"Model" explodes
     Like a life-line to a drowning network, "America's Next Top Model" finally went mainstream on Tuesday, exploding to a huge 7.2mil viewers, making it the UPN's top rated program of the season in viewers by a wide margin. It ranked fourth in the hour, beating out a special "Dateline" (6.5mil) on NBC and ranked third in adults with a 3.5/8, behind only ABC and Fox. That rating beats anything that has aired on either the WB or the UPN so far this season. CBS's "the Guardian" (11.4mil) and "24" tied for the lead in viewers, although Fox saw a 21% drop in viewers from 9pm to 9:30pm. The show also lost 62% of its lead-in in viewers and 60% in adults- obviously not a good sign. ABC's duo of "According To Jim" (11.5mil) and "Less Than Perfect" (10.2mil) held up rather well, ranking third in the hour. "One Tree Hill" (3.7mil) was in sixth place by a wide margin.
      An hour earlier, the number one series was obvious, with a repeat "NCIS" (11.5mil) coming in second. In the race to see who can be most affected by "Idol," NBC won this week with "Tracey Morgan" (5.4mil) and "Whoppi" (5.7mil, a repeat) taking paltry numbers opposite "8 Simple Rules" (10mil) and "I'm With Her" (7.3mil). "Gilmore Girls" (4.7mil) was also in that race, while the UPN's comedies averaged 3.4mil viewers. At 10pm, even in repeats, "SVU" still won with a huge 12.3mil, compared to 9mil for a repeat "Amy" and just 7.3mil for a new "Line Of Fire." (January 28)

"Millionaire" comes back
  I'm assuming you know "Millionaire" is coming back, right? No, not of the "Joe" variety, but of the "Who Wants To Be A..." variety. ABC will run the show during the last week of sweeps as a lead-up to the Oscars. It'll air on Sunday at 9pm, then for the rest of the week at 10pm.
     ABC says it's thought long and hard about this. It never said that it wasn't going to air the show again, it only said that it would air it as a series of specials, which it's doing. But ABC sounds a bit like a crack user, no? It OD's on Millionaire and was rushed to the hospital a few years back, then swore off the addicition. Now it's saying, "Oh, a little won't hurt." Watch out, ABC, it's a slippery slope.
     Actually, it sounds like a smart move considering the daytime "Millionaire" continues to grow and viewers like Regis and the show, they just don't it shoved down their throats. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. (January 28)

ABC's week of hell continues
     Of all the networks, who has been the most effected by "American Idol" ? If you answered ABC, you're right. And the carnage continued on Thursday as nothing on the alphabet could get any traction. "Threat Matrix" started the night out in third (6.6mil), "Extreme Makeover" ws a distant third (8.3mil), while "PrimeTime Thursday" (7.8mil) was four million viewers behind second- a repeat "ER." Through the first four nights of the week, ABC is averaging just 7.7 million viewers and a tiny 2.8 rating in adults. Frsiday is always a good night for the network, buth with repeats airing on Sunday, it's going to be a near record low week for the net.
     CBS, of course, was first on the night, winning 2/3 of the timeslots. "Without A Trace" (11.4mil) was a very distant second at 8pm to repeats of "Friends" (20.0mil, 20.7mil), but "CSI" (20.4mil) picked up at 9pm, slamming new episodes of "Will & Grace" (16.1mil) and "Scrubs" (11.7mil). At 10pm, another repeat "Without A Trace" averaged 14.8mil, beating out "ER" (12.3mil) by 20%. Hey, here's a novel idea guys- when NBC is airing repeats, why doesn't CBS air new episodes? And vise-versa? If you're really looking to steal viewers from each other, this would be the ideal way to do it, no?
    Fox cooled down dramatically on its first night without "Idol," but still put up better Thursday numbers than it has in a while. At 8pm, "Tru Calling" (5.4mil) notched a pathetic series high against all repeat competition, while a repeat of "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" (5.6mil) was fifth at 9pm, beaten out by the second hour of "Smackdown!" (5mil overall). You want to know something really obnoxious? "Fiance," thanks to that huge premiere, it tv's number 7 show and 6th in adults. Yikes! (January 23)

"American Idol" has landed: watch out
     The most anticipated premiere of the year so far came down the pipe on Monday and smashed the competition. "Idol" premiered to a huge 26.5mil viewers, identical to what it premiered to last season, only a night later. Those numbers could actually range as high as 28mil, as the show did draw much high in adults than it did this week last season. That led lead-out "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" to a huge 19.3mil viewers, excellent numbers for a premiere and in fact the best for any new series so far this season. Could it be the next "Joe Millionaire" ? Wait until next week to find out.
      So what did "Idol" do to the competition? Killed it. "Fear Factor" (10.2mil) dropped about 5mil viewers from last week, while "Yes, Dear" (8.0mil) and "Still Standing" (9.6mil) both hit series lows, albeit with repeats. ABC's movie "Meet The Parents" (7.3mil) was totall out the game, while "7th Heaven" (5.5mil) hit its worst numbers in years for a new episode. The UPN was in repeats and drew 2.8mil viewers on the night.
      At 9pm, Fox won again, but CBS did move up to second with repeats of "Raymond" (13.8mil) and "Men" (12.2mil), while NBC stuck in another episode of "Fear Factor" (12.1mil). Down the pipe in fifth, "Everwood" (5.9mil) increased its lead-in for the first time ever. Later in the even, "CSI Miami" (16.0mil) dominated 10pm with a repeat, while "Average Joe" (10.6mil) came in second. (January 20)

"Will & Grace" NBC's weak-link
     Never thought you'd read that, didya? Well, it was true on Thursday night as a new episode of "The Apprentice" took over until 9:30pm, leaving "W&G" to the dreaded 9:30pm hour. While "Friends" (25.7mil) hit another season high at 8pm and "The Apprentice" drew 19.3mil viewers (dipping only a few hundred thousand viewers from 8:30 to 9pm) and "ER" capped the night with a winning 20.8mil, "Will & Grace" dropped to just 14.5mil viewers at 9:30pm. This goes to prove something: the 9:30pm half hour is dead on NBC. Viewers are so used to crappy programming airing there they won't even touch anything in the hour anymore. Too bad.
      Those performances led NBC to a win on the night, although CBS was very strong itself. "CSI" hit a nightly high of 28.2mil viewers, proving that "CSI" and "The Apprentice" do have different audiences. A repeat "CSI" kicked off the night with 15.6mil viewers, while it ended with "Without A Trace" at 17.9mil.
      What was left? Not much at all. ABC peaked with "PrimeTime" (9.8mil), while "Threat Matrix" (5.1mil) has officially lost all of the momentum it had during the fall season. The UPN was fourth (5.1mil), while Fox dropped to fifth with "Tru Calling" (4.2mil) and a repeat "Simple Life" (4.3mil) (come on Fox, the show is over now, drop it already.) The wB had a good start with "Steve Harvey" (4.2mil), but it steadily dropped throughout the night, culminating with "Run Of The House" reaching just 2.1mil. (January 16)

"Stand Hooper" a goner
      In what comes as the least shocking news of the week, Fox has canned "A Minute With Stan Hooper." The show aired only a handfull of times and wasn't expected to come back at all. The show ranks 59th in adults 18-49 and a pitiful 92nd in total viewers on the season. Lead-in "That 70s Show" ranks 25th and 61st, repectively. (January 16)

F's finale news
     The only two sticoms on tv with names starting with F will bow out in May, NBC officially announced on Monday. "Friends" was already a lock to go, but last minute negotiating deals with "Frasier' fell through, sending that show into tv heaven also. So here;s the deal: seeing as how NBC has so few episodes of "Friends" remaining, the show will air a full month and a half of repeats starting after February sweeps. The catch? Viewers get to pick which episodes will air. The series finale will then air on May 6th, 2004, preceeded by a one hour retrospective episode, much like "Seinfeld." the very next week, the same thing will happen to the Seattle doctor as the show moves to Thursday night for the very last time. What does this mean? Well, it virtually guarantees NBC a May sweeps victory, seeing as how both series will likely net more than 40 million viewers for their last episodes. Yes, Frasier has left the building. Good night. Seattle. (January 15)

"Jordan" returns
     After being off the air for nearly a year, "Crossing Jordan" will finally return to NBC in March. this time the show will air on Sunday nights, following "CI." With NBC's troubles in that slot so far this season, peacock prez Jeff Zucker is probably counting down the days. (January 15)

"Passions" renewed
     In what comes as little surprize, NBC has renewed "Passions" for another year. Ratings in household are flat over a year ago at this point, but with stories finally moving along, my favorite soap is registering gains in most demos. It ranked number 2 in women 18-24, 18-34, usually 7th in women 18-49 and first in female teens despite having the lowest household rating for any soap. Timmy would be proud. (January 15)

CBS, NBC huge Monday winners
     There were only two winners on Monday, and guess who they were? Although CBS and NBC continue to have problems in some slots on Monday, overall, they're both looking pretty good. Setting series high on the night were "Las Vegas" (14.0mil), which looked great post "Fear Factor" (16.1mil), and "Two & A Half Men" (17.9mil), which came near a high in viewers, set a new high in adults and held a best yet 100% of it's adults 18-49 lead-in. Here's an idea for next season, CBS. If yuo can get "Raymond" to come back next season, why not move it out to 8pm, and move "Men" to 9pm? "Men" lost just 6% of its viewers lead-in form "Raymond" (19.1mil), it's best retention yet. "CSI Miami" was at a near season high 19.7mil at 10pm
      The trouble spots? At 10pm, "Average Joe" (8.5mil) is not looking great, and "Yes, Dear" (11.5mil) and "Still Standing" (12.7mil), though performing well, are dwarfed by their lead-outs.
       Elsewhere on the night, there was really nothing to report. Both ABC (7.5mil) and Fox (5.5mil) went with movie repeats, while the WB continues to struggle with "7h Heaven" turning up just 6.2mil viewers for a new episode. Considering that that was up just 30% over a repeat last season, the little drama that never quit just might be. (January 13)

"Apprentice" does NBC a good turn
     Just as it was looking as if NBC's Thursday night line-up was slowly going down the toilet, along came "The Apprentice" to save the day... for this week at least. The show drew 18.1mil viewers from 8:37pm-10pm, delievering NBC's best numbers over that span all season. That helped "Friends" out to a season high 25mil viewers at 8pm, also giving "ER" 22.8mil, just short of a season high. In adults, "Friends" was at a season high 11.7/31, "The Apprentice" hit a big 9.0/22 while "ER" drew a spectacular 10.9/27, just shy of a season high.
      But did it beat out CBS? Yes, but barely. Even with a repeat "CSI" (16.1mil) subbing at 8pm, "CSI" (27.4mil) and "Without A Trace" (18.1mil) were in the high end of their ratings ranges, trailing NBC by only 300,000 viewers on the night, although the gap in adults was alot bigger. So who came out the winner? NBC was big, yes, but when NBC's Thursday night line-up, all new WITH a much hyped premiere, can only beat out CBS's line-up, which was one-third repeats, by 2%, I wouldn't exactely call that stellar.
      One thing is clear, however- NBC & CBS are a class above the rest on the night. ABC peaked with "Extreme Makeover" (7.1mil) and "PrimeTime" (7.2mil), while "Smackdown" (5.4mil) kept the UPN in fourth. Fox got more bad numbers from "Tru Calling" (4.1mil) and weak numbers from repeats of "The Simple Life" (4.2mil, 4.1mil), but then again, what does Fox expect? There have only been, like 7 new episodes of the series, yet each of them has aired about 24 times. Sounds like NBC and Tracey Morgan, which just finished three weeks of repeats despite only having aired four new episodes! The WB was out of the loop on the night with "Steve Harvey" (3.7mil) peaking and "Run Of The House" (1.9mil) hitting a low. (January 9)

"Handler," "Lyon" canned
     So much for actors from established dramas striking off on their own. "The Sopranos" Joe Panteleano (or whatever) has just had his show, "The Handler," cancelled by CBS, and "Lyon's Den" has been officially cancelled by NBC. Neither comes as a big surprise as both were among the bigger disappointments of the season. Neither network has yet decided what will replace either series. (January 9)

"King of Queens" a Wednesday hit
    As the season progresses, one of the more pleasant surprizes is the continuing strong returns for "The King of Queens." The show drew 14mil viewers on Wednesday, near a season high, winning it's timeslot in viewers and adults. That lifted "Becker" to 12mil, a season high, lead-out "48 Hours" (11.1mil) to a season high and "60 Minutes II" (12.0mil) to a first place 8pm finish. Well, first at 8pm. "The Simple Life" drew 12.1mil viewers and won it's 8:30pm slot in adults with "That 70s Show" (9mil) third at 8pm. Elsewhere at 9pm, "The OC" hit a series high 9.5mil viewers while ABC's "Extreme Makeover" (8.2mil) was left cold. "The West Wing" was actually first overall at 9pm with 13.2mil viewers.
      At 8pm, outside of CBS & Fox, ABC was third with "My Wife & Kids" (11.3mil) and "It's All Relative" (8.4mil) while "Ed" (8.7mil) dipped to fourth in its last Wednesday airing. At 10pm, "Law & Order" (17.8mil) was king while the premiere of "Celebrity Mole: Yucatan" (7.0mil) drew tiny ratings.
      As for the WB and the UPN, when you air only repeats, what do you expect? There hasn't been a new episode of "Smallville" in what, a month? (January 9)

"SVU" hits a new Tuesday high
    NBC's decision to move "SVU" to Tuesdays is starting to look better and better as the show is starting to take full advantage of not having "NYPD Blue" in the mix. The show zoomed to 15.2mil viewers at 10pm, smashing CBS's "Judging Amy" (12.5mil) and ABC's soon-to-depart "Line Of Fire" (7.2mil). It also more averaged more adult viewers than those two series combined. If only NBC's other Tuesday night series could say the same thing....
     Well, at least there's consistancy. Besides "Tracy Morgan" (7.1mil) limping along at 8pm, "Whoppi" (9.4mil), "Frasier" (11.0mil) and "Happy Family" (10.5mil) are all separated by about 1.5mil viewers. As for "Family," it's the best 9:30pm show NBC's had in years (for holding audience, anyway). The last time a show performed this weel for the peacock was "Just Shoot Me," which frequently outdrew it's "Will & Grace" lead-in. Will NBC need "Frasier" next season? Considering the price, it's looking increasingly unlikely.
      CBS was first overall on the night in viewers as "Navy NCIS" (14.5mil) hit series highs, even though "The Guardian" (11.4mil) continues to underperform at 9pm. ABC was paced by "8 Simple Rules" (11.2mil) and "Jim" (11.5mil), although "Less Than Perfect" (10.1mil) is looking strong at 9:30pm. "24" was the only bright spot for Fox (9.4mil), and year-over-year erosion has ground to a halt. As for the mini-nets, when you air no new programming, it shows. (January 8)
                          December 2003 News