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(Sunday’s) Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
'Brothers & Sisters' holds its audience
ABC's primetime soap pulls a 5.3 in 18-49s
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Oct 10, 2006
No real movement up or down is probably a good thing for ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters.” The new primetime soap opera held up in its third week, though at a level likely below where the network would like it.
“Sisters” averaged a 5.3 rating Sunday night at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, down just 4 percent from week two’s 5.5 average. Since its Sept. 24 debut, “Sisters” has retained 88 percent of its 18-49 rating, which began at 6.0.
It has the considerable benefit of airing after ABC hit “Desperate Housewives,” which has averaged an 8.5 or better in its three outings.
Considering the major declines that other new shows with favorable timeslots have seen, such as NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and ABC’s own “Six Degrees,” “Sisters” could qualify as a success, albeit a modest one.
Its vulnerability is its poor retention of “Housewives’” audience, just 62 percent. Yet it's not sinking, and among women 18-49 it’s doing quite well, averaging a 7.5 Sunday night.
In a season with few new hits--some might argue none--“Sisters” is certainly no bomb, and there’s still the possibility that it will grow once “Sunday Night Football” goes off the air.
The big worry for “Sisters” was that it would not come together as a cohesive series in time for its premiere, after a flush of cast changes and reshootings. Reviewers were not especially kind, either.
Those worries now seem in the past. The issue going forward is whether it will grow into ABC's expectations. Its 62 percent retention does not bode well. A promising series should be pulling around 75-80 percent.
“Sisters” did finish behind NBC’s “SNF” in 18-49s and 25-54s, with the latter finally getting a compelling matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers.
But ABC still won the night, averaging a 5.4 rating and 14 share in 18-49s, followed by NBC at 4.8/12, Fox at 3.5/9, CBS at 3.4/9, the CW at 1.1, and Univision at 1.0. But a caveat: Ratings for live events are approximate and thus numbers for NBC’s NFL and Fox’s NFL/baseball coverage may change when final ratings are released later today.
At 7 p.m., Fox’s NFL overrun led with a hefty 7.5, followed by ABC’s 2.5 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” NBC at 2.2 for “Football Night in America,” CBS at 2.0 for “60 Minutes,” Univision at 1.1 for “Hora Pico” and CW at 1.0 for “Everybody Hates Chris” and “All of Us.”
At 8 p.m., ABC led with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” at 5.3, followed by NBC at 5.1 for “America” and “SNF,” CBS at 3.4 for “Amazing Race,” Fox at 2.6 for the National League Divisional Series Game 4 between St. Louis and San Diego, the CW at 1.2 for “Girlfriends” and “The Game,” and Univision at 0.9 for “Cantando por un Sueno.”
At 9 p.m., “Housewives” led at 8.5, followed by NBC’s “SNF” at 5.9, CBS’s “Cold Case” at 3.8, Fox’s baseball at 2.0, CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” rerun at 1.2, and Univision’s “Cantando” at 0.9.
At 10 p.m., “SNF” moved ahead at 5.5, followed by “Sisters” at 5.3, CBS’s “Without a Trace” at 4.4, and “Cantando” at 0.9.
Among households, ABC led at 8.7/14, followed by CBS at 7.9/13, NBC at 7.3/12, Fox at 6.3/10, CW at 1.7/3, and Univision at 1.3/2.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_7799.asp
(Sunday’s) “The Bridge”
The most recent edition of “The Bridge” – which this month examines the future of niche cable networks – is available as a pdf download here:
The Business of TV
Nielsen moves to cast a wider net
The TV viewing habits of family members who are away at college or other schools will be included in the ratings
By Lee Margulies Los Angeles Times Staff Writer October 10, 2006
Moving to assuage critics who say the TV ratings don't reflect the watching people do outside their homes, Nielsen Media Research said Monday it will start measuring the viewing habits of college students next year. It's the first time that the ratings firm will include any out-of-home viewing in its national sample.
But the company was careful not to suggest that it had opened the door to measuring TV viewing in bars, airports, hospitals and other public places, as some TV providers have long sought.
What the company will be measuring, Nielsen spokeswoman Laura James said, is "extended home viewing." In other words, the college students whose habits will be tracked will already be members of a Nielsen family — that is, from a household where meters are installed to track which family members are watching what shows. If the students are at home, their viewing is measured there; when they are living at college, meters will be installed to track what they watch in their dorm room or apartment, just as if they were home but had a separate TV set in their bedroom.
"They are household members; we're just following them to another residence," James said.
Nielsen said the plan, to take effect in time for the important February ratings sweeps, would include not only students at colleges and universities but also those at "trade schools, culinary institutes and other higher educational facilities."
Television executives for years have been pushing Nielsen to expand its measurement pool, arguing that in-home viewing doesn't tell the full ratings story. Higher ratings, of course, would allow the networks to charge higher fees for advertising time.
Nielsen says the cost of providing such data would be prohibitive. Nevertheless, Monday's announcement was seen as a move in the right direction.
"We want full measurement of everyone who is watching television, and this is a significant first step towards achieving that goal," Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner Broadcasting, said in a statement released by Nielsen. "College students are an important audience for Turner and many other programmers. We will now have a more complete record of their viewing in Nielsen's estimates, and I look forward to working with Nielsen to find ways to include viewing across non-traditional television platforms as well."
James said she couldn't say how many people would be covered by the new policy. Whatever the figure, the change is bound to boost ratings for some channels, since whatever the students were previously watching at school went unreported.
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-nielsen10oct10,0,1697033,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
TV Sports
It's off to the dugout for MLB playoffs
It could be another record low-rated World Series
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer
Ratings for postseason baseball on Fox and ESPN have been disappointing, and they’re likely not going to get better. In fact, they may well get worse.
With the Detroit Tigers’ shocking elimination of the New York Yankees, there’s only one major-market team left in the playoffs, the New York Mets, and they’re nowhere near the draw the Yankees are on television.
Baseball is facing the possibility of yet another record-low performance for the playoffs, just two years after the Boston Red Sox’ improbable World Series victory revived long-sinking ratings.
Boston missed the playoffs, as did the defending series champs the Chicago White Sox and past lovable loser favorites like the Chicago Cubs, who helped boost ratings a few years ago.
Thus the American and National League Championship series begin tonight and tomorrow with few big-name stars and dire prospects for World Series viewership.
Primetime ratings for the first-round division series were down on both Fox and ESPN. The first primetime NL game on Fox last Thursday averaged just 6.39 million total viewers and a 1.9 in adults 18-49. That was off 17 percent from last year’s 7.67 million viewers and 24 percent from last year’s 2.5, though admittedly against much heavier primetime competition than last year.
Fox’s first American League divisional game, carried last Tuesday, averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating, down 6 percent from last year’s 3.4, and 8.36 million total viewers, down 7 percent from last year’s 8.99 million.
Meanwhile, on ESPN, divisional games were down anywhere from 11 percent for the Minnesota Twins-Oakland Athletics’ first game to 32 percent for the St. Louis Cardinals-San Diego Padres opener.
The problem is that this year’s playoff field simply isn’t compelling. The Tigers have a lot of talent but just one player, Ivan Rodriguez, really recognizable by name.
The Athletics, who beat the Twins, are a small-market team with a small payroll and no big-names, and though St. Louis has MVP Albert Pujols, he’s quiet and well-mannered and keeps a low profile, quite the opposite of most of today’s headline-hogging mega-stars.
As for the Mets, their last World Series appearance, in 2000, came against the Yankees in the third-lowest-rated Series matchup ever. Standout pitcher Pedro Martinez is gone for the playoffs, dimming their star wattage considerably. And they’re not even the most popular team in New York, meaning many Yankees fans won’t tune in should they make the Series.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_7776.asp
I've been waiting my entire life for a Tigers-Mets World Series - my two favorite teams since early childhood - but I can certainly understand why the rest of the country isn't too geared up for such a matchup.
Go Tigers! Go Mets! And lest I forget, how 'bout dem Yankees!
The hell with the rest of the country sangs, enjoy the next week -- or more!
TV Notebook
Ditch Those Golden Years Commercials!
Charles Gibson: Run golden-oldie ads, get golden-oldie viewers
By Gail Shister Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist Tue, Oct. 10, 2006
Want younger viewers for the evening news? Ditch the geezer ads, says ABC World News anchor Charlie Gibson.
If networks are serious about luring pre-Social Security eyeballs, they should replace commercials for adult diapers, dentures and "patent medicines" with spots for younger, sexier products, in Gibson's view.
The current commercials "bespeak an older audience," says Gibson, in town last week to anchor World News from the National Constitution Center. "I'd rather have car ads.
"When you put on ads mostly for medicines, you're saying 'We want an older audience.' I would like ads that say 'We have a younger audience here.' "
Not likely, Chas.
Median age of World News viewers this season is 59.9, according to Nielsen Media Research. It's 60.3 for Brian Williams' No. 1 NBC Nightly News, and 59.5 for Katie Couric's CBS Evening News.
Networks target 25-to-54-year-olds for news.
At 63, Gibson is nine years out of the demo. And he's a first-time grandpa, to boot. (Daughter Jessica had a son in March.) Couric is 49, two years older than Williams.
"Why say the important audience is 25 to 54 if you run ads that obviously appeal to people over 60 or 65?" Gibson says. "Why aren't you trying to get commercials that appeal to the audience you want to get?"
So why did Gibson veto a recent guest shot on Stephen Colbert's hip-a-doodle-do Colbert Report on Comedy Central?
"I just didn't think it was something I should do. I wouldn't feel comfortable." Jon Stewart's Daily Show hasn't asked, Gibson says, adding that both hosts are "brilliant."
Hard to believe, but Colbert was a correspondent for Good Morning America for about 12 seconds in the mid-'90s.
Gibson, GMA coanchor at the time, says he didn't even realize Colbert was on the show until he saw a clip with both of them on a 60 Minutes profile of Colbert April 30.
"Apparently, he did one piece for us," Gibson says. "I have no memory of that. None. Apparently I interviewed him on the set. He was on a monitor."
As for letting Colbert slip away, Gibson says: "Boy, did we screw up. He's a real talent. It would have been good to have him as part of GMA." Back then, maybe. Now, of course, his act would never play on broadcast TV.
Unlike his competitors, Gibson didn't exactly slide into the anchor seat.
After not getting the job in January, he had decided to retire in June '07. Then coanchors Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas got injured in Iraq and pregnant (respectively), and Gibson was named solo anchor May 23.
The situation is not without irony. Gibson will anchor the '08 presidential elections - the sticking point in January. ABC News boss David Westin wanted him out in June '08, network insiders say.
"I had no bitterness when it didn't work out," Gibson says. "I understood what they were doing and why they did it, and, indeed, defended it."
Contrary to a published report, Gibson swears he never threatened to quit if Westin didn't give him the throne the second time. "Never happened. Scout's honor."
He's far more equivocal about how long he'll stick around, however.
"I suppose it's conditional on how I feel, and on those horrible things called ratings. Whether they like the cut of your jib doing this." (Cut of your jib? Spoken like a Princeton man.)
Gibson says World News will continue as "a very straight news show." No bells, whistles or, like CBS, "Free Speech" commentaries. "We've got 22 minutes. That's precious time."
He still considers the Big 3 the gold standard of TV news. He doesn't watch much cable, calling it "a lot of people yelling at each other."
ABC execs are quieter when Gibson shares his theory on World News ads. "They smile and pet me on the head," he says. "They think my business is doing the show and their business is selling the ads."
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15719431.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
HDTVChallenged
10-10-06, 11:36 AM
The hell with the rest of the country sangs, enjoy the next week -- or more!
LOL ... I look at it as a small break from the relentless TiVo backlog. ... I gotta start dropping shows, there are only so many hours in the day. :D
TV Notebook
Too Many Geezers Watching Nightly News, Says Nightly News Geezer
By James Poniewozik Time Magazine television critic in Time’s “Tuned In” blog Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006
Charles Gibson was not exactly the most revolutionary choice as ABC's evening news anchor. But he has a revolutionary idea to draw more young viewers to the 6:30 broadcast: Put on more ads for things young people buy.
""I'd rather have car ads," he tells Gail Shister of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "When you put on ads mostly for medicines, you're saying 'We want an older audience.'"
Uh, no offense, but Gibson does work in television, right? ABC News would rather have car ads too, in the same sense that I would rather see Donald Trump's bank balance when I check my ATM slips. But it doesn't quite work the way Gibson posits: You get the ads that advertisers are willing to purchase from you. When your audience is young, you get iPod ads. When your audience is, well, the network news', you get Preparation H.
The irony is, Gibson's promotion and his subsequent, meat-and-potatoes newscast were widely seen as a repudiation of CBS's (and, earlier, ABC's) strategy of trying to draw a younger audience with a nontraditional format and a younger anchor or anchors. Which is all fine--Gibson is an old-fashioned anchor and a damn good one, and he has every right to be proud of that. But: Dinosaurs in, dinosaurs out. You can't just put on an old-school newscast and will yourself to a younger audience by getting younger ads. It's like a failing football team wanting to win the Super Bowl and deciding, You know what? All the teams that win Super Bowls wear Super Bowl rings! If we want to win the Super Bowl, we should get some Super Bowl rings, too!
Here's another idea: maybe if you want to get a younger audience for your newscast, maybe you could start by not ash-canning a pregnant 43-year-old woman and replacing her with a man 20 years older. I'm just thinking out loud here.
http://time.blogs.com/tuned_in/
Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
NBC's 'Heroes' picks up more viewers
New fantasy series averages a 5.9 in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Oct. 10, 2006
Without the benefit of one of TV’s top lead-ins, NBC’s “Heroes” is doing what “Six Degrees,” “Brothers & Sisters” and “Shark” could not: Build its audience.
In its third week, the sci fi drama averaged a 5.9 in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, up 7 percent over last week’s 5.5 and matching its premiere week audience.
“Heroes” is now the season’s No. 1 new show with a 5.8 average for three outings.
That’s better than any of the aforementioned shows, which benefit from big lead-in audiences from “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives” and “CSI,” respectively. By comparison, the 9 p.m. “Heroes” built 30 percent on its 8 p.m. “Deal or No Deal” lead-in.
Perhaps the best news for NBC was that “Heroes’” strong performance helped boost high-profile new drama “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” at 10 p.m.
“Strip” had dipped severely in its last two weeks, down 30 percent from its premiere. But last night the show grew 12 percent week to week, going from a 3.4 to a 3.8. Though that was still a distant second in the timeslot, behind CBS’s “CSI: Miami,” “Strip” grew despite facing the season premiere of ABC’s “What About Brian.”
And it remained relatively steady from its first to its second half hour, dipping 8 percent, much better than its first two weeks.
CBS narrowly edged NBC for first place on the night, averaging a 4.8 rating and 12 share thanks to the improved performance of “The Class” in its new 8:30 p.m. timeslot. NBC was second at 4.7/12, followed by ABC at 3.1/8, Univision at 1.6/4, Fox at 1.3/3, and the CW at 1.0/3.
At 8 p.m., NBC’s “Deal” led with a 4.4, followed by CBS at 3.6. Its timeslot swap of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Class” proved very smart – “Mother” averaged a 3.6 and “Class” rebounded from a 2.8 last week to a 3.7 last night, a jump of 33 percent. ABC was third at 3.2 for “Wife Swap,” followed by Univision’s 1.9 for “La Fea Mas Bella,” Fox at 1.4 for a “Prison Break” rerun, and the CW’s “Everybody Hates Chris” (1.2) and “All of Us” (1.0) reruns at 1.1.
“Heroes” was first at 9 p.m., averaging a 5.9 to CBS’s 4.9 for “Two and a Half Men” (5.4) and “New Adventures of Old Christine” (4.3). ABC was third at 3.1 for “Bachelor,” followed by Univision’s 1.6 for “Mundo de Fieras,” Fox’s 1.2 for a “Justice” rerun and CW’s 1.0 for “Girlfriends” (1.0) and “The Game” (0.9) reruns.
At 10 p.m., CBS’s “CSI: Miami” dominated with a 5.9, followed by “Strip’s” 3.8 and “Brian’s” 3.0, even to last season’s average. Univision was fourth at 1.4 for “Cristina.”
Among households, CBS led at 9.4/15, followed by NBC at 7.8/12, ABC at 5.3/8, Fox at 2.7/4, Univision at 2.0/3, and the CW at 1.6/2.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_7803.asp
DoubleDAZ
10-10-06, 12:31 PM
Watched 3 episodes yesterday and I'm pretty well hooked. :)
Monday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.
Three episodes of "Heroes", Dave?
Why do they bother with articles about poor WS ratings? What are they going to do, cancel it?
Critic’s Notebook
The Fourth-Best ''Studio 60'' To Date
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog Oct. 10, 2006
An especially big mess for ''Studio 60'' in what, if I'm counting correctly, is its fourth telecast -- hence the title of this post.
Are we really supposed to believe that Harriet didn't know that was the baseball star's phone number? (And why does Sorkin insist on giving strong women a dumb streak?) Are we really going to have to sit through a faux Maureen Dowd? Is the show ever going to do a sketch -- or, in this case, a monologue -- that is genuinely funny? (I was particularly disappointed by the references to the show-within-the-show having had two good weeks; I had hoped that someone had recognized that it isn't really all that good.) And what sort of fake sunshine was that ending supposed to be?
Arrrrrrrrgh. But I'm sure Vanity Fair loved it.
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
Critic’s Notebook
'Studio 60' and the nature of funny
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” October 10, 2006
Reviews of the sketches on “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” have been coming in since the show premiered Sept. 18, and many have been pretty negative. A fair number of bloggers, critics and message-board commenters have said they find the sketches on the Aaron Sorkin drama tepid, uninspired and not befitting a “hot” sketch-comedy program; the fictional “Studio 60” show-within-a-show, we’re told, is on a red-hot roll.
I’d begun mapping out a defense of Sorkin’s sketches over the past few weeks. The sketches were really just there as engines for the characters on the show, to get them to talk about different subjects – religion, politics, whatever. And if they weren’t knee-slappingly funny, they were, at least, reasonably believable as sketches. And besides, weren’t we often seeing sketches that weren’t quite finished yet?
Another line of defense: “Studio 60” isn’t exactly a documentary. Nobody believes that Dr. Greg House on “House” would really get away with treating patients so rudely (nor would he skate by the fact that he nearly, or actually, kills someone every week). But the rest of the drama is so good and so meaty that we don’t really question the realness of what we’re seeing on shows like “House” and “Studio 60.”
Finally, are the sketches any lamer than the ones on “Saturday Night Live,” the model for “Studio 60”? I think not.
Well, I should say, I thought not. Monday’s episode changed all that.
Now I must concede that the anti-sketch crowd was right.
The subject of Monday’s episode was an “editorial” presented during “Studio 60’s” news segment. It came from the writers’ room, which was a big deal, since new top producer Matt Albie had single-handedly written the previous two episodes of “Studio 60.” His offer to let “the room” write one 90-second bit was a peace offering of sorts to head writers Ricky and Ron, with whom he’d been feuding for years.
The only trouble was, the piece that “the room” came up with was glaringly unfunny. If this had been the material of a C-grade comic at Toledo’s Laff Shak – yeah, that I would believe. That Ricky and Ron, and then Matt, thought the editorial, which was offered by a junior writer in “the room,” was extraordinarily funny was jarring, to say the least.
The piece was incredibly tired material about how kids with ADD or other behavior disorders would have, in the past, just been called “stupid.” And the U.S. has so much food that it can drop both food and bombs on people, etc. Imagine a Lewis Black rant on “The Daily Show,” but with all the actual comedy removed, and you get the idea.
The characters on “Studio 60” who thought that piece was funny became instantly less believable as arbiters of comedy. Most of the skits haven’t really affected my view of the characters one way or the other – I was willing to suspend disbelief and go along with the idea that Matt was a comedy genius. I certainly have more trouble believing that now.
Aaron Sorkin needs to hire better writers to write the sketch material on his show. And he needs to have people around him who will tell him the honest truth when the sketches are just plain awful. Or “Studio 60,” a show I’m still committed to and still like for a lot of good, solid reasons, is going to implode.
There were other troubling signs that the writing on the show is already getting lazy: During the crisis over that “editorial,” which was found to be plagiarized, network executive Jordan McDeere once again was allowed to wave off her angry boss, Jack Rudolph, with a quip. It looked as though she literally hung up on him in the show’s control room. That’s not funny, that’s career suicide.
And would Danny Tripp, Matt Albie’s creative partner, stand around with Harriet Hayes, Matt’s ex-girlfriend, and discuss the former couple’s romantic troubles three feet away from a visiting Vanity Fair journalist? (That journalist will, I’m guessing, turn out to be a horrible, soulless betrayer of good, well-intentioned people, which is par for the course for TV’s portrayal of journalists.)
Fumbles like these are forgivable – for now. There are still high points in every “Studio 60” episode – Monday’s was Harriet’s absolutely uncanny imitation of Juliette Lewis (now I see why Sarah Paulson makes some sense in the part of Harriet; Paulson a genius mimic). And that Juliette Lewis sketch was kind of funny – I wish we’d seen more of it.
But let’s face it, Aaron Sorkin is not a funny man. And let’s hope he realizes that sooner rather than later.
http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/
DoubleDAZ
10-10-06, 01:11 PM
Three episodes of "Heroes", Dave?Yeah, guess I should have been more specific, huh? :)
Haven't quite grasped exactly why I like it so far, I guess it's just different enough to add something comparatively new against Without A Trace, Vanished, and Kidnapped, L&O 1/2/3, CSI 1/2/3, etc.
FWIW, also watched The Nine and now I know where all the folks from cancelled shows went. :)
I've got the first three episodes of "Heroes" on my TiVo, and given your review maybe I'll give them a look now that it appears the show will be around a while.
VisionOn
10-10-06, 01:49 PM
I've got the first three episodes of "Heroes" on my TiVo, and given your review maybe I'll give them a look now that it appears the show will be around a while.
while it's still finding it's feet and is a bit wobbly in some areas, it's fast, fun, stylish and has killer endings.
As other people have said, Japanese hero "Hiro" is awesome. The show really comes alive when he's on screen.
DoubleDAZ
10-10-06, 02:54 PM
As other people have said, Japanese hero "Hiro" is awesome. The show really comes alive when he's on screen.That is for sure!!!!!
That is for sure!!!!!
Indeed, he electrifies the screen when he on, easily my favorite character.
Cable Nielsen Notebook
ESPN Beats TNT in Weekly Ratings Game
By Anthony Crupi Media Week Oct. 10, 2006
ESPN remained atop the ratings pile last week, averaging 4.33 million total viewers and a 3.5 household rating in prime time, outdistancing its nearest rival by some 1.8 million viewers.
Boosted by its fourth installment of Monday Night Football––the Oct. 2 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers delivered 12.9 million total viewers, making it the most watched program on ad-supported cable for the week ending Oct. 8––ESPN beat out TNT, which averaged 2.53 million viewers and a 2.1 household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
The sports network also topped all core demos, including adults 18-49 (2.05 million), 18-34 (935,000) and 25-54 (2.12 million), thanks to a lineup that included three of the top five shows on cable, including the Detroit Tigers’ drubbing of the New York Yankees in game three of the American League Division Series (6.56 million, 2nd place) and Saturday’s NCAA football clash between the Florida Gators and the LSU Tigers (4.45 million, 5th place).
TNT’s top performer last week was the Tom Hanks theatrical Cast Away, which averaged 3.96 million viewers in its three weekend showings. The Turner net also placed second behind ESPN in the three core demos.
Taking third on the week was USA Network, with 2.43 million total viewers and a 2.0 HH rating, thanks in large part to its two-hour presentation of WWE Raw, which averaged 4.77 million viewers Monday night between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., taking the three and four spots. USA also got a lift from its Sunday night repeat of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which served up 4.08 million viewers (10th place).
Cartoon Network placed fourth with 1.43 million viewers and a 1.3 HH rating, while Fox News Channel cracked the top five with 1.33 million total viewers and a 1.2 HH rating.
Disney Channel was the week’s nominal also-ran, as the non-ad-supported net delivered 2.94 million total viewers and a 2.5 HH rating in prime on the strength of command performances by two original movies, Halloweentown High (4.37 million) and Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (4.27 million).
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003223985
The Business of TV
25 More DirecTV HD LIL Markets
DIRECTV to Deliver Local HD Programming in 67 Markets by Year End
(DirecTV News Release)
Approximately 74 Percent of U.S. Television Homes will have Access to Local HD Channels from DIRECTV
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct 10, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Already leading the satellite TV industry in the delivery of local HD programming, DIRECTV will offer local HD broadcast networks in 67 markets, representing approximately 74 percent of U.S. TV households, by year end when it rolls out 25 more local HD markets in the fourth quarter.
Local news, sports and popular primetime programming from ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC will be available in HD to customers who subscribe to any TOTAL CHOICE(R) programming package that offers local channels. There is no additional charge for local HD programming.
The 25 local markets to receive HD programming from DIRECTV include:
• Albuquerque, N.M.
• Buffalo, N.Y.
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Flint, Mich.
• Ft. Meyers, Fla.
• Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Green Bay, Wisc.
• Greensboro, N.C.
• Greenville, S.C.
• Harrisburg, Pa.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Little Rock, Ark.
• Madison, Wisc.
• Mobile, Ala.
• New Orleans
• Norfolk, Va.
• Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Portland, Me.
• Providence, R.I.
• Reno, Nev.
• Santa Barbara, Calif.
• Spokane, Wa.
• Springfield, Mo.
• Toledo, Ohio
• Tulsa, Okla.
VisionOn
10-10-06, 04:23 PM
Indeed, he electrifies the screen when he on, easily my favorite character.
what's even more impressive to me is that all of his scenes are subtitled (stylish subtitles and some of the best dialog too!) which is not only pretty brave of NBC, but a testament to the guy who plays Hiro. You get the feel of everything just from the performances even if you don't read the subtitles.
rustycruiser
10-10-06, 04:26 PM
My new show watching is:
Keepers:
Heroes
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
Men in Trees
Friday Night Lights
Ugly Betty
On The Fence:
Shark
Watched two or three, but discarded
Jericho
Six Degrees
Smith
The Class
Couldn't make it through first show:
Vanished
Standoff
Justice
Never Saw:
Kidnapped
Yet to see:
The Nine
Last week’s complete network average prime-time results (with demographic averages) are now at the bottom of RATINGS NEWS the first post in this thread.
bphisig
10-10-06, 04:41 PM
New Shows For Me:
Keepers:
Jericho
The Nine
Friday Night Lights
Like it but need to see more:
Heroes
TBD:
Justice
Watched two or three, but discarded:
Vanished
Kidnapped
Studio 60
Six Degrees
Couldn't make it through first show:
Standoff
Never Saw:
Everything else
Nielsen Notebook
Ratings for New Shows
Here are the rankings for new programs this season national prime-time network television last week as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.
Rank Program Viewers
15 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NBC 15.14
18 * UGLY BETTY ABC 14.26
19 SHARK CBS 13.75
25 * BROTHERS & SISTERS ABC 13.01
26 HEROES NBC 12.96
28 * NINE, THE ABC 11.91
31 JERICHO CBS 10.83
34 SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK NBC 10.42
37 * HELP ME HELP YOU ABC 10.08
43 * SIX DEGREES ABC 9.11
47 STUDIO 60 NBC 8.85
48 FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3 NBC 8.41
49 SMITH CBS 8.38
55 CLASS, THE CBS 7.88
58 * MEN IN TREES ABC 7.26
59 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS NBC 7.17
69 VANISHED FOX 6.15
72 KIDNAPPED NBC 5.15
80 FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 2 NBC 3.74
81 * SAT NIGHT FOOTBALL ABC 3.72
88 GAME, THE CW 2.69
91 RUNAWAY CW 1.86
• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data
Last week’s updated top 10 prime-time program ratings for the week of Oct. 2-8 are now toward the bottom of RATINGS NEWS -- the first post in this thread.
Critic’s Notebook
''Friday Night Lights'' Reminder
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog Oct. 6, 2006
Last week less than 7.2 million people watched the premiere of ''Friday Night Lights,'' which ranks among the best new shows of the season.
As I have said before, it was my favorite pilot for a new series. I know that the 8 p.m. hour (on the East Coast, at least) is a brutally competitive one for TV fans. The DVR will certainly be clicking in my house at that time.
But even if you have to record something else for later viewing, give ''Friday Night Lights'' a chance.
I have seen tonight's episode and it is still good, thoughtful, emotional -- a deft portrayal of a small town that goes far beyond its football trappings.
These are not patient times at the networks, with all five -- ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and the new CW -- having already made changes in their fall plans.
So let's not push NBC's patience by waiting awhile to watch ''Friday Night Lights.'' It deserves a look now.
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
Critic’s Notebook
'30' rocks, but '20 Years' is from 1986
By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his blog “TV Barn”
When NBC executives announced earlier this year that the network's fall schedule would include two new shows both based on the same idea -- backstage at a show much like “Saturday Night Live” -- critics asked, “What were they thinking?” Turns out, we should've been asking that question of another NBC show.
“Twenty Good Years,” a perfectly serviceable but utterly forgettable sitcom that premieres at 7:30 CT Wednesday on NBC, stars Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow as two friends in their fifties. They're determined to skip middle age and go right to their renaissance. Yes, they're gonna get motorcycles and new girlfriends and live life to the …
Hey, you! Wake up! I see you nodding off there over your newspaper. It can't be my scintillating prose that's the problem - it's this DOA show. Oh, there are enough laughs, I suppose, especially when Lithgow starts hamming it up (in bikini briefs, no less). But why does this feel like a rerun? It's not just because Lithgow and Tambor are familiar TV faces, though that's part of it. It's that the premise is middle-aged. You could've done this show in 1985. Oh, wait, somebody did: it's called “The Golden Girls.”
“30 Rock,” on the other hand, bristles with newness. For starters, it's a show written by, produced by and starring a woman -- the same woman, actually, one Tina Fey, formerly head writer of “SNL.” Here she plays the head writer of “The Girlie Show,” a fictional sketch comedy program airing on the NBC network in a parallel universe. A universe where a GE executive named Jack (wonderfully and archly played by Alec Baldwin) suddenly appears one day as her boss.
“I'm the new vice president of East Coast television and microwave programming,” Jack announces.
“That makes it sound like you program microwave ovens,” says Tina.
“I like you,” Jack says, studying her thoughtfully. “You have the boldness of a much younger woman.”
Airing just before “Twenty Good Years” at 7 p.m. CT on NBC, “30 Rock” seems to come from a different generation as its lead-out. No laugh track here, just a strong ensemble and quick, sure-footed pacing that make “30 Rock” a good, potentially great show. If “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” has been disappointing so far because it makes the real “SNL” seem hilarious by comparison, “30 Rock” leaves you wondering: Why wasn't Fey this funny when she was writing for that other show?
http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2006/10/fall_tv_30_rock.html#more
Critic’s Notebook
''Heroes'' Morning After
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog Oct. 6, 2006
I had already seen last night's ''Heroes'' but paused again for the shot of the cheerleader on the slab, because it's such a great ''holy cow'' closer. Can't wait to see what they're going to do with her next -- especially since Matt Lanter, who plays the evil quarterback, is going to be around for more episodes, and I suspect some creepy payback awaits.
I interviewed Matt last week, by the way, since he's a local guy and he also has a recurring role on ''Shark'' starting this week. You can find my story about him here. He was a little surprised that I had seen this week's episode -- which had been sent to critics some time ago -- and I was frustrated that we couldn't talk more for publication about the twists, both in his character and in the final scene. But I didn't want to spoil it all for readers.
Getting back to the episode, I'm thinking that from here on out, the best way to watch ''Heroes'' may be to record it and then just watch the sections about characters I'm entertained by -- cheerleader, Hiro, mind-reading ''Alias'' guy -- while skipping the rest. Unfortunately, they're promoting the intertwining of all their destinies, and there is that Overarching Plot, which also interests me a lot less than some of the characters.
Looking ahead, by the way, there's a pretty good little twist in tonight's ''Nip/Tuck'' involving Monica Wilder, the character from Akron. Even when I had an idea what was coming, I jumped when it happened.
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
The New Season
[size=4] Changes Everywhere
By Matt Roush TV Guide in his online column “Roush Dispatches”
Didn’t take long for the first shoes to drop this season, did it? Let’s analyze the moves network by network.
CBS
We start here because CBS has wielded the cancellation ax first, dropping the Sopranos-lite caper Smith immediately from the otherwise successful Tuesday lineup. Strike one for this season’s new wave of serialized dramas. Crime-drama repeats (what else?) will occupy its slot starting this Tuesday.
I’m not terribly surprised. Though there was some buzz for the show and its very expensive (I heard $6 million at least) pilot, plus its starry cast (someone sign Simon Baker up for another show now!), Smith always struck me as an empty version of a Sopranos or a Shield, to name two distinguished shows with criminals as protagonists. The characters on Smith just felt hollow to me, giving us little reason to care or to root for or against them.
CBS’ other big move was a no-brainer: switching the time periods for Monday comedies The Class and How I Met Your Mother, so that the more established Mother now airs first. It should have been that way from the start. The Class is not star-driven or particularly concept-driven, and it will take some time, some nurturing and possibly some creative tinkering to get this promising ensemble comedy on its feet. By nesting it between Mother and the night’s anchor, Two and a Half Men, CBS ensures The Class will at least get a fair shot within a strong comedy block.
NBC
Kidnapped is moving to Saturdays, starting Oct. 21. Strike two for the serialized mystery-drama. The show is now expected to wrap its story in 13 episodes (three have aired so far), and if so, NBC deserves some sort of kudos for living up to its promise to critics this summer that if a show like this didn’t open and catch on, it would still be able to achieve some closure and the audience wouldn’t be left hanging. Moving Kidnapped to Saturday is the equivalent of putting it out to pasture, but I can’t think of a better use of this empty night of programming. Low risk, low gain, but at least Kidnapped’s small audience is being looked after. For now.
Fox
No cancellations yet (not even for the unwatchable Happy Hour), but there are significant moves for Justice (from Wednesday to Mondays after Prison Break, starting October 23) and for Vanished (banished to Fridays starting Oct. 27, where it will live up to its title). This is a good move for Justice, a stylish but so far overly formulaic legal procedural. It could be strong counterprogramming against the only other drama in the time period, NBC’s breakout Heroes, which just got picked up for a full season. As for Vanished, even killing off the robotic Gale Harold isn’t going to be enough to save this increasingly ludicrous conspiracy thriller. Sadly, the producers appear to have no intention of simplifying this story or moving it toward a fast resolution. So chances are excellent that whatever fans the show still has will be left in the lurch whenever the boom falls. Strike three for the serialized thriller.
The other move is no surprise, with Standoff and House switching places when they return from the baseball hiatus on Oct. 31. Fox never intended House to air in the earlier time period beyond September, and now it will be back where it belongs. This strands Standoff in the unenviable position (as the wonderful Friday Night Lights just learned) of facing the Dancing with the Stars juggernaut and the mainstream smash NCIS. Good luck with that.
The CW
Some pretty radical instant schedule surgery, as the new Frankenstein network cobbled together from the WB’s and UPN’s aging components pulls a switcheroo, moving Sunday’s comedies to Monday (starting this week) and moving Monday’s dramas, including the venerable 7th Heaven, to Sundays as of Oct. 15. This means the former UPN block of African-American sitcoms, now including Everybody Hates Chris, will be back on Monday, facing CBS’ more popular sitcom lineup.
The shocker this season has been how underwhelming the numbers for 7th Heaven have been. Which makes me think last season’s strong showing was in part due to the much-publicized fact that it was the final season, heightening interest in the Camden clan. Once the CW reversed the WB’s call and resurrected the show, it seems a percentage of the fan base has decided to move on. (Can’t blame them.) I’m already getting e-mails from Heaven fans complaining that this move puts the show up against another family favorite, ABC’s blockbuster Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Tough luck, Camdens. Perhaps you should have thought about retiring gracefully. As for the DOA Runaway: There’s no reason to think it will do any better in this tough Sunday time slot opposite Desperate Housewives than where it bombed instantly on Mondays. Strike four for... oh, why bother?
ABC
As of this moment, no cancellations yet, but how long can Six Degrees survive on Thursdays, dropping as precipitously as it does from the Grey’s Anatomy lead-in? (Plus: What a lousy and pointless show, despite some fine actors.)
The major move announced by ABC this week: postponing the launch of the whimsical caper comedy The Knights of Prosperity from later this month to sometime in the mid-season, probably early ’07. Seems ABC was distracted by launching so many new shows this month, with the focus on Ugly Betty, The Nine and Brothers & Sisters and little left over for its half-hour comedies. Ted Danson’s uneven Help Me Help You is ailing in the post-Dancing time slot for now, and it will be joined on Nov. 28 by the strained farce Big Day, a filmed comedy whose entire first season takes place during a hectic wedding day. I’ll be shocked if they make it down the aisle. ABC has gone a little crazy in its zeal for offbeat single-camera comedies this season. Even Knights, the most agreeable of the lot, is probably going to be a slow build at best. But at least ABC is trying to break out of its mold of mediocrity, epitomized by the waiting-in-the-wings According to Jim.
http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700008423
Xesdeeni
10-10-06, 05:19 PM
(stylish subtitles and some of the best dialog too!)Except when whey have a misspelling. I saw "everbody" in last week's show.
Xesdeeni
generalpatton78
10-10-06, 05:27 PM
Critic’s Notebook
''Friday Night Lights'' Reminder
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog Oct. 6, 2006
Last week less than 7.2 million people watched the premiere of ''Friday Night Lights,'' which ranks among the best new shows of the season.
As I have said before, it was my favorite pilot for a new series. I know that the 8 p.m. hour (on the East Coast, at least) is a brutally competitive one for TV fans. The DVR will certainly be clicking in my house at that time.
But even if you have to record something else for later viewing, give ''Friday Night Lights'' a chance.
I have seen tonight's episode and it is still good, thoughtful, emotional -- a deft portrayal of a small town that goes far beyond its football trappings.
These are not patient times at the networks, with all five -- ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and the new CW -- having already made changes in their fall plans.
So let's not push NBC's patience by waiting awhile to watch ''Friday Night Lights.'' It deserves a look now.
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
Who is this moron? I understand basing a show off a book and later a movie (varsity blues), but it's pretty bad not to change anything up. I knew every single thing that was going to happened this entire episode. This show would be compelling if they slowed things down and don't try to "hollywood" it so mutch. I played on a State championship football team in ILL and I can tell you news channel 6 isn't following you around to the local restaurants..
They need to focus on the bonds that the players form and share over the course of every practice and every game. How they have fingers broken, arms, legs, and ribs badly bruised. Yet every single day, every single practice, every single game they get back up and play because their teammates and brothers need them to. I think that story would be compelling, but the characters there creating here are nothing but stereotypes. Then factor in this is the same story being told for there third time and it's just bad. I'm going to watch tonights episode and hope they have more depth. Maybe if I hadn't seen the movie already the pilot would have been better and maybe thats why this moron actually likes the pilot.
VisionOn
10-10-06, 05:30 PM
Except when whey have a misspelling. I saw "everbody" in last week's show.
damn translators!
Who is this moron? I understand basing a show off a book and later a movie (varsity blues), but it's pretty bad not to change anything up. I knew every single thing that was going to happened this entire episode. This show would be compelling if they slowed things down and don't try to "hollywood" it so mutch. I played on a State championship football team in ILL and I can tell you news channel 6 isn't following you around to the local restaurants..
They need to focus on the bonds that the players form and share over the course of every practice and every game. How they have fingers broken, arms, legs, and ribs badly bruised. Yet every single day, every single practice, every single game they get back up and play because their teammates and brothers need them to. I think that story would be compelling, but the characters there creating here are nothing but stereotypes. Then factor in this is the same story being told for there third time and it's just bad. I'm going to watch tonights episode and hope they have more depth. Maybe if I hadn't seen the movie already the pilot would have been better and maybe thats why this moron actually likes the pilot.
The vast majority of potential TV viewers did not see the movie.
The vast majority of potential TV viewers did not see the movie.
Not only that, high school football in Texas is a whole 'nother world.
Being from Texas I can totally confirm the above statement.
Having driven through the Lone Star State a number of times and having passed innumerable junior high stadiums seating 10,000 or more, I can attest to the sentiment.
DoubleDAZ
10-10-06, 08:34 PM
Besides, the whole concept might have been to play on Varsity Blues, then take it further and go to the next step.
dad1153
10-10-06, 10:23 PM
The last few comments also confirm that NBC, despite the ribbing its been taking from media types (as well as its own late night comics) for scheduling 'FNL' on Tuesdays, was smart and right in not putting this show on Friday nights. That's the night when all the folks that attend these games will be at the stadium and not in front of their TV sets watching the show. It might only be a few hundred thousand eyeballs we're talking about, but NBC needs all the viewers it can get. Besides, the demographics NBC is after with 'FNL' and the demos of the folks that watch network TV on Friday nights are wholly incompatible and ill-matched. You know, like 'Heroes' and 'Studio 60'! :confused:
When it comes to people watching HS football, dad, I think there are millions attending games across the country on Friday nights.
The New Season
NBC embraces older crowd
The only problem is, `Twenty Good Years' may not appeal even to the over-40 set it hopes to attract.
By Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times Staff Writer October 11, 2006
"Twenty Good Years," which premieres tonight at 8:30 PM ET/PT on NBC, is a loud, limp situation comedy about two old friends (John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor, playing characters with their own first names) who experience a kind of late-life crisis.
John is a self-centered and self-satisfied surgeon who on his 60th birthday is rotated forcibly into "semi-retirement"; he shows up drunk at the party being thrown for him by Jeffrey and proposes that, as Old Time is still a-flying, they should gather rosebuds while they may. Jeffrey, who is an indecisive judge — an oxymoron that could be the spine of a pretty good vaudeville routine, if there were such a thing anymore — takes this as a cue to publicly dump his pushy girlfriend (Judith Light, of "Who's the Boss?").
Later, John's daughter (Heather Burns) has a baby, making him a grandfather; John moves in with Jeffrey, making them the Odd Couple; and John and Jeffrey run into the Atlantic Ocean (played by the Pacific Ocean) on a cold day, making them wet.
Co-created by Marsh McCall ("Just Shoot Me!") and Michael Leeson (a veteran of "The Cosby Show," "Taxi," "Mary Tyler Moore" and, yes, "The Odd Couple"), the show has been cited as evidence of a new trend, or trendlet: a growing willingness of TV networks and the sponsors that make them possible to look beyond the 18-to-34 demographic they have worshiped with unshakable ardor for more than a decade.
The Entertainment-Marketing Complex has apparently wakened to the fact that not only do older people watch more TV than younger people, but that there are also more of them, period, and they have more money to spend. Now, in the same way that real estate agents assign new names to old neighborhoods in order to dignify them — and jack up prices — the over-40 target audience is being reconceptualized as a "new power demographic."
It may be true, as television producers seem to think, that given the choice people will prefer to watch television shows about characters who look like themselves and superficially share their concerns. But if this is the face of No Longer Young America, you can have it.
Tambor has been great as recently as "Arrested Development," and his Hank Kingsley, from "The Larry Sanders Show," is one of TV's greatest creations. But his character here, though he scores with a couple of nice throwaway lines (distractedly leaving a courtroom, he waves the rising court back into their seats, mumbling, "Oh, that's very nice") is too much of a nebbish to really register; Felix Unger at least was aggressively passive-aggressive.
As for Lithgow, though he does not work on me at all, he collected three Emmys out of six nominations for "3rd Rock From the Sun," so somebody likes him, and viewers pining for his Master Thespian shtick — there is a joke made here about his "English accent" — will perhaps find relief here.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the premise, either, which is open-ended enough to accommodate all manner of strange or meaningful ends. But what's been done with it, on the evidence of the pilot, is weak, and slightly embarrassing to watch, the way that it's embarrassing to watch a drunk old uncle tell dirty stories or to be asked by an aged aunt if you can get her some pot. Not two minutes into tonight's pilot, Jeffrey has been hit in the crotch by a racquetball; later we get to see Lithgow in a Speedo.
The enterprise threatens to runs perilously close "grandma on a skateboard" comedy — making an older person act like a younger one in order to elicit Big Laffs.
But such a strategy just makes older actors seem even older. Only Ruth Gordon — from "Harold and Maude" and elsewhere — ever managed to pull off this senior-citizen-seizing-the-day gracefully, and she was just playing herself.
Jake Sandvig rounds out the cast as Jeffrey's son. All he has done so far is show his father a jeans ad he appeared in.
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-twenty11oct11,0,3572263,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
The New Season
`SNL' sitcom `30 Rock' is right address
The Tina Fey-led comedy is smart without either condescending to or patronizing the viewer
By Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times Staff Writer October 11, 2006
It would be confusing opinion with fact to definitively call any series "the best show of the fall season," but I can state unequivocally and without fear of contradiction that "30 Rock" — one of two new NBC shows set backstage at a broadcast-live sketch comedy — is my favorite. I feel an almost proprietary desire to see it succeed, and given the high mortality rate of such newborns, I light this small candle against its demise. (It premieres Wednesday at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC.)
Strictly speaking, it's not impossible to avoid comparing "30 Rock" to "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," but the unlikelihood of two series on such a particular theme on the same network makes it hard to resist. This is the one made by people with sketch-comedy bona fides — creator Tina Fey, who plays Liz Lemon, the head writer of "The Girlie Show," was herself the first female head writer at "Saturday Night Live." "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels is the executive producer of "30 Rock"; costar Alec Baldwin has been a frequent guest host of that show — indeed, his appearances there have helped keep him credible through the years.
"Studio 60," meanwhile, springs from the forehead of Aaron Sorkin, who, as in "The West Wing," has created a wonky romantic fantasy-drama about how heroically dedicated souls, bound together in a chaotic workplace, can triumph over a corrupt and venal system. "30 Rock" takes account of the same difficulties but in a comic, not an epic way, and though it stretches some things almost to the point of surreality, it nevertheless seems (to a minimally informed outsider) to paint the more lifelike picture. It doesn't hurt that it's set not at a fictional network but at NBC — 30 Rockefeller Center is the address of the network's New York headquarters — and that it uses real locations and plays off the network's actual corporate relationships.
Fey is a dry actress — some critics barely think her an actress at all — but she seems to me to be exactly the person she is supposed to be, and makes a perfect fulcrum to balance Baldwin's purring corporate overseer on the see-side and Tracy Morgan's loose-cannon black comic on the saw. Baldwin is exceedingly funny as a man who owes his career in television to having developed a three-way oven — NBC being owned by General Electric, you see — and arrives at the top of the pilot as "the new vice president of East Coast television and microwave programming" to turn Liz's world upside down. ("That sounds like you program microwave ovens," she says, to which he replies, after a pause, "I like you — you have the boldness of a much younger woman.")
Morgan, who plays a comedian with nearly his own name, brought in, over Liz's initial objections, to bring "third heat" to her show, seems to have run half a dozen black comics and a couple of hip-hop stars through a blender and come up with a person who appears to be looking in on the world from some other dimension. ("I'm not on crack," he protests over an Us Weekly report, "I'm straight-up mentally ill.") But he has a sweetness to him, and hints of depth. "We're a team now," he tells Liz, "like Batman and Robin, like chicken and a chicken container."
Rounding out the ensemble are Scott Adsit as Pete the producer, Lonny Ross as a player on "The Girlie Show," Judah Friedlander as a writer and Keith Powell as the other writer, a preppy African American his colleagues call "Toofer" ("because with him you get two for one — he's a black guy and a Harvard guy"). Jane Krakowski ("Ally McBeal") plays Jenna, the original star of "The Girlie Show," having replaced Fey's longtime partner Rachel Dratch, who will now play a variety of characters, in a real-life echo of the matter of "30 Rock."
What is it that raises this series above the herd? Or, rather, what makes me like it so much? It's smart without either condescending to or patronizing the viewer. Despite its self-referential TV-studio setting, its humor is not particularly "inside" — the power relationships speak for themselves, and the world that contains them is built quietly out of sidelong details. The show is very much in the hallowed tradition of "The Larry Sanders Show," which is a fine tradition to follow in, and has roots as well in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Mary Tyler Moore," which is also good.
If the characters seem vaguely familiar from other workplace comedies, there is something original about the way they've been fleshed out, and the timing throughout is unpredictable. You know there is some sort of happy end coming at an episode's end, but you don't know how you'll get there.
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-thirtyrock11oct11,0,1568346,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features
The New Season
“30 Rock” and “Twenty Good Years”
TV Antics: A Sitcom Mocks Its Milieu
By Alessandra Stanley The New York Times Oct. 11, 2006
Nothing very funny happens on “30 Rock” until Alec Baldwin enters the room, and suddenly this new NBC sitcom comes alive. If the Yale drama school — or the I.C.M. mailroom — offered workshops on star power, tonight’s series about a live, late-night comedy show could serve as the textbook.
Mr. Baldwin has a slyly absurd comic presence that is bigger and brighter than any joke or character actor on the show. The series “30 Rock” was created by Tina Fey, who was until recently the lead writer of “Saturday Night Live” and who also wrote the screenplay for the movie “Mean Girls.” Ms. Fey has some amusing, seditious lines as Liz Lemon, the put-upon creator of “The Girlie Show,” but for the most part she and other cast members slumber until Mr. Baldwin takes over as Jack Donaghy, their new network boss.
“I like you,” he tells Liz. “You have the boldness of a much younger woman.”
NBC already has another series about the backstage machinations of a late-night comedy show like “Saturday Night Live.” It’s an hourlong drama by Aaron Sorkin called “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” and it takes television comedy as seriously as “The West Wing” took midterm elections. The new “30 Rock,” which counts Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” among its executive producers, is more playful.
Jack is a corporate smoothie on a mission to pep up “The Girlie Show,” which stars an insecure diva, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski). He begins by adding a popular and crazy movie star, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan). He can because his title is “the new V.P. for development for NBC/GE/Universal/Kmart.” When the producer, Pete (Scott Adsit), asks, “We own Kmart now?,” Jack replies in a velvety whisper: “No. So why do you dress like we do?”
Sitcoms today are in about the same state of health as newspapers and newsmagazines: there are fewer of them, and those that remain face older, dwindling audiences and corporate owners with little patience for sagging returns. It’s a sad paradox that the genre that for the last 30 years defined and distinguished American television nowadays seems almost obsolete; one of the best, “The Office,” on NBC, is a replica of the British original by Ricky Gervais.
Dramatic series, on broadcast networks as well as on HBO and Showtime, are reaching new heights in boldness and creativity. The most successful prime-time comedies are dramas with a sense of humor, like “House” or “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Ugly Betty.” Traditional sitcoms are not nearly as inventive. Viewers, especially younger ones, seek out more daring amusement in clubs, on the Internet, on late-night shows and on cable networks like Comedy Central.
Ten years ago NBC had 16 sitcoms on its weekly schedule, including “Mad About You,” “Wings,” “Friends” and “Seinfeld.” This season NBC has four. Two are modest hits: “The Office” and “My Name Is Earl.” The new ones are “30 Rock,” and “Twenty Good Years,” which both premiere tonight.
Of those new shows, “30 Rock” has more sparkle and a better chance of success, mostly because of Mr. Baldwin’s alchemic power to make even slack dialogue sound like madcap wit. “Twenty Good Years,” which stars two great sitcom actors, John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor, as frisky sexagenarians, is a harder sell.
For one, it seems to be targeting an entirely different audience. The show “30 Rock,” which has no laugh track and is filmed in the style of “My Name Is Earl” or “Arrested Development,” is at heart a romantic comedy about a 30-something single female writer in New York. (The show’s title is the studio’s address in Rockefeller Center.)
“Twenty Good Years” is a much more old-fashioned sitcom, with a grating laugh track and one-two punch lines. It is a male version of “The Golden Girls,” but with weaker writing, and older viewers are not saps.
Mr. Lithgow is John Mason, a pompous, egotistical surgeon, while Mr. Tambor plays Jeffrey Pyne, an indecisive judge. On his 60th birthday, John bullies his best friend, Jeffrey, into a pledge that, together, they make the most of their remaining years. (He figures on 20.)
Mr. Lithgow and Mr. Tambor do the best they can with the material, but the jokes are thin. Determined to coax Jeffrey into joining him in a winter swim with the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, John strips off his raincoat to reveal himself, pale and fleshy, in an itsy-bitsy bathing suit. “Join me, old friend,” he bellows. “I am reborn.”
The actors do not seem ideally suited to their parts, and they might have been better served if the roles had been reversed. Mr. Tambor looks a bit too furtive and unsavory to be a soft-hearted widower. He could be much funnier as an insufferable surgeon; he was brilliantly loony as the corrupt patriarch on “Arrested Development” and also as a pompous talk-show sidekick on “The Larry Sanders Show.”
Mr. Lithgow, who has made dozens of movies and starred in the hit sitcom “3rd Rock From the Sun,” can play anything, but he has an underlying sweetness that might make the cowering judge more appealing.
There is nothing awry with the casting of “30 Rock.” Ms. Fey is a comedy writer, not really an actress, but she plays herself convincingly. Mr. Morgan didn’t really stand out as a cast member on the real “Saturday Night Live,” but for the mock version he does an amusing impersonation of a monomaniacal and volatile comedy star, somewhere between Dave Chappelle and Cuba Gooding Jr. in “Jerry Maguire.”
And Mr. Baldwin, who has played similar roles as a guest star on “Will & Grace” and “Friends,” makes everyone seem better just by being there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/arts/television/11stan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=television&pagewanted=print
TV Notebook
Couric in an unfamiliar place — 3rd
By Matea Gold Los Angeles Times Staff Writer October 11, 2006
NEW YORK -- Five weeks into her tenure at the "CBS Evening News," Katie Couric's broadcast continues to slip in the ratings, falling into third place last week for the second week in a row.
With an average of 7.04 million viewers, Couric's audience last week was the smallest she'd had since taking over the evening news anchor desk, and it's lower than the number that tuned in for her predecessor Bob Schieffer's last week on the air in late August, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Meanwhile, the Brian Williams-led "NBC Nightly News" appears to be regaining its first-place standing, attracting an average of 8.54 million viewers last week and beating out the competition for the third week in a row. ABC anchor Charles Gibson's "World News" took second place again, with almost 7.98 million viewers.
CBS News executives emphasized that Couric's newscast has brought in more people than the broadcast did at this time last year — particularly younger viewers — while both NBC and ABC have smaller audiences compared with then. CBS drew fewer 25- to 54-year-olds last week than its competitors, but the newscast did see a spike of 19% in that demographic, which advertisers target on television news, compared with the same week a year ago.
"In my mind, as long as that trend line continues the way it is, I'm satisfied that we're making the kind of progress I want," said CBS News President Sean McManus. "Who did the best week-to-week is of less concern to me than long-term growth."
McManus said that CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves is "very pleased" with the newscast's performance, adding that the network chief's only suggestions have been cosmetic ones.
"He thinks we're accomplishing exactly what we want to be," McManus said.
But the falloff of the former "Today" show anchor's audience since her debut has provoked a strong sense of unease internally, according to newsroom employees. Many are alarmed that the program isn't faring better, especially after a massive marketing push this summer that included radio spots and bus ads.
"You've got to ask the question whether CBS was wise to spend all that energy on publicity and promotion when they had a new product," said network news analyst Andrew Tyndall. "You can't retool a newscast like that and get it right from Day One."
Some of the staff have privately expressed concerns about changes to the broadcast, particularly a segment called "Free Speech," a platform for opinions from around the country.
Last week, executive producer Rome Hartman received strong protests from the newsroom after airing a commentary by Brian Rohrbough, the father of a student slain at Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999. In addressing recent school shootings in Colorado and Pennsylvania, Rohrbough said the public schools have taught students in a "moral vacuum" by emphasizing evolution and keeping religion out of the classroom.
Critics complained the opinion piece was not relevant to the current tragedies, especially since the most recent shooting happened at an Amish school.
Hartman, who said he was surprised by the topic Rohrbough chose to address, said he nevertheless didn't believe it would have been "in keeping with the spirit of the segment" to ask him to change the piece.
The executive producer called the feedback from newsroom employees "a very healthy conversation." Although the intense scrutiny of the broadcast's performance is "a little bit distracting" for staffers, Hartman said, the mood internally was upbeat. "It's a little frustrating that people treat what is our beginning as if it was some kind of end. These things take a long time to change."
In the last month, longtime leader NBC has steadily regained its advantage over the other two newscasts. "Nightly News" executive producer John Reiss said, "We knew there would be a lot of sampling in the early days, and it stood to reason that a disproportionate amount would come from us." He noted that many NBC viewers were likely already Couric fans. "I think they're coming back to us, and we're very gratified."
For its part, ABC attracted the most 25- to 54-year-old women in the last month, a demographic many expected would flock to Couric.
"This thing has not completely shaken itself out yet," said "World News" executive producer Jon Banner. "We have a lot of work to do, and we're not going to be satisfied until we're No. 1."
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-evening11oct11,0,1500425,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
generalpatton78
10-11-06, 07:27 AM
Not only that, high school football in Texas is a whole 'nother world.
I'm sorry I just have to disagree. People love to say that when their from texas. I get it Texas pride, but you know what I lived in Tuscaloosa AL and everybody there talks like football is bigger there then anywhere. The truth is it's not! Where a small community here in Southern IL with no town bigger then 50,000 people until you hit east st. louis 100 miles away. However every friday night the radio dial is filled with high school football. My local town has a population of just 6-7,000 and yet every game we have has 3-5000 people there. We set off our cannons (literally cannons) every time we score. It's an amazing atmosphere and I'd put it up against any place on earth. I'm sure this is repeated all across the county ever friday night. I'm just saying I played on a State title team and believe me it was amazing! Our town is very similar to the one portrayed here, but even on a state title team the pacing the entire year is slow. The pilot acts like this the nfl and all the kids are born again superstars worthy of being asked for a percentage of the paycheck down line line. When the reality is most of them won't even get the chance at college ball.
SVonhof
10-11-06, 09:01 AM
Monday Night Football on ESPN
Anybody else annoyed by Joe Thiesman's voice and non-stop idiotic talk? I don't mind Mike Tirico.
Oh, and while I am bringing up MNF, what about Tony Kornheiser's hair? Either never allow a side profile to be seen of you or shave it all off....
bphisig
10-11-06, 10:47 AM
Monday Night Football on ESPN
Anybody else annoyed by Joe Thiesman's voice and non-stop idiotic talk? I don't mind Mike Tirico.
Oh, and while I am bringing up MNF, what about Tony Kornheiser's hair? Either never allow a side profile to be seen of you or shave it all off....
Joe has been doing it for years. At least Kornheiser calls him out from time to time.
Good post, generalpatton.
And I'd suggest there are lots of small communities in a host of states across the country where Friday night football is incredible, including (as you note) Alabama, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida and many others.
I know there may be literary license taken in Friday Night Lights, but snce you actually were in a very similar situation to that of the Panthers, does the show capture the atmopshere well?
Monday Night Football on ESPN
Anybody else annoyed by Joe Thiesman's voice and non-stop idiotic talk? I don't mind Mike Tirico.
Oh, and while I am bringing up MNF, what about Tony Kornheiser's hair? Either never allow a side profile to be seen of you or shave it all off....
Scott, personally I feel your pain. But any discussion of sports announcers (or actors or game show hots) on TV is very, very subjective.
We all like who we like and dislike others intensely.
I would suggest however, that given the oversall stunningly good ratings for ESPN Monday Night Football, the team of Mike and Joe and Tony may well be around for a while.
The TV Column
The Week’s Winners and Losers
'ER' Is in Fine Health; 'Lost' Loses Ground
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, October 11, 2006;
Week 3 of the new season saw more premieres and season debuts, but still no game-changers.
Here's a look at the week's top and bottom:
WINNERS
"ER." NBC's 13-year-old Thursday doc drama, thought to be a shoo-in for Very Special Series Finale treatment next May, is instead clobbering two highly hyped new time-slot competitors -- CBS's "Shark" and ABC's "Six Degrees" -- among not only people of all ages but also the younger people so irresistible to . . . um, advertisers.
"New Adventures of Old Christine." CBS picked up Julia Louis-Dreyfus for a full season; last week her sitcom logged 13.6 million viewers, up from last season's average of 12.3 million.
"South Park." The Comedy Central cartoon's nothing-special midseason debut nonetheless clocked 3.4 million viewers -- its best midseason launch since 2000.
"Ugly Betty." In her second week, "Betty" clung to her status as the most-watched new series. She also clung to 95 percent of her 18-to-34-year-old audience and 98 percent of her 18-to-34-year-old female audience. That retention made ABC very happy.
LOSERS
"Friday Night Lights." Critics went gaga for NBC's new football melodrama, resulting in the worst launch for any new series this season -- 7.2 million viewers. Pundits speculated that was because Tuesday also was the first night of Fox's baseball playoffs, but any silly knows the playoffs do no business on the first night at 8 -- especially compared with the regular time-slot occupant, Fox's "House." NBC noted "FNL" finished first in its hour among young men, which is true, but in aggregate, more young men were watching ABC's dancing competition and CW's "Gilmore Girls" combined in the hour.
"Smith." Three episodes were all it took for viewers to figure out Ray Liotta was the star of this new CBS drama, and Simon Baker would always play a supporting role, forcing the network to pull the plug. The good news: CBS will probably replace "Smith" with doc drama "3 Lbs.," about a brainiac brain surgeon played by Stanley Tucci, who while no Simon Baker is also no Ray Liotta.
"Kidnapped." NBC let viewers know this show is terminal, then moved it to Saturday to wrap up the plot by the end of its 13-episode order, after which we're Dana Delany-free for the time being.
"Six Degrees." Possibly this new season's biggest flop last week lost 60 percent of its gigantic "Grey's Anatomy" lead-in -- nearly 14 million viewers.
"Battlestar Galactica." When a cable network says the 2.2 million viewers who caught the third-season debut of its Peabody-winning series is soooo much better than its second-season average , any TV columnist who knows the difference between an apple and an orange checks the stats on last season's debut . Sure enough, "Battlestar Galactica" opened with an average audience of 3.1 million viewers in July '05.
Baseball. Year-to-year, through Sunday, baseball postseason play was down 21 percent. Steeerriiiike!
"Lost." Yes, one of the week's top 10 shows but, year-to-year, the debut of the super-hyped series stumbled 20 percent -- from nearly 24 million to fewer than 19 million. Guess "Dancing With the Stars" isn't such a great lead-in compared with last year's "Lost" clip job.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001393_pf.html
(Admittedly, this is off topic. But cut me some slack. I am trying to save your life.)
TV Notebook
TV Sports Fans: Dying to Know the Score?
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 10/11/2006
Televised sports could be killing its key male demo...literally.
That's according to a study being presented to the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in New Orleans.
The three-year study, conducted by Dr. David Jerard, associate professor of emergency
medicine at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore, found that "Male patient visits to the ED [Emergency Department] increase significantly in the hours immediately after the conclusion of sporting events broadcast on radio and TV."
How significantly? His emergency room saw 75% more male patients in the few hours following a Division I college football game broadcast on TV and radio than during a comparable nongame period, 50% more male patients immediately following a pro football game, and 30%-40% more following a baseball game.
"Men should not risk their health by putting off going to the emergency room because they want to see the final results of a football game," Jerrard says. "It could be the last game they ever see."
An earlier study had concluded that visits by men to emergency rooms dropped off during televised sports. which led Jerrard to suspect that they were putting off going to the hospital until the game was over. That led to the follow-up that appeared to confirm his suspicion, though he concedes other factors could be at play as well.
The study did not address what health conditions prompted the visits, so it could not draw any hard and fast conclusions about the disparity. For instance, whether it was that men were putting off going to the emergency room for pre-existing problems, or perhaps were prompted to some of those ailments by the games--stomach troubles from too many nachos, accidents following celebratory imbibing, or chest pains when their team loses after being up by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Jerrard says he still thinks they were delaying to catch the end of the game, but concedes those others are possible explanations as well.
If Jerrard is right, should the networks, in an effort to publicize this troubling statistic, start airing PSA's during games advising viewers not to wait until the final gun so it won't be their final gun? Jerrard says he thinks the press the study is going to get--given the calls he has gotten--will serve as its own public service announcement.
The choice of getting to the hospital or getting in the last few minutes or innings is dependent on the sport.
The study looked at emergency room visits by 32,000 men--over 36 months--in the four hours or so after 796 broadcast games, including pro football and baseball and college football and basketball, then compared that with visits by men at comparable times on similar days without those games.
The mean number of patients immediately after the games was 10.2, vs. 6.2 on nongame days, with division I college football showing the largest disparity at 14.6 vs. 8.3. Pro football followed at 13.2 vs. 9.2, followed by Major League Baseball at 4.9 vs. 7.2.
College basketball fans were most likely to break away from the game to head to the hospital, with the differential 8.2 vs. 7.2.
Jerrard said he plans to do a follow-up study of the patients to see if there was a correlation between delaying care and the course of their illness. Translation: To what extent were people dying to find out who won the game.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6379815
The New Season
“30 Rock” and “Twenty Years”
Struggling NBC debuts two comedies
By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News Wed, Oct. 11, 2006
There’s no telling how a network will behave when it hits bottom.
TV being a cyclical business, everyone - at least everyone in the Big Three or Four - gets to stand on the big rock from time to time, surveying the savanna and roaring at the losers below.
But sooner or later, the circle of life kicks in. Those multiple runs of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" start to tank, or someone gives the wrong guy a spin-off, and you're looking at programming executives so desperate they'll throw out the rule books, maybe even the laugh tracks, to escape the hyenas.
Panic, or at least a willingness to try new things, helped make ABC the network of "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and even "Dancing with the Stars," just as CBS' signing on for that first scary summer of "Survivor" helped reverse its fortunes, particularly with younger viewers.
Now it's NBC's turn to reinvent itself as a network that can get by without "Friends" - if not without football - that can laugh at itself and that may even be willing to stop ceding older viewers to CBS.
Not that it feels like a plan just yet.
This is still the network that scheduled not one, but two, shows about the behind-the-scenes goings-on at a late-night sketch-comedy show and then reportedly turned around and cut the budget of "Saturday Night Live," which inspired both.
That's the kind of thing you might expect to become a storyline on either "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" or "30 Rock," which premieres tonight at 8 PM ET/PT.
Like "SNL," "30 Rock" is executive-produced by Lorne Michaels, who carries producer credits on an awful lot of projects by former "SNL"-ers, from the short-lived "Tracy Morgan Show" to such classics as "A Night at the Roxbury" and "Tommy Boy."
"30 Rock" is written and executive-produced by Upper Darby's Tina Fey, the former "SNL" head writer and player who also stars in it. She's joined by Morgan and frequent "SNL" host Alec Baldwin - another "SNL" vet, Rachel Dratch, will make cameos - and her show's named for the Rockefeller Center building where NBC's headquartered and "Saturday Night Live" is staged.
But, hey, her show-within-a-show is called "The Girlie Show" and stars a woman, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski).
So we know it can't really be about "Saturday Night Live," right?
Right.
Fey plays Liz Lemon, the show's head writer and a woman probably not unlike Fey herself: talented, hard-working, loyal.
And about to be dumped out of her comfort zone.
Baldwin steals the first two episodes as Jack Donaghy, a corporate type who's been drafted - or who's maybe volunteered - to "fix" "The Girlie Show."
By making it less girly.
Enter Morgan, as Tracy Jordan, a comedian who appears to be channeling the tabloid version of Martin Lawrence.
Morgan, who didn't display much range in his years on "SNL," is only a little better here. Krakowski's so far not as funny as she was on "Ally McBeal," and "The Girlie Show" appears no more hilarious than Aaron Sorkin's show-within-a-show on "Studio 60," though in this case that may be deliberate.
The pacing's a refreshing departure from standard sitcom beats, but like many an "SNL" sketch, some scenes drag.
Baldwin's Donaghy, though, is great: slimy, shameless and smarter than he looks.
I want to like "30 Rock" more than I do so far, because I've always liked Fey. Yet it could be Fey - the actress, not the writer - I'm having trouble warming to. "Studio 60" has plenty of problems, but Matthew Perry's such a compelling presence, they can be easier to ignore.
Fey's "30 Rock" shows us a network that hasn't a clue.
I'm waiting for her Liz Lemon to make me believe she does.
These 'Years' add up
There was a time when NBC probably led the world in sitcoms about city-dwelling singles, and its executives proudly proclaimed their lack of interest in viewers over 49.
Today, it has four comedies on its schedule and none, not even the Scranton, Pa.-based "The Office," really fits that mold.
Tonight, NBC's launching "Twenty Good Years," (8:30 PM ET/PT) an "Odd Couple"-meets-"Frasier" sitcom about two guys in their early 60s that stars two guys - John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor - in their early 60s.
Talk about the world turned upside down.
Lithgow and Tambor not being just any two guys, the pilot for "Twenty Good Years" has some genuinely funny moments even as it makes no apparent effort to reinvent the form.
I'm not ready to sign on for 20 years, but I'm definitely willing to give it a few weeks.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//15728966.htm
The New Season ]
“30 Rock” and “Twenty Years”
Fey's show about a show isn't a very good show
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle Wed, Oct. 11, 2006
Poor Tina Fey. She left "Saturday Night Live" to do her new sitcom, "30 Rock," but all the early hype at NBC centered on Aaron Sorkin's drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," which was patently about and essentially skewering "SNL." There was talk that NBC would never green-light two shows about the industry (both using a show-within-a-show conceit), yet each was picked up for the fall -- only Fey was left to make not-that-funny promos about how her show wasn't Sorkin's show.
A tough start, that.
Meanwhile, her show was in trouble. The original pilot sent to critics was decently funny, but rough in spots and not fully realized. To get a more accurate picture of how "30 Rock" was going to be, critics really needed to see two or more episodes. The premise wasn't overly difficult. Fey played Liz Lemon, the head writer of "The Girlie Show," a sketch comedy on a network meant to be NBC. Rachel Dratch, another "SNL" alum, was Jenna, the star of the fictitious "Girlie Show." Alec Baldwin -- a veteran host of "SNL" and one of its funniest staples -- plays Jack, the upper-management executive whose brilliance at dreaming up a new kind of microwave oven puts him in charge of several levels of the media conglomerate, including the TV division, even though he knows nothing about it. He decides that what "The Girlie Show" really needs is to add the slightly mentally ill but very funny comic Tracy Jordan ("SNL" alum Tracy Morgan).
This causes problems.
From pilot, three things were clear: 1. Baldwin was the best thing about it, followed closely by Morgan. 2. Where was it supposed to go after crazy Tracy Jordan joined the cast? 3. Would anyone really care?
Now, cynics can say that No. 3 really sums up "Studio 60," which will have had a running start -- four episodes on the air -- before "30 Rock" launches, and that "Studio" is losing viewers at a rapid pace because the behind-the-scenes machinations of a TV show hold no interest for most viewers.
But in the case of "30 Rock," a little bit of life was imitating art. NBC decided that Dratch wasn't the best fit for Jenna (not good looking enough, not a big enough star?), so they replaced her with Jane Krakowski, best known for her role on "Ally McBeal." In "30 Rock," Fey's character fights to keep Dratch's character on "The Girlie Show" (and the two are close friends in real life) as Jack pushes to hire crazy Tracy Jordan. What must Fey have thought when NBC brass -- not named Jack -- said Dratch had to go? (Dratch ends up with a bit part in the revamped pilot and another bit part in the second episode -- far from being the star of "The Girlie Show.")
Now, in both the pilot, which was redone and is airing tonight and the second episode, it's clear that Baldwin is still the funniest thing and that the issue of where the show goes after hiring Tracy Jordan is still in play, as is this idea that viewers may not give a damn about any of it.
But there's more daunting news. Krakowski is not at all believable as the head of a sketch show. Morgan as Jordan is great -- but it's a one-note joke. And, worst of all, the original pilot was funnier.
To its credit, next week's second episode is better than tonight's revamped pilot: tighter, funnier and more expansive to other cast members. But what NBC tossed out in the first go-round has yet to be topped. And may never, is the guess. And it wasn't that funny to begin with.
Worse by far is the show that follows "30 Rock," and that's "Twenty Good Years." (Maybe NBC decided to spell out that title so viewers wouldn't be confused by so many numerals.) If "30 Rock" ultimately stumbles by creating a fictitious workplace no one will care about, "Twenty Good Years" fails by simply assuming that putting John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor together will be funny.
It's not.
And the premise -- that 60 is the new 40 -- certainly seems strange in the demographics-obsessed world of television, where you're considered dead when you turn 50. But "Twenty Good Years" posits that two aging friends come to the conclusion that they only have so long to live and they'd better make the most of it. What gets left out of the equation is that no one will be interested in watching them live it once they see the pilot. You can love or loathe Lithgow for his penchant to chew scenery, but it's not his fault this time because that seems to be what he's told to do. His character is the one who really wants to bust out and live life. Tambor, who had far superior material in "Arrested Development" and "The Larry Sanders Show," is the meek one pulled along, his trepidation being the trigger for laughs (that don't come).
"Twenty Good Years" seems to have been pitched this way: Lithgow and Tambor as two crazy old guys. NBC bought that and now has to live with it -- but you don't. The jokes in "Twenty" are both predictable and telegraphed. Lithgow tries to turn this sap into Shakespeare and nearly gets a hernia in the process -- painful viewing, indeed. This is one "Odd Couple" not worth meeting.
It's too bad, really. With serialized dramas demanding so much viewer time (a commitment many seem to be shying away from), a couple of good sitcoms would have been a welcome addition to the tail end of the fall season launch.
But as it stands now, "30" is better than "Twenty," but neither is worth the half hour they cost.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/11/DDGOLLLO561.DTL
TV Sports
ESPN’s NFL ratings up from last year
Leads all nets Monday in key male demos
(ESPN News Release)
ESPN's Monday Night Football earned a 10.3 rating for the Denver Broncos' 13-3 victory over the previously unbeaten Baltimore Ravens, representing 9,455,000 homes (12,505,000 viewers, P2+), cable television's fourth-biggest audience of all time, and third-biggest this year, behind only previous MNF telecasts. It was the fourth-straight week that MNF earned a rating over a 10.
In addition, last night ESPN led all networks - cable or broadcast - in delivery of all key male demos….
For the NFL season to date, MNF on ESPN is averaging a 10.3 rating and 9,474,000 homes (12,867,000 P2+) for six games in five weeks. These represent increases of 34%, 37% and 36%, respectively, compared to the first five weeks of last year's ESPN Sunday Night Football (7.7 rating, 6.937 million homes, 9.466 million viewers). ESPN's six MNF games so far are cable television's best ratings and largest audiences of the year.
Last night's MNF telecast was simulcast on local over-the-air channels in Baltimore (21.2 rating) and Denver (24.3 rating), boosting ESPN's audience to an estimated average of 10,036,000 households. The total also includes those viewing in high definition on ESPN HD.
Another bad night for "Friday Night Lights".
Tuesday’s prime-time ratings have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.
Leftcoastdave
10-11-06, 12:50 PM
Monday Night Football on ESPN
Anybody else annoyed by Joe Thiesman's voice and non-stop idiotic talk? I don't mind Mike Tirico.
Oh, and while I am bringing up MNF, what about Tony Kornheiser's hair? Either never allow a side profile to be seen of you or shave it all off....
Not to drift too far off topic -- Tirico is the best sports announcer out there, however, Kornheiser and Theisman are so annoying I usually listen to the game with the volume so low I can barely hear the crowd noise.
And what is with this "get a celebrity in the booth" crap that intereferes with just plain old watching football? Ugh.
Tuesday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.
Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Prospects dim for 'Friday Night Lights'
NBC sports drama falls 11 percent, to a 2.4
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Oct. 11, 2006
NBC had high hopes for “Friday Night Lights,” its critically acclaimed new drama about high school football based on the successful book and movie. But just two episodes into the show, its ratings are falling and dragging down an otherwise strong Tuesday night.
“Lights” averaged a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating last night at 8 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights. That’s off 11 percent from its 2.7 premiere, already the worst premiere on the Big Three networks for any new show.
Certainly part of the viewer drain could be sports fanatics switching over to Fox’s coverage of the American League Championship Series, but that drew relatively low ratings. It also could be that viewers dismissed the high-minded drama as teen fare despite its actually sophisticated presentation.
What’s equally troubling is that the show is pulling the rest of NBC’s lineup down with it. With a sagging lead-in, 9 p.m.’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” posted a 3.6, down 14 percent from last week and down from its season average.
At 10 p.m., “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” was also down to a new season low, and NBC’s Tuesday average sank 10 percent week to week, from a 4.0 to a 3.5.
NBC hyped “Lights” heavily, and critics raved about it. With the network already all but abandoning another acclaimed show, “Kidnapped,” it’s doubtful it will want to ditch one more so soon. A new timeslot could well be in the offing for “Lights,” though it’s unclear where that would be. “Kidnapped’s” 10 p.m. Wednesday slot is too late to grab the kids who the show appeals to.
Meanwhile, ABC led easily with a 4.3 rating and 11 share, followed by CBS at 3.6/9, NBC at 3.5/9, Fox at and CW at 1.7/4, and Univision at 1.6/4. Ratings for Fox are approximate, as fast nationals measure timeslot data and not actual program data, and the ALCS ran late.
At 8 p.m., ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” led with a 5.3, followed by CBS’s “NCIS” at 3.8, NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” at 2.4, Fox’s ALCS at 2.2, and Univision’s “La Fea Mas Bella” and the CW’s “Gilmore Girls” at 2.0.
At 9 p.m., ABC again led with a 4.6 for the last half hour of “Stars” (4.6) and the third episode of “Help Me Help You,” which was even to last week at 3.1. CBS’s “The Unit” and NBC’s “L&O: CI” tied for second at 3.6, followed by Fox’s ALCS at 2.9, Univision’s “Mundo de Fieras” at 1.7 and the CW’s “Veronica Mars” at 1.3. The CW did finish third in 18-34s for the night, ahead of Fox and NBC.
At 10 p.m., NBC led easily with a 4.6 for “L&O: SVU,” followed by CBS with a 3.2 for a rerun of “CSI.” That was up 14 percent over last week, when now-yanked “Smith” aired in the timeslot. ABC was third with “Boston Legal” at 2.9, followed by Fox’s ALCS at 2.6 and Univision’s “Ver Para Creer” fourth at 1.1.
Among households, ABC led again with a 10.0/16, followed by CBS at 8.3/13, NBC at 7.1/11, Fox at 5.5/9, CW at 2.6/4 and Univision at 1.9/3.
• Source: Nielsen Media Research data
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_7835.asp
Another bad night for "Friday Night Lights".
Tuesday’s prime-time ratings have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.
That's a shame, although I suppose not unexpected, it seems almost everything I like ends up on the scrap heap. I still think it's one of the very best new shows this season, even if most viewers don't. More proof that ratings and quality don't always go hand in hand.
I agree, although everyone's perception of "quality" differs.
I thought last night's episode was marvelous.
archiguy
10-11-06, 02:32 PM
That's a shame, although I suppose not unexpected, it seems almost everything I like ends up on the scrap heap. I still think it's one of the very best new shows this season, even if most viewers don't. More proof that ratings and quality don't always go hand in hand.
We needed more proof? TV seems to prove that theorem every year. :eek: :D
I agree, although everyone's perception of "quality" differs.
I thought last night's episode was marvelous.
I thought it was too, and I expect it will get even better, although I'm seeing posts about how they didn't even show the game in last night's episode which tells me that at least some viewers are not even "getting it". As long as NBC wants to avoid a scorched earth approach(Kidnapped and FNL?) I guess we'll luck out for awhile and continue to get FNL.
Nielsen Notebook
National Demographic ratings for Oct. 2-8
By Ed Bark former Dallas Morning News TV critic at his website unclebarky.com
Top 10 Prime-Time Programs in Total Viewers (all numbers in millions)
1. Grey's Anatomy (ABC) -- 22.8
2. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS) -- 21.5
3. Desperate Housewives (ABC) -- 21.0
4. Lost (ABC) -- 18.8
5. Dancing with the Stars performance show (ABC) -- 18.4
6. CSI: Miami (CBS) -- 17.9
7. Dancing with the Stars results (ABC) -- 17.5
8. NCIS (CBS) -- 15.9
9. Survivor: Cook Islands (CBS) -- 15.83
10. Two and a Half Men (CBS) -- 15.79
18-to-49-Year-Olds
1. Grey's Anatomy -- 12.2
2. Desperate Housewives -- 11.2
3. Lost -- 10.1
4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation -- 9.5
5. NBC Sunday Night Football -- 8.3
6. ER (NBC) -- 8.0
7. CSI: Miami -- 7.7
8. Survivor: Cook Islands -- 7.3
9. Heroes (NBC) -- 7.2
10. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) -- 7.1
Cable
1. Monday Night Football (ESPN) -- 12.9
2. Yankees-Tigers playoff/Fri. (ESPN) -- 6.6
3. WWE Raw, Mon./9p.m. (USA) -- 5.1
4. WWE Raw, Mon./8 p.m. (USA) -- 4.48
5. College football, Tennesse-Georgia (ESPN) -- 4.45
6. Halloweentown High (Disney) -- 4.4
7. Halloweentown II: Kalabar (Disney) -- 4.3
8. Castaway (TNT) -- 4.25
9. Spongebob, Sat. (Nick) -- 4.13
10. Law & Order: SVU, Sun. (USA) -- 4.07
African-American
1. The OT (Fox) -- 2.8
2. NBC Sunday Night Football -- 2.3
3. America's Next Top Model (CW) -- 2.2
4. CSI: Miami -- 2.16
5. Dancing with the Stars performance -- 2.1
6. Grey's Anatomy --- 2.041
7. Without a Trace (CBS) -- 2.009
8. Law & Order: SVU (NBC) -- 1.9
9. CSI: NY (CBS) -- 1.84
10. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation -- 1.81
Hispanic (Spanish Language)
Note: All shows are on Univision
1. Barrera De Amor, M-F -- 5.6
2. Fea Mas Bella, M-F -- 4.0
3. Mundo De Fieras, M-F -- 3.32
4. Cristina, Mon. -- 3.29
5. Heridas De Amor, M-F -- 2.9
6. Aqui Y Ahora, Thu. -- 2.6
7. Don Francisco Presenta, Wed. -- 2.5
8. Casos Vida R: Ed. Esp, Fri. == 2.2
9. Sabado Gigante, Sat. -- 2.09
10. Cantando Por Suenolll, Sun. -- 2.08
Hispanic (English Language)
1. Grey's Anatomy -- 1.7 mil.
2. Dancing with the Stars performance -- 1.1 mil.
3. Lost -- 1.052 mil.
4. Desperate Housewives -- 1.051 mil.
5. Ugly Betty (ABC) -- 1.007 mil.
6. Dancing with the Stars results --- 942,000
7. Prison Break (Fox) -- 890,000
8. The OT --- 846,000
9. CSI: Scene Investigation -- 830,000
10. Friday Night Smackdown! (CW) -- 823,000
• Source: Nielsen Media Research data
http://www.unclebarky.com/reviews.html
Monday Night Football on ESPN
Anybody else annoyed by Joe Thiesman's voice and non-stop idiotic talk? I don't mind Mike Tirico.
Oh, and while I am bringing up MNF, what about Tony Kornheiser's hair? Either never allow a side profile to be seen of you or shave it all off....
Funny, I put it exactly opposite of that. Can't stand Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser. Theisman's the only one that has a brain in the booth, with the other two there only to try to stir up controversy.
Never thought I'd say it, but I actually miss Paul Maguire.
Nielsen Notebook
National ratings for Oct. 2-8
By Gary Levin USA Today
•Lost luster. The third-season opener of Lost averaged 18.8 million viewers Wednesday, down nearly 5 million from last fall's hatch-revealing premiere. However, Lost had its biggest audience since Jan. 25, reflecting a steady dropoff throughout last season.
•Nine lives. Lost's new companion, serial drama The Nine, had a decent start with 11.9 million viewers but held a lower percentage of Lost's audience than last fall's Invasion did
•Lights dim. Against weak competition, the premiere of NBC's heavily touted Friday Night Lights disappointed Tuesday with 7.2 million viewers, the lowest turnout for any drama debut this season.
•A little less pretty. The second episode of ABC's Ugly Betty averaged 14.3 million viewers Thursday, down 2 million from its big week-ago premiere. Still, the series appears to be a solid hit, and it challenged a declining Survivor (15.8 million) for the lead in its time slot.
•Drama graveyard. CBS sent Smith packing after Tuesday's episode notched a third-place 8.4 million viewers, while NBC exiled Kidnapped to Saturdays (for now) after Wednesday's outing drew a weak 5.1 million.
•Studio slowdown. NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (8.9 million) continued its free fall, from 13.4 million for its Sept. 18 ope