JustTV News Archive: December 2004
| Rookie
series dead on Thursday All of the networks rookie series airing on Thursday night are pretty much dead, even "Joey," NBC's one time great hope. That show slid to a series low 10.5mil viewers and a tiny 3.7/11 in adults. That was down a dramatic 30% in viewers and 44% in adults from a repeat of "Friends" this week last season. it's looking increasinly unlikely that this show will get a second season, especially considering the last season losses that are typical for 8pm series. NBC has a number of comedies waiting to go, and if any of them click, "Joey" will be sent to tv heaven. Lead-out "Will & Grace," which costs $4 million an episode, is likely headed in the same direction, drawing only 10.7mil viewers last night. Over on ABC, "life as we know it," although it has a repurposing deal with MTV, is as good as gone as well. The show drew just 3.3mil viewers on Thursday and a 1.3/3 in adults, series lows in both respects. ABC is moving the series up to 8pm, which is a subtle sign from the network that yes, the series is gone already. Thursday night has also quickly become ABC's lowest rated night, and with the network rocking on Wednesdays and Sundays. If it doesn't reorganize this night, it's not going to stay second on the season for very long. And then there's Fox's "North Shore," which should have been cancelled weeks ago. The series dipped to just 3.7mil viewers on Thursday, a near series low, and hurting lead-in "The OC" (6.7mil). But even that show should consider a retreat to Wednesdays as ratings are down dramatically from last season. Elsewhere on the night, "Survivor" (20.2mil), "CSI" (29.8mil) and "Without A Trace" (19.7mil) were first in all of the timeslots, with "The Apprentice" (15.7mil) and "ER" (18.7mil) second. The UPN was fifth overall with 5.2mil viewers, while the WB was last, again. (December 10) "Lost" sets new records on Wednesday Just when you thought this show couldn't get any hotter, ABC's gripping "Lost" (seriously, how can you not be watching this? I ABC does air a new episode of Desparate Housewives soon, this is going to be my favorite tv show) set whole new records, drawing 19.1mil viewers and a big 7.1/20 in adults. That sent ABC's "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004" to a multi-year high 16.4mil viewers and "Wife Swap" to a series high 11.6mil viewers. ABC was first by a long shot on the night, although "Law & Order" (15.7mil) hit its best numbers since its premiere at 10pm. "The West Wing" continues to be solid at 12.4mil viewers, but the 8pm special "A Clay Aiken Christmas" (8.1mil) was sparsely watched. Fox got some bad news with the 2004 Billboard Music Awards 6.6mil, which were down a third from last season. CBS was third at 10pm with a repeat of "CSI NY" (11.8mil), although it managed a second place finish at 9pm. The UPN was fifth with "Model" (4.9mil), while a two hour repeat of "Smallville" drew a solid 3.5mil viewers. Repeats overwhealm Monday Now that we're into December, it's officially repeat season, and this was very clear on Monday. With CBS, the UPN and the WB airing nothing but repeats, ABC managed to take the night with 15.7mil tuning into Football. CBS was second with unspectacular numbers, although "CSI Miami" drew 16.4mil for a repeat at 10pm. Over on NBC, a "Dateline" special a 10pm (8.5mil) was dead in the water, but both "Fear Factor" (12.1mil) and "Las Vegas" (12.4mil) were above their season highs. Over on Fox, "The Swan" is continuing to pick up steam at 9pm, reaching 8mil viewers, up from the 7.6mil that "Trading Spouses" drew at 8pm. Nothing on the UPN nor the WB was worth reporting, with the WB drawing 3.4mil viewers and the UPN 2.6mil. (December 7) "OC" hits a snag on Thursday Although it launched to some pretty decent numbers on Thursday, Fox's 'The OC" has hit a snag and hit a near series low on Thursday night. It show slumped to 6.5mil viewers and a 2.8/8 in adults 18-49, down significantly from last season. Was it worth it Fox? I don't think so, especially considering that lead-out "North Shore" sunk to 4.1mil viewers and a 5th place finish in its timeslot. With CBS in repeats, NBC was first on the night in adults, led by "The Apprentice" (16.7mil) and "ER" (17.7mil), they did, however lose in viewers overall to repeats of "CSI" (24.4mil) and "Without A Trace" (17.8mil). In the 8pm hour, "Joey" (11.4mil) sunk to a series low, lead-out by a repeat of "Will & Grace" (10.5mil). Will "Joey" make it to a second season? If NBC finds a mid-season comedy that works, it's increasingly unlikely. "Survivor" smashed them both, drawing 19.8mil viewers for what turned out to be the best episode of the season. ABC was a very distant third over all on the night, dragged down by 9pm drama "life as we know it" which mustered just 4.1mil viewers overall. The UPN drew an above average 5.1mil for "Smackdown," while the WB was on some other planet with a movie 1.9mil. (December 3) "NCIS" keeps getting bigger I'm not really sure for the reason, but CBS's "NCIS" continues to get bigger, setting a series record in viewers and adults on Tuesday. The show drew a very strong 15.7mil viewers and a big 4.0/10 in adults, first in its timeslot on both counts. It could be that the younger viewers who love "The Amazing Race" (11.8mil, 4.8/12) are tuning in an hour early, who knows? At 10pm, "Judging Amy" was at a typical 11.3mil viewers and a 3.1/8 in adults, losing a good chunk of its lead-in in that respect. NBC had a great night as well, with "Christmas At Rockefeller Center" drawing 11mil viewers, with "The Biggest Loser" drawing 10mil at 9pm. But the gripping "Law & Order: SVU" was still near season highs at 10pm with 15.2mil viewers and a 6.3/16 in adults. I don't know about you guys, but this show is one of the best dramas on tv. After a very really crappy seasons to start, the show has finally hit its groove and continues to pump out great episode after great episode. ABC had an okay night, lead by "According To Jim" (12mil), while Fox was out of the race altogether with 4.8mil tuning in for "The Rebel Billionaire" and 6.2mil for "House." The WB actually tied the network for fourth, drawing the exact same numbers for both of its series, only inverted. There was nothing of note on the UPN. (December 1) |