And then FOX drops the Idol bomb. NCIS, The Mentalist, and Biggest Loser will likely take a hit on Tuesday, but the three of them should put up a good fight. Wednesday, on the other hand, should be a walk for Idol. ABC is offering an odd Lost repeat, while NBC is sending out a new Knight Rider and a repeat SVU. CBS has new episodes of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried, along with the only real competition for Idol on the night, Criminal Minds.
Thursday will find CSI and Grey’s resuming their battle at 9. But the more interesting bit is probably the premiere of Bones in the 8PM slot. Ugly Betty and My Name Is Earl aren’t what they once were, and Kath & Kim is just horrible anyway. The door is open for FOX to make some noise on Thursday. Finally, Friday Night Lights makes its NBC premiere on Friday, facing the lowered expectations of the Lipstick Jungle/Crusoe disaster.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Jan 12, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
Well that was depressing to read the numbers that Dollhouse and The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be up against.
I really, really want both shows to do well.
All is not lost bsgfan. T:SCC and Dollhouse do have their work cut out for them where the viewer numbers for the CBS shows are concerned. However, there is a door open where those demo numbers are concerned. If they can manage to take the night in the demo, which is not an unthinkable goal, those viewer numbers become much less important.
djbuhhda, Dollhouse will be up against Flashpoint, and Friday Night Lights.
oh crap Flashpoint is already back dam i missed that episode.what time is dollhouse on? i cant wait to see this, just wish it didn’t have death slot. and i actually like true beauty.