"West Wing" soars south
     Granted, 18.0mil viewers is a huge number, and something to be very proud of. Nevertheless, it has to be unsettling to NBC that "The West Wing," only 3 days after winning its third consecutive emmy for best drama, drew only 18.0mil for its typical two hour premiere. That was down 25% from it's regular premiere last year (not counting the special 9/11 episode, in which case it would have been off 29%). Does this spell the end of the peak for the NBC drama? Maybe it just says that the show is down to its core fan base- the curious have made up their minds about the show and are not coming back to give it another chance. Either way, NBC won the 9-11pm hour by a huge margin thanks to Bartlett & Co. "Ed" debuted to a weak-ish 10.3mil at 8pm.
      Other than that, there were no clear winners on the night. ABC won at 8pm with the big premiere of "My Wife & Kids" (13.4mil; 15.6mil), which set a series record at 8:30pm in viewers and adults (6.4/18 rating). CBS was second by a hair with "60 Minutes II" (10.4mil). Fox didn't have a bad night with "Bernie Mack" (7.9mil) and "Cedric" (9.1mil). While, yes, "MWK" is smashing the Fox duet, they seem like a very comfortable pair, especially with "Cedric" growing from "Bernie" for the second week in a row. "Enterprise" (5.3mil) was up slightly over its premiere, while the movie "Blade" on the WB drew a last place 3.4mil for the night.
     At 8pm, NBC won and CBS was second with the tear-filled (for the contestants, not for me) finale of "Big Brother 3." It drew 12.9mil for the hour, exactely what the finale drew last season. A disappointing third was the premiere of "The Bachelor II" (9.6mil), premiering to near what it premiered to on Monday last spring, not bad for en equally competitive hour. "Fastlane" (8.7mil), meanwhile, is looking like Fox's new show for Wednesdays, losing only 13% from its premiere and still building on its lead-in. Considering that everything had premiere here that will (besides "Bird of Prey" and "The Amazing Race"), Fox could have a long term solution to its Wednesday problem. The UPN was fifth with the second episode of "The Twilight Zone" (3.9mil).
At 10pm, NBC won, while "Presidio Med" (9.1mil) outdrew the premiere of the first candidate for first cancellation, "MDs" (7.9mil). (September 26)

"Buffy": The beginning of the end
     There have been rumours that this would be "Buffy"s last season, but it was season premiere numbers that will likely seal that fate. "Buffy" opened her 7th season to just 4.4mil viewers, her worst opening ever, save its series premiere episode. It fell 30% behind the premiere of "Gilmore Girls" (6.2mil). After weak numbers for "Firefly" on Friday, is the age of John Whedon over? The premiere of "Angel" on Sunday will likely decide. The winner in the hour was "JAG" (15.9mil) with good, but not great numbers, while "8 Simple Rules" (13.3mil) and "Life With Bonnie" (11.1mil) fell significantly from their premieres. NBC was third with two episodes of the mediocre sitcom "The In Laws" (8.4mil; 10.4mil), which saw good ratings growth, but it was probably just viewers tuning in early for "Frasier." Fox was a non factor in the nhour with the sinking "That 70s Show" (9.3mil) and "Grounded" (7.6mil).
    Speaking of "Frasier," that show opened its season with a huge 20.6mil, as viewers watched Niles & Daphne tie to knot. It was one of "Frasiers" best performances dating back two seasons to the 2000 season opener when the show drew over 28mil, proving that older is sometimes better. "Hidden Hills" followed that with a respectable 15.7mil. "The Guardian" was second with 14.4mil, while the 10th Anniversary "NYPD Blue" special captivated only 8.2mil viewers. The WB was fourth as 7.1mil viewers tuned in for "Smallville," while Fox got lost with the special "Celebrity Daredevils" (6.2mil). DOA was the UPN's new 'Haunted," which scared up only 3.3mil viewers. Finally at 10pm, "Blue" won the hour with a pathetic 13.0mil, just over the preview of "Presidio Med" (12.9mil). "Dateline" (10.4mil) was third. (September 25)

"Miami" opens huge
    CBS knew it was going to open huge, and it wasn't disappointed. "CSI Miami" became (what will likely be) the biggest hit of the new season with 23.0mil viewers at 10pm, winning the slot in all key demos and by far in total viewers. But it lost 5% of its lead-in, somewhat surprizing. "Raymond," winner of three emmys on Sunday, drew 23.0mil at 9pm and 24.3mil of 9:30pm, tying its series record set last November. Earlier in the evening, "King of Queens" (15.0mil) and "Yes, Dear" (15.6mil) opened their seasons with solid, if not spectacular numbers.
     As for the rest, they towed the line, at best. At 8pm, after CBS, NBC was second with "Fear Factor" (11.4mil from 8-9:30pm) drew its worst numbers for an original episode n recent memory. "7th Heaven" (8.0mil) was third, while Fox's special "American Idol Live In Las Vegas" (7.7mil) was fourth. "Drew Carey" (6.2mil) and "Whose Line?" (6.5mil) sid closer to oblivion in fifth, while "The Parkers" (3.7mil) and "One On One" (4.1mil) opened their seasons to disappointing numbers.
     CBS blew away 9pm, leaving ABC in second with Football (17.7mil from 9-midnight). NBC's mix of "Fear Factor" and "Crossing Jordan" was third, leaving Fox in fourth. The WB's "Everwood" (6.2mil) had a very strong second outing, while "Girlfriends" (4.0mil) and "Half & Half" (4.0mil) were a disappointment on the UPN.
     At 10pm, "CSI Miami" was very hot, but "Jordan" was no slouch, drawing a surprizingly high 11.6mil from 9:30pm to 11pm.
ABC was second.
     Compared to last season, it was a huge night, much thanks to CBS. That net was up 43% over last season. Fox was up 13% and the WB 9%. The UPN was flat, ABC lost 9%, while NBC was down 15%. In all, the nets drew 65.1mil viewers on opening night, up 7% from last year's 60.9mil. (September 24)

"John Doe" finds himself for Fox
    Fox had a mixed bag for two highly anticipated premieres on Friday night. but unlike mnay predictions, it wasn't "John Doe" that fell flat on its face, rather Josh Whedon's "Firefly." As for "Doe," months of promos really worked as the show drew 9.3mil viewers for its premiere, Fox's biggest Friday series premiere since "the X-Files." The show was an overwealming winner in adults, scoring a 4.0/15. Next down the line was ABC's "Funniest Videos" (7.6mil from 8-10pm), then  "60 Minutes" (7.4mil) and finally "Dateline" (6.4mil). Will "Doe" rescue Fox on Friday? Next week will be a big indication, but the competition in this slot is slight- two new dramas and "Dateline."
    The aforementioned "Firefly" fell flat at 8pm, drawing only 6.2mil, but still making it a solid premiere for Fox on Friday, though certainly disappointing. It lost out to ABC, CBS's "48 Hours" (7.6mil), and didn't do flips over "Providence" (5.8mil). This could eb the first Whedon series not to see a second season...or even episode...
     Later at 10pm, "SVU" (10.5mil) was the big winner over "20/20" (8.0mil) and CBS's repeat "Carol Burnett" special" (6.4mil).
(September 21)

Welcome back, "Survivor"
     CBS's old tagline of "Welcome Home" could eb turned into "Welcome back," at least where "Survivor" is concerned. The fifth eidition of the reality series scored 22.1mil viewers at 8pm last night, down from the 22.8mil who tuned intot he bow of the fourth edition, a drop of only 3%. This gave CBS a huge win in the hour, but the other nets did have some bite. The "Friends" finale repeated to a strong 13.2mil viewers, its best performance of the off season. Third in the hour was a repeat of the premiere of "Push, Neavada" (6.1mil), which didn't do too badly considering it was a repeat and there was some competition. Fourth went to "Smackdown!" (5.8mil from 8-10pm), while Fox got stuck in fifith with the movie 'Rats" (4.4mil from 8-10pm). The WB suffered a huge disappointment in "Family Affair," which slid 29% from its premiere to 3.2mil. The premiere of "Do Over" followed that with a weak 3.0mil.
    An hour later, CBS retained control with "Big Brother 3" (13.5mil) putting up its best numbers of the summer. While the drop off from "Survivor" was steep, it was a smaller drop than what "The Amazing Race" lost from "Survivor" last March. "Will & Grace" (12.5mil) was a very strong second, while "Push" drew in an acceptable 8.6mil. The UPN was fourth, Fox fifth, while the season premieres of "JKX" (2.8mil) and especially "Off Centre" (1.9mil) came in with a thud.
   At 10pm, "CSI" (15.5mil) retained control for CBS, over a surging "ER" (12.0mil) (how sad that a "surging" ER still only draws 12.0mil). "PrimeTime Thursday" was out of it with just 8.0mil. (September 20)

Fox turns in a big Wednesday
     It's starting to look like the networks show premiere their series a week early. After the WB's monday slam dunk and ABC's dazzling Tuesday, Fox premiered a Wednesday worthy of bragging rights. "Bernie Mack" drew 10.2mil at 8pm, followed by the premiere of "Cedric The Entertainer" at 8:30pm to 10.0mil. "Fastlane" followed that by holding all of the audience, even increasing in adults.
     But  it's not as if Fox took anything away from anybody else on the night. ABC's marathon of "My Wife & Kids" (8.6mil; 9.4mil; 10.7mil; 12.0mil) proved that ABC can come back on Wednesday. A Christopher Reeves special at 10pm drew 9.8mil viewers. Over on NBC, despite a slow start for "Ed" (5.5mil), "The West Wing" (9.5mil) and "Law & Order" (14.9mil) turned in their best performances of the summer. The WB had a solid night with the movie "Blue Streak" (3.8mil).
     And that's where it stopped. Even though CBS started out big with "Big Brother" (9.6mil), the 2002 Latin Grammy Awards dropped to a pathetic 4.2mil, decreasing in every half hour, falling to 3.5mil at 10:30pm. On the UPN, while the premiere of "The Twilight Zone" was solid (4.4mil), the season premiere fo "Enterprise" turned in a puzzling 5.0mil, the worst premiere ever for a "Trek" series. (September 19)

"8 Rules" a big hit, so is "Bonnie"
     Well, first week results may be a bit too early to name something a hit, btu ABC's new Tuesday night line-up sure did look like on on Tuesday night. The network won everytime slot (save 10pm), giving it its best Tuesday average in more than a season.
"8 Simple Rules..." started out the night with a bang, drawing 16.9mil viewers, far and away above second place "JAG" (9.1mil) and NBC's repeat "Cosby Show Retrospective" (10.0mil from 8-10pm). Fox was fourth with the weak premieres of "That 70s Show" (9.0mil) and "Grounded For Life" (8.4mil). "Life With Bonnie" may just do the trick for veteran actress Bonnie Hunt. The show drew 15.8mil viewers at 8:30pm, holding onto 94% of its lead-in, and 98% in adults (6.0/18 vs 5.9/16). "Gilmore Girls" (3.2mil) was fifth, while "Buffy" (2.7mil) was sixth, once again.
     ABC's luck continued at 9pm with the premiere of "Push, Nevada." The show debuted to a solid 12.4mil viewers, first in the slot over second place NBC. "The Guardian" (9.0mil) was third, while Fox's special "America's Funniest Movie Outtakes" (7.6mil) was fourth. "Smallville" (4.2mil) saw a jump in fifth, just ahead of its premiere next week. "Enterprise" (2.3mil) was sixth.
     At 10pm, "Judging Amy" (9.6mil) was first, while a special "Regis & Kelly In Primetime" (8.7mil) was second. NBC's combo of "Frasier" (9.6mil) and "Just Shoot Me" (7.3mil) got off to a strong start at 10pm, but faded quickly. (September 18)

"Crime" goes further on NBC
     NBC has decided to give another order to the "Law & Order" documentary series "Crime & Punishment," which drew very solid numbers over the summer, always winning its timeslot. This is rather a nobrainer, such as giving another order to "Big Brother" or "Dog Eat Dog."
     While the show drew good ratings, it was rather low key, letting "American Idol" and "Dog Eat Dog" battle it out for summer buzz supremacy. And we all know who won that one. (September 17)

"Everwood" the perfect fit
     While the WB has had lots of hits air at 9pm on Mondays, they have all ben timeslot hits, usually not holding onto anymore than 65% of "7th Heaven"s audience. "Everwood" busted that streak on Monday night, holding onto a record high 78% of its lead-in. The show drew 7.0mil viewers at 9pm, fourth in the slot, ahead of the UPN's double shot of "Girlfriends" (3.5mil; 3.3mil) and NBC's weak "Third Watch" (5.6mil). ABC won from 9-11pm with football (18.1mil), while "Raymond" (13.4mil) and "Becker" (11.0mil) were second. Fox was third with "Pyramids Live" (8.7mil from 8-10pm).
      An hour earlier, CBS won with "King of Queens" (9.4mil) and "Yes, Dear" (10.0mil), while "7th Heaven" was a very strong second at 9.0mil, actually coming in first in the hour in the overnights, fourth on the evening. ABC was third with "Drew" (8.6mil) and "Line" (8.2mil), while "Fear Factor" (7.5mil) was fifth behind Fox. The UPN was last with "The Parkers" (2.9mil) and "One On One" (3.3mil). At 10pm, football won, with "CSI" (14.1mil) second and "Crossing Jordan" (5.5mil) a very distant third.
      Something worth nothing, the WB's premiere were up 18% compared to the premieres last season. Other ratings are not comparable due to the mix-match of programming aired at the time. (September 17)

Dr. Phil a hit, Caroline not
      Week two of the syndication premieres is bringing some mixed messages. While most shows are doing poorly, there are two standouts.
       But first to the poor. The weakest looking has to be "The Caroline Rhea Show," which is drawing in the 1.3/3 range for its mostly late night slots. While this may not be too bad for 2am in the morning, it's still a 25% drop from last season. "Beyond With James Van Praagh" started out the week with just a 0.8/3, down a third from it's lead-in. "Rob Nelson" started out with a lowly 1.2/4, down from a 1.7/5.
       Then there are the middle shows. The hyped "Wayne Brady" started its run to more than a 3.0/8 rating, but has since slipped back in the low 2's, definitely something to build from. the new gammer "Pyramid" started out with a 2.1/5, down only marginally.
       What's left? The out of the gate hits. The less of the two is, surprizingly, "Millionaire," which debuted to a 3.1/7, proving that with a littel tweaking, the franchise still has some life left in it. And since viewers already know what it's all about, don't expect a huge drop-off in the ratings. But the new king of daytime is the Oprah endorsed "Dr. Phil." He hit the airwaves on Monday to a gigantic 5.2/14, up 63% from last year and double its lead-in. Considering that in most markets it's lead-out is Oprah, that's a one two punch most stations would kill for. (September 17)

"Sopranos" smashes records
       Viewers waited for more than a year, and even more than watched the finale responded on Sunday" 13.4mil viewers watched the Sopranos on HBO, a record for the next (in the slot), making it the highest rated show on tv in the slot. In homes that carry HBO, the show recieved a phenominal 23.3/31 rating, and in it;s setting, the NYC area, the show did a 43.2 rating, leaving the competition in taters. Will the show keep growing like this? There's only 12 episodes left, so it better grow fast. (September 17)

Shownotes: More "Monk," BB 4
     The networks announced some nobrainers in the last few days, probably so much so that they aren't even worth reporting. But being the kink of redundance, here it goes.
     CBS is looking for contestants for a fourth edition fo "Big Brother," likely to premiere next summer. While never a ratings smash a la "Survivor," the show does do very solid demo numbers and is extremely cheap to produce.
     Over on ABC, "Monk" will see more episodes hit the airwaves, and not just in the summer. ABC has announced that it's shelving the premiere of "Dinotopia" until November 28th. It will air "Monk" in the slot until then. There is even talk of ABC buying the rights to the second season of the series.
     FX, meanwhile, has cancelled "Son of The Beach." This comes as a number of other cable outlets have dumped high profiles shows like "Farscape." (September 16)

"Family Affair" is the WB's newest hit
     I don't get the WB, but I'm sure they're already airing the promos. "Family Affair" is officially the network's newest hit. The one hour premiere drew 5.3mil viewers on Thursday, fourth in its timeslot. Fifth was "Smackdown!" (6.1mil overall), while Fox slipped to sixth on the night with the movie "Lost & Found," which came up with only 3.6mil. "Big Brother 3" was first at 8pm and 9pm, averaging 10.6mil viewers overall. "Friends" (11.2mil) and "Scrubs" (9.3mil) were second at 8pm, followed by ABC's movie "Liar, Liar" (9.0mil overall).
       At 9pm, after CBS and ABC, "Will & Grace" (9.8mil, 9.2mil) was third, followed by the rest. At 10pm, "CSI" (13.7mil) was first, followed by a strong "PrimeTime Thursday" (10.4mil) and a very weak "ER" (6.7mil).
       Comparisons to last season are not accurate due to the continuing 9/11 coverage. So far in adults, ABC is leading with a 4.4/14 rating. CBS is second at 4.0/13, NBC third with 3.2/10, while Fox is dead last at just a 2.3/7. (September 13)

Correction- "Drew" dies on Monday
       3I guess the fast national ratings were misleading. "Drew Carey" in fact died on Monday night, drawing only 7.6mil viewers. "Whose Line?" followed that with just 7.3mil, though ti did outdraw "Drew" is adults, 3.4 to 3.1, (September 13)

Monday is salvation for "Drew," "Line"
     What seemed like an ill-fated move, "Drew Carey" and "Whose Line?" actually did well in their first Monday outing, no doubt helped by the highest rated football telecast since last season's premiere. "Drew" opened the night with 11.3mil viewers and "Whose Line" increased to 11.7mil, both of their highest ratings in over a season. They won the 8pm hour, though repeats of "King of Queens" (9.3mil) and "Yes, Dear" (10.0mil) were not too far behind. A distant third in the hour was "Fear Factor" (7.3mil), while Fox's repeat special "Magicians Secrets Revealed" (6.0mil). "7th Heaven" (3.9mil) was strong for the WB, while "The Parkers" (3.0mil) and "One On One" (3.3mil) did well in sixth.
     At 9pm, it was all ABC. Football drew 20.8mil from 9pm onward, but nobody got hurt in the fire. "Raymond" (14.1mil) and "Becker" (12.5mil) were second, leaving Fox's repeat special "Escapre From The Ice" (6.5mil) was a very distant third. "Third Watch" (5.6mil) was even worse in fourth, leaving "7th Heaven" (3.7mil) and "Girlfriends" (3.0mil avg) to the rest.
     At 10pm, somethnig that has got to have NBC worried, a precursor to the regular season happened. Football won, a repeat "CSI" (14.9mil) drew its best Monday numbers yet, while "Crossing Jordan" (5.3mil) was drew only a third of what "CSI" did.
Yikes.
     Amazingly, the nets were only off 3% from last season. The UPN had the biggest decline, down 38%, but its Monday comedies premiered this night last year. NBC was down 32% on general weakness, while ABC was off 10%. On the upside, Fox jumped 24%, the WB 27% and CBS 29%. The nets averaged 49.6mil viewers on Monday. (September 10)

Double "CSI" give CBS Thursday
      CBS aired a double shot of "CSI" on Thursday night- helping it to win the night with 14.1mil at 9pm and 14.7mil at 10pm, winning both slots by a huge margin. But is CBS overdoing it? "CSI" will have aired four times by the end of the week, once on Monday and Sunday, twice on Thursday. And considering that the promos for "CSI Miami" are more annoying that interesting, could CBS kill the golden goose? Viewers continue to watch, so for now, the answer is no. "Big Brother" won at 8pm with an average 9.6mil viewers.
      As for the rest of the night, it was pretty average. "Friends" (10.5mil) and "Scrubs" (8.4mil) averaged a second place finish at 8pm, with ABC's movie "The Edge" (7.8mil overall) coming in third. "Beyond Belief" (5.1mil) was a weak fourth, while "Smackdown!" (5.1mil overall) continued to erode in fifth. "Reba" (3.1mil) and "Jamie Kennedy" (2.5mil) were sixth.
      At 9pm, ABC's movie was second, followed closely by "Will & Grace" (8.7mil; 8.5mil). The UPN was fourth, while "The Pulse" sealed its fate on Fox with a worst yet 4.0mil viewers. Over on the WB, "JKX" (2.3mil) and "Off Centre" (1.5mil) were a very distant sixth. At 10pm, "ER" was second with 7.9mil viewers, while the ABC special "In Search Of America" (6.5mil) continued to be futile.
       Not surprizingly, Fox was an overwealming lead on the week. It's averaging 11.9mil viewers, with CBS in second at 9.7mil. NBC is in third with 7.7mil, while ABC is fourth with 6.8mil. the UPN is a usual fifth (3.3mil), while the WB is not far behind (2.6mil). Compared to last season, on the week, ABC has lsot 32%, NBC 22%, the WB 19% and the UPN 8%. The only bright lights were CBS (+4%) and Fox, which almost doubled its performance with a 95% jump. Despite that, the losses were big. That left the nets even at 42.0mil viewers on the week. 
       Fox's lead in adults is even greater. Its drawing a 5.8 rating on average, way over second place CBS (3.5). NBC is at a comfortable 3.0, while ABC is at a weaker than usual 2.2 rating. (September 

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