CBS wins Monday with a bang
      Earlier this summer, CBS was frequently beat (well, almost beat) on Mondays thanks to NBC's reality slate. But with "CSI" at the helm at 10pm, the eye just gets stronger and stronger every week. "King of Queens" (9.7mil), "Yes, Dear" (10.1mil), "Everybody Loves Raymond: The First Six Years" (14.6mil) and "CSI" (13.7mil) won every single slot on the night, averaging 12.7mil viewers to ABC's 12.0mil, which aired exhibition football.
     But NBC didn't exactely fall behind on the night. With "Fear Factor" (9.8mil) & "Dog Eat Dog" (12.7mil) both drawing their best numbers of the summer so far and "Meet my Folks" (11.3mil) not exactely falling to pieces, it averaged 11.2mil viewers on the night.
     Then there were the rest. The WB was fourth at 8pm with "7th Heaven" (4.3mil), but "Smallville" (2.4mil) fell behind at 9pm. Two episodes of "Boston Public" averaged 4.0mil at 8pm and 3.8mil at 9pm, pathetic to say the least. Over on the UPN, the new line-up started to click, with "The Parkers" (2.7mil); "One On One" (2.9mil) and two episodes of "Girlfriends" (3.0mil; 2.9mil)
      Thanks to fixing a few holes, ratings compared to last season saw a nice jump. But not everybody. Fox (off 7%) and the UPN (-6%) were the losers, but ABC was up 4%, the wB 13%, while both NBC and CBS registered 35% increases. The nets drew 46.2mil viewers on the night, up 8% over last season's 42.9mil. (August 27)

Mix of winners on the weekend
      The weekend (well, Friday & Saturday) actually brought some good ratings news (for the second week in a row), but there was no clear winner on either night. Starting out on Friday, CBS had some very good numbers from "CSI," which returned to its original timeslot to the tune of 10.0mil viewers, one of CBS's best performances in the slot since "CSI" left in the spring of 2001.
"Law & Order: SVU" (8.7mil) was a very strong second in the hour, while "Whose Line?" on ABC sputtered in third (6.4mil; 6.1mil). But Fox was worse, as its preseason football coverage slipped to just 4.4mil viewers in its second week.
      An hour earlier, ABC was the winner, with "Funniest Videos" taking a summer high 8.0mil. "Dateline" was second with 7.0mil, while CBS was third with the first of two "48 Hours" (6.4mil). Two hours later, at 10pm, "SVU" took a summer high 11.0mil, leaving "20/20" (8.5mil) and "48 Hours" (7.3mil) behind, though both of their performances were respectable.
      Compared to the Friday a year previous, Fox was down 23% and ABC 18%. But CBS jumped 25% and NBC 36%, leaving the networks with an average of 28.8mil viewers on the night, up 4% from last season's 27.8mil.
      Moving on over to Saturday, there was some good news to report. First off, there was actually a variety of programming on the air- nobody went with a movie for the first time in ages. The bad news was that most of it was repeat programming. The winner at 8pm was CBS with "BB3" taking in a summer Saturday high of 7.8mil viewers, followed by "Cops" (5.4mil; 6.6mil), then the Little League World Series on ABC (5.5mil). A repeat of "Meet My Folks" drew only 4.0mil for NBC at 8pm. At 9pm, CBS won again, with "The District" drawing 7.1mil. "AMW" was second for Fox (6.8mil), while "Dog Eat Dog" on NBC (5.8mil) jumped over ABC. And finally, at 10pm, CBS won again, this time with "The Agency" enticing 6.6mil viewers. ABC was second with "Americas Funniest Videos" (6.0mil), while NBC dropped to third with "Crime & Punishment" (5.5mil).
      Looking at last season, it was the same as Friday, only with smaller margins. ABC dropped 11%, and Fox 1%. On the upside, CBS was up 4% and NBC 7%. In total, the nets drew 24.4mil viewers, down an negligible1% from last season's 24.6mil.
      Compared with the Monday to Saturday period from last year, there is some very good news for the nets. Sure, ABC is down 24% and the UPN is off 11%, but NBC is up 7%, the WB 8%, CBS 26% and Fox is up an amazing 32%. The nets are averaging 38.5mil viewers so far this week, up 5% over last year's 36.7mil. (August 26)

"The Mole" comes back the very next season
      Good news for fans of "The Mole." It is being reported that ABC has given producers the green light to do a third installment as well as a celebrity edition, likely featuring in house ABC stars. The third installment would air next summer and run 9-10 weeks, while the celebrity version would air during February sweeps and run only 6 weeks, because the stars are busy with more important things.....
       "The Mole 2" finished up its summer run on ABC two weeks ago on Tuesday. It remains ABC's highest rated series this summer in adults 18-49 and more importantly, adults 18-34. (August 23)

Fox sees a Thursday bump
     Thanks to a visit by Ozzy Osbourne talking about his wife's cancer treatment, Fox's 'The Pulse" garnered it's best ratings to date in all aspects, drawing in 6.9mil viewers, third in its slot. That was up from only 4.5mil the week before. "Beyond Belief," airing an hour earlier, also saw its best ratings of the summer, reaching 7.0mil viewers, third in that timeslot.
     NBC also saw a boost on the night, with "Friends" (11.0mil); "Scrubs" (9.5mil); "Will & Grace" (10.7mil); "Just Shoot Me" (8.9mil) and "ER" (8.6mil) all running significantly above normal summer levels. Why? CBS reverted to football from 9pm on (8.5mil), leaving only "Big Brother 3" (10.2mil). ABC was fourth on the night overall thanks to the dud "Krippendorf's Tribe" (5.2mil), though "PrimeTime Thursday" (9.5mil) was first at 10pm. "WWE Smackdown!" (6.0mil) was a strong fifth, while the WB was a typical sixth with "Reba" (2.7mil). two episodes of 'The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" (2.6mil each) and "Off Centre" (2.1mil)
     Compared to last season, two nets saw big boosts, but a 56% drop by ABC (thanks to last year's interview with Gary Condit on PrimeTime) proved to much to overcome. The UPN aslo dropped, 9%, the WB 4% and NBC 1%. On the flipside, Fox gained 40%, while CBS was up 47%. In total, the nightly average was 40.8mil viewers, down 9% from last year's 45.0mil. (August 23)

"Idol" & Brother duke it out on Wednesday
     Both shows are have so many similar points: they both air on Wednesday, both are reality shows featuring young people, and on Wednesday night they both featured singing: "American Idol"s contestants going at it and Sheryl Crow on "Big Brother." The difference? One is hotter, and that would be "American Idol." After setting a record on Tuesday with 15.1mil viewers and a 7.1/18 in adults, the show saw a typical Wednesday draw back, settling with 13.7mil viewers, the series' second best marks yet. "Big Brother," meanwhile, aired a special two hour edition, drawing an average 10.2mil and a 4.3/11 rating in adults. It won every half hour it aired in adults, except, of course, 9:30pm, when "Idol" was on Fox.
      But Fox wasn't as strong in its other timeslots, by far. At 8pm, "30 Seconds To Fame" drew solid numbers at 6.5 and 7.0mil viewers, but that was third in the hour, behind a strong "60 Minutes II" (10.2mil) and back to back episodes of "My Wife & Kids" (7.6mil; 9.0mil). "Dog Eat Dog" (5.4mil) was fourth in repeats, while the insanely titled Tori Spelling flick "Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?" drew 2.6mil on the WB. Two hours of "Enterprise" drew 2.4mil viewers.
      At 9pm, after "Bernie Mack" (8.5mil) combined with "Idol" for a first place win and "Brother" took second, "The West Wing" (8.0mil) was a not too shabby third. "Drew Carey" took small steps back to having viewership (6.9mil; 6.0mil), but still ranked fourth. At 10pm, "Law & Order" (12.7mil) shot to the top, while "ICU" (5.0mil) was a distant, disappointing third.
      Looking at season, half the nets were up, half were down. The losers were ABC, down 11%, the WB, off 7% and NBC, down 2%. But the winners were spectacular. The UPN grew by 9%, CBS by 29% and Fox by a huge 59%. That left the nets with an average of 39.3mil viewers on the night, up 14% from last season's 34.7mil. So far this week, the nets are up on every single week night. (August 22)

Viewers like "Monk," "Idol"
    In what seems to be a weekly headline, "American Idol" set yet another series record on Tuesday night, raking up a huge 10.5/16 rating in the overnights and 14.1mil viewers overall. That's Fox best performance in the Tuesday at 9pm slot since the premiere of "Dark Angel" two years ago, excluding the baseball playoffs. Also good in the hour: "Monk." The show reached 9.1mil viewers for its second ABC episode, that networks best marks in the hour since April when "NYPD Blue" moved back to 10pm. Third in the hour was a strong "The Guardian" (7.9mil) while NBC's combo of "Frasier" (7.0mil) and "Just Shoot Me" (6.2mil) were an increasingly distant fourth. Bet NBC can't wait for the regular season where "Frasier" usually wins.... "Smallville" (3.0mil) were fifth, while the UPN's repeat Backstreet Boys concert (1.5mil) was a distant sixth.
      Moving up an hour, there were no clear winners in what has become one of primetime's more unfocused hours. "JAG" (8.1mil) was first as usual, while "According To Jim" (7.0mil; 8.0mil) made a strong case for second. Fox was third with 'That 70s Show" (6.3mil) and "Grounded For Life" (6.0mil), which is more and more looking like a good fit. NBC was fourth with the horrible "The RERUN Show" (5.1mil; 5.0mil- see review), while "Gilmore Girls" (3.2mil) knocked down "Buffy" (1.9mil). 
     At 10pm, there was much less competition, as "Dateline" (10.0mil) won again, "Judging Amy" (7.8mil) was second, and ABC's flop mini "Widows" (5.3mil) was a very distant third.
     Compared to last season, it was another night of big gains, at least on Fox. The losers were the UPN, down 32%, ABC down 21%, and NBC, off 4%. On the winners side, CBS was up just 1%, the WB saw an increase of 15%, while Fox more than double last year's 4.8mil, increasing 104%. In total, the nets drew 37.4mil viewers this Tuesday, up 8% over the 34.7 from last year. (August 21)

"CI" leads NBC, takes its place
     "Law & Order: CI" got overshadowed in the regular season by "L&O," and "SVU," both garnering much bigger ratings than their oft-ignored brother, by "Alias," which shone in the eyes of critics and aired opposite "CI" on Sunday nights, and in the eyes of viewers, who watched CBS's Sunday movie instead of "CI." But last week, "CI" maybe the coolest of all the "Order" franchises (and I know that sounds corny, but this show does have something that the others don't- Vincent D'Onofrio), finally took its place in the "Law & Order" heavens. Thanks to 5 airings, it drew its best ratings of the summer, breaking the top 25 five times.
     Starting out on Wednesday, the show drew a solid, but "Law"-like 11.5mil viewers. On Thursday it beat out every single telecast of "ER" this summer, taking in a strong 10.0mil. On Friday, it jumped back up to 10.8mil viewers, the highest rated episode of the summer in that slot. On Sunday it aired twice, first at 8pm where it took in a solid 8.9mil viewers. But it busted out at 9pm, drawing a big 11.8mil, a regular season return for the show. In fact, the episode's 3.8/10 rating in adults nearly equaled the season long average of 4.0/10.
     So here's to "CI." Just watch your knees- "The Sopranos" are back in September. (August 20)

"CSI" takes up residence at 10pm
    "CSI" debuted on monday nights for the very first time last night, and it not only blew away the competition, but gave CBS as a whole a big boost on the night. Both "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" (10.1mil, first at 8pm) were up about a million viewers from typical levels, "Everybody Loves Raymond" (14.5mil) and "Becker" (12.7mil) scored some of their best numbers of the summer, taking first at 9pm. And "CSI" ? It tied for first on the night, drawing 14.5mil viewers at 10pm.
     Under the weight of the competition, the other nets collapsed, right? Not at all. NBC had a good night with "Fear Factor" (9.2mil), "Dog Eat Dog" (11.3mil) and "Meet My Folks" (11.4mil). In fact, MMF outdrew DED for the very first time last night. ABC was second overall with exhibition football (11.0mil), while Fox was a very solid fourth with the 2002 Teen Choice Awards (7.6mil). 
     Over on the little nets, the WB was fifth with "7th Heaven" (3.7mil) and "Smallville" (2.5mil). Off their mark, as they have been since "The Parkers" moved up an hour, were the quartet on the UPN. The aforementioned "Parkers" (2.2mil) drew a near series low, while "One On One" (2.4mil); "Girlfriends" (2.4mil) and "One On One" again (2.5mil) didn't get much better.
     Now, this might seem amazing, but this night will probably go down as one of the highest rated of the summer season. Only one network was down, three were up dramatically, and everything seemed to click. The loser was Fox, down only 4%.  ABC was up 1%, while the UPN was even. On the big winners side, the WB jumped 28%, NBC 38% and CBS an amazing 40%. For all of this, the nets drew 47.4mil viewers on the night, up an amazing 18% over last year's 40.4mil. Now if every net knew how to counter program like this one every night, we might actually was more than a few winners. (August 20)

"CI" a replacement for "ER" ?
     With ratings for repeat "ER"s hitting multiple series lows so far this summer, and most weeks not even cracking 7.0mil, NBC took a (small) chance and aired "Law & Order: CI" at 10pm on Thursday. And it worked. The show drew 10.0mil viewers, far and away NBC's best numbers in the slot this summer. With the the original "L&O" drawing only a few million viewers less overall than "ER" on the season, "SVU" not far behind that, could NBC have found a replacement for the aging drama? Either way, "CI" won the timeslot in convincing fashion. "The Agency" (8.2mil) was next down the lkine, followed by a deep third for "PrimeTime Thursday" (6.8mil).
      Going back two hours in primetime, CBS won with "Big Brother 3" (10.2mil) up about 2mil viewers from last week. "Friends" (9.2mil) and "Scrubs" (8.0mil) weren't too far off in second, with ABC aired the movie "The Associate" (7.1mil) from 8-10pm and got promising results. Fox was off a bit with "Beyond Belief" (5.6mil), "Smackdown" was fifth in the hour, drawing 5.7mil viewers overall. On the WB, "Reba" (2.4mil) and "Jamie Kennedy" (2.2mil) were a distant sixth in the hour.
      At 9pm, it was CBS's hour once again. "CSI" (13.6mil) was off its usual mark, but still won by almost a two to one margin. ABC's movie was second, the UPN fourth, while NBC was actually fourth thanks to "Will & Grace" (7.1mil) and the-not-likely-long-for-this-world "The RERUN Show" (5.7mil). Fox's "The Pulse" (4.1mil) took a dive in the ratings, while "JKX" (2.2mil) and "Off Centre" (1.9mil) were weak fifths.
      Looking at last season, something is definitely wrong with Thursdays. 4 of the 6 nets were down, and most dramatically. The sole winners were CBS, up 19% and Fox, up 7%. The losers were NBC, down only 3%, the UPN, off 18%, the WB, down 19%, and ABC, which dropped 27%. In total, the nets drew 38.9mil viewers on the night, down 7% from last year's 41.8mil. (August 16)

"ICU" needs to be in ICU
     ABC's latest attempt at ratings gold, "ICU: Arkansas Children's Hospital," is following the pattern of nearly every ABC original series this summer. Critics love it, viewers are not so fond. The show slipped to just 4.4mil viewers at 10pm on Wednesday, ABC's worst marks in that slot all summer. Not only was it dead last, the nearest competitor more than doubled its results. "48 Hours" (10.1mil) had by far it's best outing of the summer (outside of Monday), while a special airing of the hot "Law & Order: CI" (11.8mil) took the hour overall.
     But ABC's fortunes weren't so bad earlier in the evening. "My Wife & Kids" started off at 8pm with 7.2mil and 8.4mil for consecutive repeats, averaing first in its slot for the first time this summer. "60 Minutes II" was next with a weak 7.6mil, while NBC's "Dog Eat Dog" drew a solid 6.5mil for a repeat. "30 Seconds To Fame" dropped from previous week to 5.7mil and 6.8mil for back to back episodes, though still very solid numbers. Over on the UPN, two episodes of "Enterprise" aired on the night, averaging 2.4mil viewers, while the WB encountered it's weakest flick to date, "Sol Goode" drew only 1.8mil viewers on the night. 
     At 9pm, "Big Brother" (10.4mil) took control with its best Wednesday numbers to date. "American Idol" (10.5mil) was second at 9:30pm, but the hour was off thanks to a 9pm edition of "Bernie Mack" (6.8mil). "The West Wing" was third overall at 8.0mil, while "Drew Carey" was a typical fourth with a strong (for the series) 6.6mil and 6.0mil. 
     On the night, one net suffered a huge lose, while three had big gains. The losers were the WB, down an astoundign 47%, and ABC, down a normal 16%. But the rest of the news was good. NBC was up 2%, the UPN 20%, CBS 23% and Fox an amazing 42%. In total, the nets drew 36.1mil viewers on the night, up 5% over last year's 34.3mil.

"Monk" off to an okay start
     ABC picked up USA's "Monk," which is one of cable's highest rated series and hoped for the best. Well, what it got was not quite the best, but not quite the worst. It drew in 6.8mil viewers to it's Tuesday at 9pm timelot, 4th overall, behind "American Idol" (11.8mil), "The Guardian" (7.9mil) and a one hour "Frasier" (7.2mil). Certainly, these repear airings wll bring more viewers to the cable show, but what is ABC getting out of it? It did better with "The Mole." Fifth in the hour was "Smallville" (3.3mil), distantly followed by "N'Sync Live In Concert" (1.5mil).
     An hour earlier at 8pm, "Just Shoot Me" got a glimpse of its new hour and didn't like what it found. The show aired at 8pm to only 5.7mil viewers, NBC's worst results in the slot this entire summer. At 8:30, "The RERUN Show" continued to drive away viewers, slipping to only 5.0mil. And that left NBC fourth in the slot. It was won by "JAG" (8.2mil), followed by two episodes of "According To Jim" (6.6mil; 7.4mil). "That 70s Show" (5.7mil) and "The Simpsons" (6.2mil) were third in viewers, but first in adults. "Gilmore Girls" (3.7mil) was a very strong fifth, while "Buffy" (2.0mil) got left behind. In the late hour, "Dateline" (11.2mil) continued its phenominal summer run, followed by "Judging Amy" (7.0mil) and ABC's DOA "Widows" (5.0mil).
     But the good news is this: every network save ABC saw gains over last season. The UPN and CBS were each up 6%, NBC 7%, the WB 21%, while Fox zoomed 78% thanks to the 3.8mil "Muder In Small Town X" drew at 9pm last season. ABC, meanwhile, dropped 30%, leaving the nets with 36.2mil viewers on the night, up 8% over last year's 33.4mil. (August 14)

"Big Brother" takes off on Saturday
     After weeks of hovering in the 6.0mil viewer range on Saturdays, the show proved too much for viewers to resist. "Big Brother 3" zoomed to 7.6mil viewers on Saturday, only about 2mil off it's Thursday numbers, compared with a usual 4mil. That led CBS to a rout of the night, with both "The District" (7.6mil) and "The Agency" (7.2mil) to take their best numbers of the summer so far. Fox was second on the night with "Cops" (5.5mil; 6.5mil) & a strong "AMW" (7.8mil), while ABC got mileage for the first time with it's Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me" (5.5mil). Mind you, it wasn't much mileage, but that will certainly help ABC on the week. NBC, meanwhile, aired the US Gymnastics Championships to 5.3mil at 8pm, a repeat 'Crocodile Hunter" (6.0mil) at 9pm, and a repeat "Meet My Folks" (5.4mil) at 10pm, giving it a slight third place finish over ABC for the night.
     And for the first time in ages, all of the networks were up on Saturday night, most by significant margins. CBS was up the most 17%, NBC jumped 14% while Fox settled for 12%. And poor ABC, even the loser when a winner, was up 4%. On the night, the nets drew 25.5mil viewers (more than Friday, it should be noted), up 12% from last season. 
     Going into the last night of the week, things are looking up. CBS is leading in viewers with 8.4mil, while NBC is close behind at 8.2mil. ABC's having it's best week of the summer, sitting at 7.1mil viewers, while Fox is back at 6.2mil. The UPN leads the WB 3.1mil to 2.6mil, while PAX sits at a lowly 1.2mil. In adults, NBC leads witha  3.1 ratings, followed by Fox (2.7), CBS (2.6) and ABC (2.5). in the comparable period from last year, ABC is down 14%, but the rest are up. NBC 2%, while CBS and Fox are both enjoying a 17% gain. (August 11)

"Family Awards" turned off
     The fourth annual "Family TV Awards" were met with record viewer response, but of the negative kind. Only 3.3mil viewers bothered to watch, a record low for ABC in the 9pm Friday slot in any time of the year. Last year, the awards aired on CBS at 8pm to 4.8mil viewers, representing a decline of 33% over one year. Shouldn't they be cancelled already? The family unit died along time ago. Winning in the hour was "Dateline" with a huge 10.0mil, while CBS was a very distant second with "Funny Flubs & Screw Ups" (6.7mil). Fox, meanwhile, dug a little deeper than ABC, drawing 2.7mil to a repeat of "The X-Files." Change the name to "The Sex Files," and maybe viewers will stop by.
     At 8pm, "Dateline" won again, snagging 6.7mil viewers, barely overcoming "48 Hours" 6.6mil. ABC was a very close third with 6.3mil tuning into "Americas Funniest Home Videos." Fox, ever the glutton for punishment, drew only 3.4mil for it's continuing coverage of the "Invasion Of The Hidden Cameras" disaster. At 10pm "SVU" (10.1mil) won it grand style over "20/20" (7.6mil) and a repeat Celine Dion special (4.8mil).
     Looking at last year's ratings, two nets were up, but two were way down. The winners were CBS, up 20%, and NBC, jumping 7%. But Fox lost a quarter of it's audience, while ABC dropped 36%. In all, the nets averaged 23.6mil viewers, down 10%. (August 11)

"RERUN" hits a snag
     A week after NBC's "The RERUN Show" captured 9.6mil viewers, it sunk to 7.3mil viewers on Thursday, similar to the huge decline it saw on Tuesday. In the slot, it fell behind "Will & Grace" (8.4mil), way behind "CSI" (14.3mil), but it came in ahead of ABC's movie "Excess Baggage" (5.6mil from 8-10pm). Fox fell even further behind with "The Pulse" (4.6mil), while the WB suffered with "Jamie Kennedy" (2.0mil) and "Off Centre" (1.8mil). "WWE Smackdown!" (5.6mil overall) was third in the hour.
    At 8pm, CBS won again with "Big Brother 3" (9.3mil) settling into its slot nicely. NBC fell behind, though "Friends" (9.3mil) and "Scrubs" (7.8mil) were strong in the hour. Fox was third with a strenthening "Beyond Belief" (6.2mil), while the UPN was fourth, ABC fifth. The WB got caught up with "Reba" (2.2mil) and "JKX" (2.0mil) taking lower than normal numbers. At 10pm, "PrimeTime" (9.3mil) was the usual winner, followed by "The Agency" (8.3mil) and a struggling "ER" (7.2mil)
     Compared to last season, the nets recorded their first loss of the week. The winners were CBS, up 19%, and Fox, up 8%. But NBC dropped 4%, the UPN 13%, the WB 26% and ABC 27%. In total, the nets drew 38.3mil viewers on the night, down 5% from last year's 40.5mil. (August 11)

"30 Seconds" a keeper
     While it's no "American Idol," "30 Seconds To Fame" is becoming a sleeper hit for the Fox network. On Wednesday, it scheduled an entire hour to cover the departed "Meet The Marks," and the show did better than ever before. The 8pm edition drew 7.1mil viewers, while it jumped to 7.8mil at 8:30pm. That left it second in the hour, behind only "My Wife & Kids" (7.4mil; 8.3mil), and ahead of "60 Minutes II" (7.3mil) and the misplaced "Crossing Jordan" (5.6mil). On the little nets, "Enterprise" averaged 2.2mil viewers for the night on the UPN, while the movie "Happy Campers" was a rare misstep for the WB, drawing only 2.0mil viewers.
      An hour later at 9pm, "American Idol" was dominant once again, this time conjuring up 11.4mil viewers, helping "The Bernie Mack Show" (7.8mil) to its best performance of the summer so far. But that wasn't enough to win it as "Big Brother 3" (9.7mil) came up the middle and just broke Fox in viewers. "The West Wing" (8.1mil) was third, while "Drew Carey" (6.4mil; 5.4mil) was a distant fourth. At 10pm, "Law & Order" (11.5mil) won over a strong "48 Hours" (8.2mil), while ABC's new series "ICU: Arkansas Children's Hospital" (5.6mil) started to criminally low numbers.
      And the winner on the night was... Fox, CBS and NBC. Amazingly all three tied in total viewers, though in adults it was Fox, NBC then CBS. Compared to a year ago, it wasn't as good as Tuesday, but there were gains. But starting with the losers, the WB shed 24% of its audience, while ABC was off 23%. NBC dropped 4%, CBS was up 4%, the UPN 5%, while Fox increase 53%. In total, thanks to Fox, the nets eeked out a tiny gain from last season, up to 35.9mil viewers from 35.3mil. (August 8)

"Idol" hits another new high
      The buzz has been with the show all summer, but the ratings have been with "Dog Eat Dog." But slowly, "American Idol" has been separating itself from NBC's schluck-fest, and has grown by about a million viewers in the last two weeks. On Tuesday, ti hit a series high 13.1mil viewers, with a little more than a month left to go in the competition. That was far and away the winner at 9pm in most demos and viewers, "The Guardian" (7.2mil) and the finale of "The Mole 2" (7.2mil) tied for second, while "Frasier" (6.9mil) and "Scrubs" (6.0mil) limped to a fourth place finish. On the WB, "Smallville" (3.5mil) was a very strong fifth, while "The Hughleys" (1.9mil) and "The Parkers" (2.1mil) were a distant sixth.
     At 8pm, Fox didn't do so well, but still, behind "JAG" (7.4mil) and "According To Jim" (6.4mil; 7.1mil), "That 70s Show" (6.4mil) and "The Simpsons" (6.7mil) were a very close third. Not close a all was the season finale of "Spy TV" (6.6mil) and the already fading "The Rerun Show" (5.8mil), which barely manage to beat it's overnight rating in total viewers. "Gilmore Girls" (2.8mil) were fifth, while "Buffy" (1.9mil) did nothing in the ratings yet again. At 10pm, "Dateline" (11.0mil) ran away with the viewers, leaving "Judging Amy" (7.3mil) and ABC's mini "Widows" (5.7mil) to pick up what little was left.
     In comparison to last season, it was very good indeed. ABC was the sole big loser, down 25%. The UPN and CBS were basically flat, while NBC was up 13%, the WB 23%, as Fox jumped an astounding 78%. That led the networks to an average of 36.7mil viewers on the night, up 11% from last year's 33.2mil, the second straight night of gains. (August 8)

Timmy dies
      In one of the saddest pieces of news I've ever reported here (remember, I didn't write anything about September 11th), Josh Evans Ryan, Timmy on "Passions" died on Monday night in San Diego, CA from heart surgery complications. He was just 20 years old.
      The actor was one of the original "Passions" players. The character came to be when Tabitha, Harmony's resident witch, created him as a companion. But Timmy was not evil like Tabby. He fell in love with Charity Standish, Harmony's good girl with unknown supernatural powers. He wanted to make himself a "real boy" so that he could love Charity freely. He got his wish earlier this spring, but it came at a time when Charity was frozen in a block of ice by "zombie" Charity, conjured up by Kay, Charity's cousin, so she could win her boyfriend Miguel.
     Josh and Timmy spent their last few months on the show in search of "the demons horn," to help Charity thaw from the block of ice, culminating in the ultimate battle between good and evil, zombie Charity and the real Charity. Both real Charity and Timmy were critically injured on the show. Charity had severe trama steming from being forzen for so long, Timmy was caught in the crossfire.
     On Monday's show (August 5), Timmy decided that he would die and give Charity his heart so that she could live. Timmy died on the show that same day that Josh died in real life.
     As is no secret here, I am a huge fan of "Passions." At times, the Timmy character has been annoying, but looking back, he will be sorely missed. Josh brought a unique flavor to the show, as Timmy and Tabitha have become "Passions" breakout characters. Josh, who stood only a little over three feet high, had a rare neurological disorder that prevented him from growing. Sick for most of his life, he didn't let it show on "Passions," as he put everything into every single scene he acted in. Josh also had bit roles on"Ally McBeal" and 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."
      You were the heart of the show, and it will be difficult to watch without you. May you rest in peace.  (August 6)

"Scrubs" looking like a hit
      With final ratings in for last week, "Scrubs" is starting to look more and more like a hit tv show. Starting out on Tuesday, the show drew 6.7mil viewers, holding onto a near record high 88% of "Frasier"s 7.6mil. In adults, the show did even better, drawing a 2.8/8 rating, nearly equaling "Frasier"s 3.0/9 rating.
      On Thursday, the show did even better, putting up it's best performance to date on that night. The show drew 8.6mil viewers, not too far from "Friends" 10.1mil. In adults, the spread was even closer, with "Scrubs" coming up with a 4.0/13, holding onto all but 9% of "Friends" 4.4/16. After it, there was not much of an increase for "Will & Grace," with that show drawing 9.3mil viewers and a 4.5/14 in adults.
      Assuming this holds up, for the sake of statisitics, if "Friends" draws 34.0mil viewers for it's premiere, "Scrubs" should come up with about 28.9mil, almost doubling its series high 15.5mil. Only another month and a half until we get to find out.... (August 6)

ABC takes the "Monk"
     Usually it's cable that's picking up the networks hit series in repeats, but lately it seems to be working in reverse. First NBC announces that it will air Court TV's "The Forensic Files," (starting August 26th), now ABC's announces that it will air repeats of USA's hit "The Monk."
     The show will air on Tuesdays at 9pm for foour weeks starting next Tuesday, taking up "The Mole"s spot. But don't look for anything new- the episode will have already aired on USA the previous Friday. This is the network's way of competing with cable? Airing its repeats? I guess, CTV (one of Canada's three national broadcasters) airs "The Sopranos" uneditied. (August 6)

"Dog Eat Dog" breaks out
     After weeks over hovering the the 11.0mil viewer range, it appears that "Dog Eat Dog" has broken out, drawing 12.4mil viewers to last night's telecast featuring Playmates. The show also drew an upper five range rating in adults, but far winning the timeslot. But the competition was fierce: for one, all off the network seemed to be firing on all cylinders, save the little three, the WB, Fox and the UPN. ABC took first overall on the night thanks to the premiere of Monday Night Football (12.0mil), while CBS was third at 9pm with "Raymond" (12.6mil) and "Becker" (10.8mil), though the margin was extremely thin. Also in the hour, in a very distant fourth was "Titus" (3.3mil; 3.2mil); fifth went to  "One On One" (2.6mil) and "Girlfriends" (2.7mil); while sixth went to "Smallville" (2.5mil)
     An hour earlier at 8pm, "Fear Factor" won in almost all aspects. In viewers (9.5mil), it was over "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" (8.5mil) by about a million viewers, while ABC's football ran in third. "Boston Public" (4.0mil) was, again, a very distant fourth, while "7th Heaven" (3.7mil) held down fifth. "The Parkers" (2.4mil) and "One On One" (2.7mil) turned in atypically weak performances for sixth. And at 10pm, football was the overwhealming winner, followed by "48 Hours" (10.8mil) and "Meet My Folks" (10.3mil).
     On the night, as hard as it may be to believe, only one single network lost viewers, and that was Fox, down 22%. On the flipside, both NBC and the UPN were flat, the WB was up 11%, while both CBS and ABC posted strong 17% gains. In total, the nets drew a summer high 42.3mil viewers on Monday night, up 6% over last season's 39.8mil viewers. In adults, NBC won with a 5.0/14 rating, ABC was second with a 4.1/12. CBS was next down the line at a 3.1/9, while Fox was dead last with a 1.5/5. The WB won over the UPN with a 1.3/4, the latter drawing a 0.9/3. (August 6)
 

Anna Nicole busts out
    Anna Nicole's new reality show on E! (which makes make me shutter, the word "reality" and "Anna Nicole" should not be used in the same sentence. It's an oxymoron) may just turn out to be the biggest thing that cable's ever seen. That's right, her show drew a 5.5 overnight ratings for its Sunday premiere, which, if it holds up in the nationals, would make it the highest rated cable premiere ever. Start fearing this, people, it surely is a sign of the apocolypse. (August 6)

"RERUN" good all over again
     It wasn't "American Idol," nor even "Dog Eat Dog." Hell, it's not even "Big Brother," but "The RERUN Show" drew solid ratings in its Thursday premiere, tying NBC's top ratings of the night. The show drew 9.0mil viewers at 9:30pm, actually jumping from "Will & Grace" (8.7mil), the first time a show has ever built on "W&G," at least on Thursday nights. In fact, all of NBC's line-up seemed to get a boost from reruns, "Friends" drew 9.0mil at 8pm, and "Scrubs" hit a summer high of 8.0mil at 8:30pm. Only "ER" was fallable, falling to 6.6mil at 10pm, dead last in the slot.
     For the rest, it's the typical hour by hour. CBS won at 8pm with "Big Brother" (9.5mil) voting out what'shername, with NBC coming in second. Fox was third with "Beyond Belief" (5.8mil) taking in strong numbers for Fox's Thursday night line-up, while ABC was fourth with the movie "Escape From LA" taking 5.7mil from 8 to 10pm. "WWF Smackdown" was fifth, drawing 5.5mil for the night. Over on the WB, "Reba" (2.6mil) outdrew "Jamie Kennedy" (2.2mil).
     At 9pm, it was "CSI" (15.5mil) as usual, with NBC a typical second. ABC was third, the UPN fourth, while Fox's "The Pulse" (5.2mil) had it's strongest outing to date. The WB was sixth with "Jamie Kennedy" (2.1mil) and the faded-even-though-it-was-never-bright "Off Centre" (1.5mil). At 10pm, "PrimeTime Thursday" (9.5mil) kept the lid on "The Agency" (8.5mil) and the fading "ER." (August 1)

Ellen back on TV
   In addition to her supposed new talk show debuting in 2003, Ms. Ellen DeGeneres, or as I know her, the queen of comedy, will be back on tv next year as the new centre square on "Hollywood Squares." But she'll only be there for half a season as Alec Baldwin takes over later on.
    If anybody can make this show seem fresh and funny again, it will be Ellen. This is her quote on joining the show: "I grew up watching 'Hollywood Squares.' I also grew up watching 'Gunsmoke.' Unfortunately, that's not on the air anymore. I'm afraid of horses anyway, and this seems like it will be a lot more fun." (August 1)

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