(3/22 – 3/38)
It was another screwy week of ratings. The combination of the Obama address and the NCAA tournament made for all kinds of scheduling nuttery. That doesn’t meant there weren’t some interesting numbers to look at. The ongoing dramas of the Heroes and Dollhouse ratings continued. Chopping Block managed to post a number so low that even NBC was forced to cancel it immediately. And the trio of Dancing With The Stars, Biggest Loser, and Idol continued to prove why reality TV isn’t going anywhere.
NBC - Oh, Heroes… There are a lot of shows that were handed excuses this week. The President… Idol moved to their night… NCAA tournament gobbling up younger demos… Heroes (6.47m/2.9) didn’t have that luxury. This was the big Bryan Fuller episode, and it had the added bonus of facing a 2 ½ Men repeat and a 24 that was weakened by not having a new House as a lead in. Still, with all that going for it, the show managed to hit an all time low. That’s really bad. Not, ‘it won’t be back next year’ bad, but I also wouldn’t count on another 25 episode order.
The Heroes weren’t alone in the bad news this week. Kings (4.6m/1.3) got things off to a rocky start, as the second week numbers plummeted. Chuck (6.16m/2.2) signed in with low numbers as well. Even My Name Is Earl (5.89m/2.1), which is usually steady, if not impressive, was down. And Chopping Block (2.58m/.9)? Wow. Those numbers are so bad that NBC announced the next day that L&O repeats will be taking over immediately. The bright spots were, as usual, The Biggest Loser (9.83m/4.1), The Office (8.65m/4.5), and 30 Rock (7.17m/3.4).
FOX - It was a bit of a slow week for the network. Animation Domination checked in at usual levels on Sunday, with The Simpsons (6.19m/3), King Of The Hill (5.51m/2.6), Family Guy (7.34m/3.7), and American Dad (5.83m/2.9). With House taking the week off, 24 (10.37/3.4) was down a bit. Idol made way for Obama on Tuesday, instead posting the usual dominating numbers on Wednesday (26.03m/9.3), and Thursday (23.1m/7.7). That Thursday installment also brought about a big jump for Hell’s Kitchen (10.13m/4.5). And then, there is Friday. Terminator:TSCC (3.83m/1.3) again managed minor gains, while Dollhouse (3.87m/1.3) fell to a new low in the demo. The two are virtually tied at this point, and that’s not a good thing for either of them.
CBS - I have no idea what the network was thinking with the Monday schedule. It’s odd enough to mix repeats and new episodes of the comedy block when it is doing so well. But what was the thought process behind moving How I Met Your Mother (7.36m/2.9) to 8 for the week? Clearly, it didn’t work. Even without the usual House competition, HIMYM was well below what it normally does for a new episode. It is worth noting that Rules Of Engagement (9.37m/3.4) did well out of a 2 ½ Men repeat.
Elsewhere, NCIS (17.83m/4) and The Mentalist (17.62m/3.9) were both bumped back an hour, and it didn’t seem to matter. The relocated Survivor (8.07m/2.3) took a hit against Idol, but it was a clip show, and still a slight improvement over what the comedies usually do there. Criminal Minds (14.36m/3.4) remained strong. And like last week, the NCAA Tournament was both good and bad. Thursday was a downgrade, averaging somewhere near 9 miollion viewers and a mid three demo. Friday saw a boost, hovering around the usual 10 million viewers, but adding to the demo, coming in around 3.6.
ABC - Monday’s Dancing With The Stars (20.34m/5) was again the most watched show on the network. It was also tied for second in the demo, with Desperate Housewives (14.75m/5). The demo crown went to Grey’s Anatomy (16.1m/5.6), which benefitted from the tournament sidelining CSI. More good news for Brothers & Sisters (10.15m/3.4) and Private Practice (10.12m/3.6), which are both performing very well following the hits. The DWTS Results (16.12m/3.9) show also perked up this week, with no Idol to contend with.
The news was not quite as good for Castle (9.14m/2.5). Another week brought another drop. Those aren’t horrible numbers, but the show needs to find it’s level sooner, rather than later. Lost (9.04m/4.1) suffered a drop of its own. Idol is just the thorn in the side of the show. That was following what was a disappointing second outing for the new Scrubs (5.36m/2.1) and Better Off Ted (4.6m/1.8) combo. That’s too bad. Better Off Ted is a funny show. And in premiere news, In The Motherhood (6.69m/2.2) and Samantha Who? (6.57m/2.2) came in close to the normal numbers for Ugly Betty in that spot. I have to believe that will change with episode two though. In The Motherhood is not good. They should have kept Chelsea Handler.
CW - Some worrisome results for the little network this week. Much like Heroes, this was the spot for Gossip Girl (2.25m/1.1) to make gains. No new House or Big Bang Theory. Somehow, it managed to actually lose audience week to week. Is it really wise to be talking about a Gossip Girl spinoff? One Tree Hill (2.4m/1.2) held steady week to week. That cracked the door just a little bit for Reaper (2.69m/1.2) which managed to out perform Gossip Girl. Still probably not enough, but it’s a start. Next Top Model (2.87m/1.4) suffered the wrath of Idol, making way for Smallville (3.79m/1.6) to be the highest rated show of the week. Supernatural (3.13m/1.2) joined in to again make Thursday the most successful night of the week. One last note, I usually skip the CW Friday ratings, but it is worth noting that The Game (2.01m/.9) was up this week. I can only attribute that to the appearance of ‘The Blond Stranger‘, Stacey Dash. And here’s one to blow your mind. Stacey Dash is 43?!
For the coming week… It’s a full slate on Monday, with everything new. Did the return of Bryan Fuller do enough to change the fortunes of Heroes? Tuesday brings the premiere of Cupid on ABC, but I’ve already dismissed it out of spite. I’ll just go ahead and watch Dave Mordahl trying his hand at barstool sledding. We’ll also be getting our first look at The Osborne’s Reloaded that night. Unfortunately, I’m guessing the ratings will be depressingly good. CBS tries their hand with I Get That A Lot on Wednesday, while Thursday brings the big series finale of ER. And Friday, it’s all about what happens with Terminator:TSCC and Dollhouse.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Mar 30, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
dam. i really wish that dollhouse would get some love because if fox cancells this show i swear to god there will be hell to pay. i think when osbourne reloaded gets cancelled they should move it to after idol.
The Osbourne show is only 30 minutes I think. Dollhouse and Frindge should be on the same night, Thursday, and move Bones to Tuesday after Idol.
Bones has proven it can anchor a night, and that its audience will follow it around, so I think it would be wasted in a 10 p.m. slot. Fringe would be a good lead-in for Dollhouse thematically, but can it maintain its numbers at 8 p.m. without following Idol?
That’s my question too. I’d really like to see Fringe at 8 just to see what happens with the numbers. You’re right about Bones, it has a crazy loyal fanbase that will follow the show anywhere.
Yeah but I bet none of that would carry over to “Dollhouse”. I would love to find out the exact numbers but I bet my ass that more than half of “Bones” audience are women. And that’s just opposite to what “Dollhouse” attracts.
I would bet you are right about the Bones audience, but is Dollhouse really male-oriented? Whedon’s shows often appeal strongly to women (and I feel that’s the only point to Ballard from what I’ve seen).
In any event, I was not recommending pairing Bones with Dollhouse. My point was that FOX doesn’t have a lot of shows that can open primetime, so it feels like a waste of Bones’s power to stick it at the end of the night. No matter how many times they move Bones around the schedule, or delay an episode a week (or until the following season), it seems impossible to kill off its audience.
Castle could probably follow it, if it wasn’t Always Be Cancelled.