Personality deflates
     Fox's "Mister Personality" proved on Monday that, yes, the first episode was a fluke and no, it won't be the next "Joe Millionaire." The show dropped to 7.6mil viewers at 9pm, equaling it's series low "Boston Public" lead-in, off a shocking 38% from its premiere. What is this, "Married With America" ? Maybe Fox should try to find a solid drama in the hour instead of the latest flavour of the week. But I suppose, that's what "Ally McBeal" was.
     At any rate, CBS won Monday with okay performances from all of its usual series (12.2mil, 12.7mil, 17.8mil, 14.7mil, 17.1mil), though the eroision of "Raymond" has got to have CBS at least a little worried. The series all has done well when the overnights are translated into the nationals, but this is increasingly not the case as the show scoroed a solid 13.3 rating in ratings, but only 17.8mil viewers. Outside of "Miami," erosion, by winning, is the key word for CBS's Monday line-up.
     NBC was a solid second on the night with "Factor" (13.3mil), the deserving-renewal "Third Watch" (12.9mil) and "Crossing Jordan" (10.3mil), which is holding up well in the slot. ABC was third, but the shocker came as "Charlie's Angels" landed with a thud- only 8.1mil viewers. Earlier, the most boring bloopers special I ever saw, "ABC's 50th Anniversary..." came up with 9.6mil. Come on, ABC, couldn't you have come up with anything better than Robin Williams flubbing a line?
     Over on the WB, "7th Heaven" (7.2mil) and "Everwood" (5.4mil) were as solid as ever, while the UPN's line-up drew about 3.4mil viewers on the night. (April 29)

Series finale heaven & hell
     It was the tale of two long-running series finales over the weekend, and truly the tale of good versus evil as both "Sabrina" and "Touched By An Angel" bowed out, and the results would make even crusty fundamentalists smile. "Sabrina," who is a witch a thus should be burned at the stake, bowed out on Thursday to a piddly 2.6mil viewers, one of its worst results of the season for a first run episode. "Touched," about a trio of angels, meanwhile, took two nights to leave the schedule and won both Saturday at 8pm with 8.4mil viewers and again Sunday at 8pm with 13.3mil viewers.
     The sad truth is this, however: with these series gone, the overall sophistication level of tv went up a notch. God bless and good bye. (April 28)

NBC wins night 1
     Though CBS won the middle of the night, NBC has no problem taking night one of May sweeps, though ratings left something to be desired. "Friends" started off the night with 20.3mil and 20.1mil for two episodes, while "Will & Grace" averaged a okay, but average, 18.0mil for a "special" (and very heavily hyped) guest-starring turn by Madonna (the one Thursday ALL YEAR I had to work.....). "ER" closed off the night with 20.7mil viewers, avoiding a series low, but only because one even lower was set three weeks ago. 
     The aforementioned CBS did take the middle of the night, with "CSI" drawing 25.7mil viewers. Though the series started the season on a torrid pace, it has seemed to cool recently, much like "Survivor" at 8pm, with drew a solid, but not spectacular 19.0mil, winning the 8:30pm half-hour. At 10pm, "Without A Trace" was second with 14.4mil, probably hurt by ABC.
     Huh? Yes, you read right. "PrimeTime Thursday" and the Dixie Chicks drew 13.0mil viewers at 10pm, the newsmag's second highest rating of the season. But still, a "PrimeTime" special could do no better than 7.6mil at 9pm, while "All American Girl" landed with a thud at 8pm, drawing only 3.9mil. Why doesn't ABC bring back "The Monk" for that slot?
     Fox had an above average night with "Michael Jackson's Home Videos," though at 7.6mil viewers, ratings for his special are diving faster than his record sales. The UPN was fifth on the night with a weak "Smackdown!" (4.7mil), while the series finale of "Sabrina" only interested 3.6mil viewers; "JKX" ended the night for the WB with 2.2mil viewers on average.

"Makeover" re-makes ABC's Wednesday
     ABC, which has been struggling this spring, seemed to take a step in the right direction on Wednesday with "Extreme Makeover." The series grabbed 12.6mil viewers at 10pm on Wednesday, building off "The Bachelor" (12.3mil), but still losing to "Law & Order" (18.1mil). With any luck (but ABC seemingly has none), the series will stay a solid levels over the next few weeks. 
     NBC had soem good news on Wednesday as Matthew Perry led "The West Wing" to 13.7mil viewers and a win at 9pm, despite strong competition from a series high "Bernie Mack" (13.8mil) and the solid "Wanda At Large" (10.7mil). ABC was also strong in the hour and CBS was fourth with solid numbers from "60 Minutes II" (10.0mil). An hour earlier, Fox won with "That 70s Show" (11.5mil) and "American Idol" (19.6mil), with "Star Search" (10.5mil), NBC's special "Psychic Secrets" (9.5mil) and ABC's comedy duo (8.3mil average for repeats) falling behind. 
     Over on the WB, "Angel" (3.7mil) continued its strong spring run, while "Dawsons Creek" (3.0mil) is definitely ready to go. "Enterprise" (4.0mil) was 5th at 8pm, but "The Twilight Zone" (2.4mil) continued to die off at 9pm. (April 24)

"Just Shoot Me" shot
     As was widely expected, NBC has officially cancelled "Just Shoot Me" after 7 seasons. The show returned to the schedule on Tuesday night but drew only 5.3mil for two episodes, a series low. The peacock had originally planned to air the series of the series's remaining episodes from 8-9pm during sweeps, but the ratings didn't warrant any extra airings, obviously. Now if we can just get "Watching Ellie" off the air, NBC will be that much strong (quality-wise) in the comedy department. (April 24)

"Grounded" renewed
     After two mediocre seasons on Fox, "Grounded For Life" has finally hit a groove on the WB. The net has ordered 22 episodes of the sitcom for next season, to accompany the 8 that Fox never aired. This means that, no, "What I Like About You" will probably not be back next season. (April 24)

Fox comedies still strong
     If there's been one particular turn-around worthy of talking about, its been Fox on Wednesday. Thanks to "American Idol" (18.8mil), the night has went from crap to gold. "That 70s Show" (10.5mil) continues to win at 8pm, while "The Bernie Mack Show" (12.8mil) at 9pm continues to flirt with series highs. But the real story is "Wanda At Large," which premiere to 14.3mil viewers 4 weeks ago post "Idol" but had since only slipped to 11.3mil, easily making its Fox's newest hit sitcom and a sure-fire renewal for next season. Who saw that one coming?
     Elsewhere on Wednesday, a two hour "Bachelor" drew 12.4mil viewers, winning overall from 9-11pm,. but still well off the levels of "The Bachelorette." Given the current state of affairs on ABC, however, anything is welcome, even an underperforming series that has done so much more. "MWK" and "Lopez" opened up the night averaging an okay 8.9mil for repeats. CBS got lost on the night, peaking with "60 Minutes II" (9.6mil), while "Star Search" (9.3mil) continues to draw low numbers for its 3rd edition. NBC topped out with a repeat of "Law & Order" (13.1mil), while there was nothing noteworthy on either the UPN or the WB, except that "Angel" (3.8mil) outdrew a weakening "Enterprise" (3.6mil) for the second week in a row. (April 17)

"Buffy" skids to 6 year low
    Don't say it didn't go down because it shouldn't have- "Buffy," which will end next month, skidded to just 3.3mil viewers on Tuesday night, its worst numbers for an original episode since its very first season. That was followed up with "Platinum," which sunk from a solid 3.6mil on Monday to just 2.3mil on Tuesday, likely meaning that it won't come back.
     In other Tuesday news, "Watching Ellie" came back to 9.8mil viewers, not bad for the timeslot, but it did represent about a 15% loss from "Great Women of TV Comedy" (10.1mil overall from 8-9:30pm). Once viewers react to the series, however, expect them to flee. It used to feel adventurous, now it feels worse than anything else on the air. "Dateline" closed the night for NBC with 10mil viewers.
     In other news, it was rewind time for ABC as "8 Rules" (6.6mil) and "Jim" (6.3mil) slid to "Dharma" & "Spin" like numbers in the early hour, though they were repeats to be fair. At 9:30pm, "Lost At Home" continues to be a mediocre performer, coming up with 7.0mil viewers, down a million from "Jim." "Blue" closed the night with a weak 10.8mil. There was nothing to note on CBS, but the WB did score season lows (4.5mil, 5.8mil) for new episodes of its regulars, which is probably because they've been in repeats since February. For the love of God, WB, you may be doing okay, but you've got to learn from the big nets and sprinkle in some new episodes every now and then.
     Oh, Fox won the night, yadda, yadda, yadda (20.0mil, 11.8mil). (April 17)

"Will & Grace" 'till 2005
    NBC has locked up its youngest hit sitcom (at 6 years, that's laughable) for the next two seasons, taking it into its 8th year. With "Friends" leaving and "Frasier" following, NBC is going to need a MIRACLE to avoid collpase in the comedy department. (April 17)
7
CBS wins Thursday
    With few new episodes to be seen, CBS won Thursday, though it didn't really get a boost from repeat competition. "Survivor" (20.1mil), "CSI" (26.1mil) and "Without A Trace" (18.2mil) each on their slots, beating out NBC, which turned in a strong performance for its regular repeats (15.1mil, 12.6mil. 12.3mil, 11.0mil and 12.5mil), though "Good Morning Miami" was a new episode. ABC was a very weak third with two hours on "Whose Line" (4.6mil avg) and "PrimeTime" (6.8mil). The UPN was third with 5.4mil tuning in for "Smackdown!", while Fox dropped to fifth with weak numbers from "That 70s Show" (4.4mil) and the sure-to-be-cancelled "The Pulse" (3.6mil). Over on the WB, it was a weak night as the net came up with only 2.2mil for an all repeat line-up. (April 11)

Cher turns back time on Tuesday
    What is it, 1978? Whatever the year, "Cher" stopped the show on Tuesday with her "farewell" concert (when haven't we heard that one before?). The two hour ordeal drew about 16.8mil viewers and smashed weak competition from 9-11pm, including the return of the once potent "NYPD Blue" (11.0mil)
     But besides Cher and "American Idol" (19.7mil), there wasn't much to report on Tuesday. "24" (11.8mil) was second at 9pm, while "Jim" settled into his new Tuesday slot with 9.0mil, followed by a not-too-bad 8.1mil for "Lost At Home." Earlier in the evening, an original episode of "8 Simple Rules" slid to a season low 9.0mil. Over on NBC, "Will & Grace" opened up the evening with a weak 6.6mil viewers, followed by Cher, which won from 9-11pm, the first time NBC has won those slots (save 9pm) all season. CBS had a very weak night of repeats with "JAG" topping out at only 10.5mil viewers. There was nothing worth reporting on either the WB or the UPN. (April 9)

"Malcolm" renewed
    In what comes as the shocker of the day, Fox has renewed "Malcolm In the Middle" for another season. Though the show is down about 20% from where it was last season, it's ratings in the 9pm timeslot are up dramatically over "The X-Files" last season. So that makes "King of The Hill," "The Simpsons" and "Malcolm" all renewed for Sundays on Fox. But don't hold your breath for "Futurama," which last week scored only 4.4mil viewers. (April 9)

"ER" drops below 20mil for first time
    NBC has got to be worried- a new episode of "ER" dropped below 20mil for the very first time. The episode registered 19.3mil viewers, down a stunning 32% from the same night last year. The culprit? Nothing apparent. "Without A Trace" was second in the hour with 13.8mil viewers, up 41% over last season's "The Agency," while "PrimeTime Thursday" hit a big 11.6mil viewers, up 32% over last season. The nets averaged 44.7mil viewers in the hour this week, down frim last seasons 47.1, and yes, "ER" is to blame. 
     In fact, NBC didn't seem to have any luck at all on Thursday night. "Friends" just managed 20mil, down 11% from a repeat last season,, while "Scrubs" clocked in at 15.3mil. "Will & Grace" slid a bit further to 14.8mil, while "Miami" bottomed out at 11.5mil. CBS, on the other hand, had a very good night. "Survivor" started off at 20.3mil, "CSI" blew away the competition at 9pm with 26.2mil, while "Trace" was second at 10pm.
     And as always, there was nothing left over. ABC started with "Whose Line?" (5.5mil) and "The Bachelor: Where Are They Now?" (6.0mil), but hit a high point at 10pm. The UPN was fourth on the night with 5.3mil, while Fox took an anermic fifth with "Married By America" (3.4mil) and "The Pulse" (3.8mil), which obviously has none. The WB peaked with "JKX," (3.5mil), whose renewal is looking increasingly likely, considering that it was up 25% over a repeat "Charmed" from last season. Last week's episode was just 15% shy of "Charmed"s original numbers. (April 4)

Fox wins Wednesday log jam
    With all the networks showing all they have into Wednesdays, success is becoming increasinly ellusive. Fox, however how hit on a winning strategy, led by "American Idol" (20.2mil) hitting its best Wednesday numbers in almost two months. Previous, "That 70s Show" (11.0mil) won at 8pm, while the new comedy "Wanda At Large" (13.9mil) continued to take advantage of its lead-in. NBC was second, though all hours were not equal. "Dateline" (9.3mil) was fourth at 8pm, "The West Wing" (12.7mil) second at 9pm, but NBC finally came up with a win at 10pm with "Law & Order" (15.5mil). Over on CBS and ABC, there were ups and downs. "Star Search" (9.7mil) was third at 8pm, with "My Wife & Kids" (9.0mil) and "The George Lopez Show" (8.7mil) fourth. CBS was fourth at 9pm with "60 Minutes II" (10.0mil), while "The Bachelor" (10.2mil) took third. At 10pm, CBS took it back with "CSI" (10.7mil), while "All American Girl" hit just 6.2mil viewers, a series low.
     On the mini-nets, "Enterprise" came back with a new episode and scored 4.5mil, overcoming "Dawsons Creek" (3.3mil) and 9pm, it was "Angel" taking the 5th place crown at 3.7mil, while "The Twilight Zone" (2.3mil) slid to a new first run low. (April 3)
 

                                            March 2003 News