Wednesday

There's been more than a few upsets on Wednesday this season. The 8pm ABC vs Fox race was not nearly as close as people thought it would be, and who predicted the sudden decline of "The West Wing." 

The network with the most improved performance is without a doubt ABC, which has used reality series to bring back a Wednesday pulse. As for the rest, there's been a few (very few) winners, and alot of losers.

8:00pm

Winner:  American Idol (Fox) 

Loser:  The Bernie Mack Show (Fox)

Pre-"American Idol," Fox though it would be a good idea to move "Bernie Mack" opposite "My Wife & Kids." Everybody knows the result. "Bernie" sits in 80th on the season, "MWK" is in a solid 34th. ABC even rocked at 8:30pm where the once-iffy "George Lopez" is now solid at 42nd while Fox's "Cedric Presents..." has all but died at 82nd. And then came "Idol," which sits in 2nd on the season. Enough said.

But elsewhere, there have been few victories. NBC treated "Ed" (45), which saw a ratings pop at the end of November, to a month of repeats and hiatus. Way to go, NBC. "60 Minutes II" (54) was solid in the hour, but CBS found gold with the limited run "Star Search" (30), which will be back this spring. The WB, meanwhile, has stayed solid with the soon-to-be-departed "Dawsons Creek" (119), but the same can't be said of the UPN's "Enterprise." After a huge first season, it sits in 115th so far this season, certainly not what the UPN had hoped for.
 

Winner:  The Bachelor/ette (ABC)

Loser:  The West Wing  (NBC)

Pity the poor "West Wing." It got off to an iffy start on the season, but NBC hoped that it would be short lived. Then came "The Bachelor" (14). Wham! "Wing" took a hit. Then it started to draw back some viewers. Then came "The "Bachelorette" (15). Wham! The show took an even bigger hit. Off more than 25% in viewers, its sits in 22nd on the season after two straight top 10 finished. Maybe George W. is turning people off the White House. NBC sure would like to know.

Nobody else has really made any tracks in the hour opposite tough ABC competition. "The Amazing Race 3" only managed a 67th place finish, while "Fastlane" stalled in 98th. The WB had some initial success with "Birds of Prey," but that show dove in the ratings and finished its run in 120th. The UPN, meanwhile, is seeing increasingly smaller returns for the lame "Twilight Zone," which has sunk to 131st, and its still falling. Is anything going right for this network?

Winner:  Law & Order (NBC)

Loser:  MDs  (ABC)

Good ole' "Law & Order." It's always there for NBC no matter what season it's in. And this season has been no exception. Sitting in 10th, sure its down over last season, but by a slim 10% margin, not the 27% that its lead-in had shed. And what have the rest gotten? Nothing. Nada. Well, "Celebrity Mole" (49) isn't doing too badly, certainly alot better than ABC's other 10pm entry, "MDs" (96) could even attempt. And as for CBS, "Presidio Med" (85) got the cancellation it deserved.