"girls club" canned
     In what may be the biggest shocker of this young season, Fox has decided to cancel the mega-hit "girls club," leaving thousands of fans disgruntled. The show averaged 5.4mil viewers over two episodes, Fox's best result in the slot ever. The show will be replaced by specials and repeats of "Boston Public." Do I smell a home for "American Idol 2" ? (October 30)

"girls club" a forgone conclusion
      Fox may not have canned "girls club" yet, but you know its coming real soon. The show dropped off the chart to a tiny 4.9mil viewers in its second outing, down from an already pathetic 5.8mil in its premiere. It lost more than half of "Boston Public"s aud (10.2mil), and dropped to a 2.1 rating in adults, down from "Boston"s 4.4. But you know what they say- one network's loss is another's gain. That proved true as "Raymond" aired a repeat to 19.5mil viewers, it highest repeat total ever. In fact, thatr's only a decline of 9% from last week's new episode. In adults, the show went from a 7.5 to a 7.1. The news wasn't so great for "Still Standing" as that show slid to 15.5mil viewers (5.8/15 in adults). Second at 9pm was ABC's football (17.3mil overall), while NBC's two hour "Third Watch" drew 12.0mil viewers and a 4.7 average in adults, NBC's best total of the season for the 10pm hour. "Everwood" (5.8mil) was fourth in the slot, and it actually, I think for the very first time, increased from "7th Heaven" (5.6mil). Mind you, that show was a repeat, but this is obviously good news for the WB. "Girlfriends" (4.1mil) and "Half & Half" (3.7mil) were only a million viewers behind Fox in the hour.
       An hour earlier, it was CBS's. "King" (14.5mil) and "Dear" (15.3mil) won in viewers and were second in adults (5.0/14 avg). "Fear Factor" had it best outing of the season at 12.5mil viewers and a high 5.5/15 rating in adults. Fox was third, while the WB was fourth. ABC dropped to fifth thanks to "Drew" (5.7mil) and "Whose Line" (5.3mil), who made this their last appearance in this slot. The UPN was last, but did well with "The Parkers" (3.8mil) and the usually strong "One On One" (4.1mil). Finally at 10pm, it was "CSI Miami" at a typical 18.6mil. (October 29)

CBS picks up new dramas, "Standing"
     Not surprizingly, CBS has announced that it's picking up "Hack," "Still Standing," Without A Trace" and "CSI Mimai" for a full season. All have showed promise in their slots, with "Miami" being the biggest winner and "Standing" the most questionable.
        The network has not said anything about the futures of "Bram & Alice," "Robbery Homicide Division" nor "Presidio Med," the other new shows on its schedule. Don't hald your breath. (October 29)
NBC wants more "Ellie," "Miami"
      That other new show with "Miami" in its titile, "Good Morning Miami," has been granted a full season. The show is doing okay on Thursdays, not spectacularly, but no show ever does. 
       Meanwhile, the net announced that it will order 6 new episodes of the spring show "Watching Ellie." It will combine those new episodes with some already done. Watch out "In Laws" and "Just Shoot Me." Elaine, I mean Ellie, is coming back. (October 29)
"Scrubs" sees a boost on Thursday
      "Scrubs" saw a boost on Thursday night in viewership. Mind you, it was still down about 2mil from the previous week, but it cut its losses out of "Friends" from 30% to a fairly good 11%. The show drew 15.9mil for a new episode on Thursday, while "Friends" slipped to 17.8mil for a repeat. This is very good news for "Scrubs." In the last few years, even when the 8:30pm show aired a new episodes out of a repeat "Friends," it still fell flat on its face. Foe example, the first night after sweeps last year, a new "Inside Schwartz" still lost 30% from "Friends," mostly because the show didn't have a fan base of its own who would watch no matter what aired before it. But with "Scrubs," it appears that the show has a very solid fan base. Unless, of course the fast national ratings are off, and it does happen.
       But CBS won the hour, as is usually the case, with week 5 of "Survivor" coming up at a season low 20.8mil viewers. Taking third was Fox's Game 5 of the World Series (16.4mil viewers overall, most in California). Next down the line was ABC's special "PrimeTime Thursday" (9.0mil), while the UPN (5.5mil) was an unusually uncompetitive fifth. The WB saw a boost in tis line-up with "Family Affair" and "Do Over" both taking 2.6mil.
       An hour later, "CSI" still won on a repeat (24.5mil), while Fox was second. NBC was third with "Will & Grace" (14.4mil) and a new "Miami" (12.5mil). Hey, here's an idea CBS and NBC. Don't coordinate your repeats! Had "CSI" been new, it probably could have broken 33 or 34 mil with the lessened competition; had there been a new "Will," it might have won the slot. The UPN was fourth, while the final of "Push, Nevada" sparked no interest whatsoever, increasing slightly to 3.9mil. On the WB, "JKX" (2.7mil) and "Off Centre" were up from normal, but still not impressive.
      At 10pm, it was "Without A Trace" (16.7mil) breaking out of sorts, while a special "Criminal Intent" (13.0mil) did no better than a repeat of "ER" would have. "PrimeTime" (7.0mil) was last. (October 25)

"Jamie" gets to experiment more
      The WB had fairly quitely renewed "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" for the rest of the season. The show, which ranks very close to the bottom, debuted last January and is trying to hang in against the competition on Thursdays this year. While its not doing a very good job, compared to the other show on the WB, it's extremely cheap to produce.
      Meanwhile Fox was forced into announcing that it had renewed "That 70s Show" not only for this season, but for the next as well. The deal came to light after several of the actors signed contracts with the production company to stay on the show for at least two more seasons. But with the weak numbers coming from the show so far and a huge threat in "8 Simple Rules," it road could be bumpy. (October 25)

ABC on a roll into Wednesday
      After placing a strong second on Monday in the 18-49 demo and winning on Tuesday, ABC pulled it off again on Wednesday. the net averaged a 5.2/15 rating, despite the 10pm drama "MDs" sinking to a very low 3.2. Both "My Wife & Kids" (13.4mil) and "George Lopez" (12.4mil) did very well at 8pm, averaging a 5.3/15, beating out everybody. Fox was second with the World Series (an unimpressive 16.4mil viewers overall). CBS was next down the line with "60 Minutes II" (9.3mil), while NBC's special "Extreme Variety" (7.4mil) didn't exactely entice viewers. On the WB, "Creek" (4.5mil) continued to do okay, while a repeat "Enterprise (3.5mil) slipped to 6th.
      ABC carried the winning streak into 9pm where "The Bachelor" hit a season high in viewers (15.0mil) and drew a fantastic 7.0/17 rating in adults. Much thanks was due to "The West Wing" (12.4mil), which in repeats fell to third. CBS's 'The Amazing Race" hit a season low 8.3mil (why are people not watching this show?), while "Birds of Prey" (5.4mil) reversed its second week slump. "The Twilight Zone" (3.4mil) was last. In the endzone, NBC won with 16.5mil viewers, even though "Law" was a repeat. Fox was second, while "Presidio Med" (7.5mil) and "MDs" (6.8mil) proved that nothing plus nothign equals nothing. The sunk drama dropped 55% of "Bachelors" audience, losing the same amount in adults. And ABC is going to air another week of this? (October 24)

"Hills" picked up 
      In what is personally one of the most disappointing pieces of news of the week, NBC has given a full season order to "Hidden Hills." Though the show started off to 15.7mil viewers last month, it's spent the last three episodes struggling to hit the 10mil viewer mark. This warants a full season? (October 24)

"Jim" hits another record
      The little show that nobody but ABC wanted, and still could, "According To Jim," hit another series high on Tuesday night. The show drew a 6.0/15 rating in adults, up 2% from "8 Simple Rules" (5.9/15, 14.0mil), eclipsing its old record by 9%, set only two weeks ago. The show nearly hit a series high in viewers at 13.6mil. It was, gulp, the highest rated series of the night in adults. But ABC didn't win the hour. "JAG" (15.0mil) took it in viewers, though ABC was first in adults. The World Series on Fox was third (16.8mil overall), while NBC lagged greatly with the soon to be cancelled "Just Shoot Me" (7.2mil) and "The In Laws" (7.7mil). "Gilmore Girls" had another strong night with 6.2mil viewers, while "Buffy" was last at 4.8mil.
       An hour later, ABC didn't have so much luck. Though they were up over last week, "Life With Bonnie" (10.5mil) and "Less Than Perfect" (9.3mil) continued to underperform, and they were fourth in the slot in viewers. Fox won, followed by "The Guardian" (13.5mil) and a repeat "Frasier" (11.6mil) and "Hidden Hills" (9.5mil). "Bonnie" did draw a 4.5/11 in adults, close to "Frasier"s 4.8/12, though it was in a repeat. "Perfect" slipped to a 4.0/10, but not too far from "Hills" (4.5/11). The WB drew a high 8.6mil for "Smallville" (the show that's probably, next to "CSI," the hottest returning series), while "Haunted" (2.3mil) will probably get its walking papers soon.
       At 10pm, Fox won, though both "Amy" (14.4mil) and "Blue" (14.2mil) did well. "Dateline" (10.1mil) was last. (October 22)

"Providence" goes away
     In a rather inexplicable piece of news, NBC has cancelled the drama "Providence." the show will air a two hour season final in December.
     Most people won't be crying at its departure, but it's still a questionable decision. Yes, NBC does have a very strong 10pnm show on Friday ("SVU"), but "Providence" is still winning 8pm, and coming in a close second in adults. So what will NBC air in the slot? In the same breath as killing "Providence," it gave "American Dreams" and "Boomtown" a full season. Will "Dreams" be making a move? 
      In other tv news, "girls club" will likely reciebe its cancellation notice soon.... after only one episode. The show drew just 5.7mil viewers in its Monday debut and a very weak 2.5 rating in adults. It almost makes the cancellation of "American Esbassy" a foolish idea. (October 22)

ABC, Fox suffer Thursday blackout
     Though the networks will blame this on makeshift schedules (ABC's Thursday will disintigrate after next week, Fox slapped it together because of the absense of baseball), the results will drag down their weekly averages, putting them out of contention for anything. This is especially troubling for ABC because it's doing so well Monday's through Wednesdays, it could eb doign even better.
      So what exactely am I talking about? Well, ABC got off to a good start with "Monk" (7.9mil), while Fox sputtered with a special "Americas Most Wanted" (5.5mil), but that wasn't even the worst of it. At 9pm, "Push Nevada" and "Fastlane" drew 6.6mil viewers- added together. Each drew a putrid 3.3mil viewers, at or near record lows for both nets in the hour. To put it in perpective, if you add the two top rated nets in the hour, CBS with "CSI" (30.5mil) and NBC with "Will" (20.2mil) and "Miami" (15.3mil), they outdrew Fox and ABC by 713% in the hour. How's that for scary? 
      It wasn't so scary for the rest of the nets though on the night, well expect for the WB, but I'll get to that later. "Friends" (25.0mil) continued to slide for NBC, while "Scrubs" (17.6mil) still lost 29% of its audience, giving "Survivor" (22.1mil) the hour for the first time this season. At 9pm, it was all CBS, which outrated NBC by 73%. At 10pm, "ER" (24.5mil) gave up some more ground to "Without A Trace" (15.5mil), while "PrimeTime" (6.6mil) did nothing for ABC. The UPN drew an average of 5.8mil on the night for "Smackdown!"
     Then there was the WB, in a class all by itself. Thursday is the WB's black eye right now. It having a record season in so many ways, but it can't seem to do anything on Thursdays. To wit, without Thursday ngiht last week, the net would have boost it's weekly average from 5.2mil viewers to 5.7mil. And the net looks even more foolish this week, because just after giving "Family Affair" and "Do Over" full season order, they all hit new series lows. "Family" slipped to  2.3mil at 8pm, "Do Over" fell even further to just 2.1mil. "JKX" came a step closer to cancellation at only 2.3mil, while "Off Centre" earned its cancellation strips at a miserable 1.8mil.
      Compared to last season, there were huge loses, but also surprizing gainers. The biggest loser was Fox, down 56%, the WB was down 45%, while ABC lost a third. The smallest gainer was NBC, up 1%, but that doesn't tell the whole story. It was its middle block. from 8:30 to 10pm, that showed surprizing 14% growth. "Will" alone was up 22%. "Friends," meanwhile, lost 2%, while "ER" was down 9%. The UPN was up on Thursdays for the first time in a very long time, up 4%. CBS led the pack though, up 30%, growing in growth in every hour. "Survivor" gained 12%. "CSI 32% and "Without A Trace" 61%. But it was enough. The nets averaged 63.0mil viewers on the night, down 5%. (October 18)

"G.Lo" given a full season
     Just a little while after I wrote yesterdays story on "The George Lopez Show," ABC announced that it wold be given an entire season. Coincidence? I think not.... (October 18)

"George Lopez" : season 2 shocker
     The real shocker of ABC's new season isn't how it's returning series are performing surprizingly well, nor that it's already renewed all of its Tuesday series for a full season. The real shocked of the season is just how big "George Lopez" is becoming. The show aired only three episodes last season and barely averaged 9mil viewers. When ABC brought it back, it was considered a surprize, but ABC clearly had faith. And so should have the critics. The show drew a series high 12.7mil viewers on Wednesday night, holding onto a record 96% of its "My Wife & Kids" lead-in (13.3mil), and tying it in adults at a 5.2/14, making them the third highest rated series of the night in the demo. That was heads and shoulders above everybody else in the hour, with "Ed" and "60 Minutes II" tying at 10.4mil for second, while Fox's repeats of "Benie Mack" and "Cedric" (6.4mil average) did little. "Enterprise" (5.4mil) was a close fifth, while "Dawsons Creek" (4.2mil) slipped down the charts on the WB.
      An hour later, it was ABC again. "The Bachelor" (12.5mil) did slip off in viewers from last week, losing to "The West Wing" (16.1mil), but it comfortable won in adults, 5.9/15 to 5.1/13. CBS was a distant third with "The Amazing Race" (9.2mil) while "Fastlane" on Fox (4.8mil) did nothing. "Birds of Prey" (5.2mil) actually beat it for fourth, though the series was down an uncomfortable 33% from its premiere. "The Twilight Zone" entered a zone, but it wasn't a good one, drawing only 3.4mil viewers. At 10pm, "Law" (20.1mil) did away with the struggling "Presidio Med" (7.3mil) and "MDs" (6.2mil).

Everybody slips up on Tuesday
     Let's just say that it wasn't something to write home about. Nearly every Tuesday series was down over last week, with only CBS really drawing any slightly impressive numbers. The net won with "JAG" (15.1mil) "The Guardian" (13.4mil) and Judging Amy" (14.1mil) winning each other their timeslots, though they tied the WB for third on the night in adults. But those numbers really weren't anything great as all were off last season's marks by a signifcantly margin.
      Running second on the night was ABC, which saw all of its series slip from good jumps last week. "8 Simple Rules" drew a series low 13.0mil, while "According To Jim" (12.4mil) slipped back off its series high from last week. At 9pm, "Life With Bonnie" slipped below the 10.0mil mark at only 9.4mil, though it was second in adults to "Frasier." "Less Than Perfect" continued to tie its fortunes to "Bonnie," tying it in adults and drawing 9.2mil viewers. "Blue" was at an average 13.0mil at 10pm.
       Then there was NBC, which had nothing at all to brag about. "The In Laws" moved up a half hour and hit a series low 6.9mil, while "Just Shoot Me" didn't do too much better with only 8.0mil at 8:30pm. Combined, they were up a marginal 3% over last week, clearly not the increase NBC was looking for. "Frasier" (13.8mil) cintinued to slide at 9, while "Hidden Hills" (10.0mil) continues to cling to 9:30pm. "Dateline" (10.2mil) was a non fact at 10pm.
        And now for the little nets. Fox was nearly third at 8pm with "That 70s Show" (6.8mil, R), but slipped to fifth at 8:30 with "Cedric The Entertainer" (5.4mil). "John Doe" drew 5.5mil at 9pm. "Gilmore Girls" averaged 5th place at 8pm for the WB, but "Smallville" picked that up to fourth (8.1mil), only a little more than a million out of third. "Buffy" (4.6mil) huffed on for the UPN, while "Haunted" (2.9mil) actually showed some growth. )October 16)

WB picks up the rest
     One day after the WB picked up "Greetings" and "Do Over," it picked up the rest of its new series for a full season. "What I Like About You" and "Family Affair," both marginally rated series, will be on the net for a full season. The renewal for "Birds Of Prey" really depends on how the series does tonight. And unless the series drops by half, its pretty much a done deal. (October 16)

"Miami" back up
     "CSI Miami" finally halted its viewer erosion on Monday night, just four days after its parent show "CSI" set a viewer record. The show drew 18.7mil viewers at 10pm, and it appeared to come at the expense of ABC's football, which fell to a season low 14.2mil viewers. With football no longer your top rated program, nor even cracking 16mil viewers every week, is it really worth breaking your back for, ABC? "Crossing Jordan" drew a season high 11.1mil at 10pm, down a not so bad13% from last season.
      Backing up two hours earlier, it was all CBS. "King of Queens" (14.7mil) and "Yes, Dear" (14.8mil) continued to frustratingly not break out on the eye, while "Fear Factor" was a strong second on NBC with 11.9mil viewers. The WB was a strong third with 8.7mil tuning into "7th Heaven," while ABC was fourth in the hour with a special "20/20" drawing 8.3mil viewers, not great, but still up about 3 million viewers from the Drew Carey how over the past two weeks. Fox's nightlong baseball coverage was a disappointing 5th (9.1mil viewers overall), while the UPN got average showings from "The Parkers" (3.9mil) and "One On One" (4.1mil).
     At 9pm, it was CBS once again as "Raymond" (20.6mil) and "Still Standing" (16.4mil) continued to post somewhat disappointing numbers. ABC was second, while NBC's "Third Watch" (12.2mil) put up its best numbers of the new season, once again making it NBC's top rated show on the night. Fox was fourth, while "Everwood" (6.3mil) continued to pull in solid numbers of viewers. "Girlfriends" (3.9mil) and "Half & Half" (3.8mil) were last.
     On the night, there were no great winners no losers. Fox was down the most, 22%. ABC lost 7%, while the UPN shed 3%. On the upside, the WB gained 4%, NBC was up 9% and CBS drew 13% more viewers. In total, the nets averaged 61.9mil viewers, down only 300,000 from last season. (October 15)

"Off Centre" canned, others a go
      In a piece of news that should have came last May, the WB's series "Off Centre," one of the baudiest on tv, has been cancelled. The show was one of the lowest rated of the season last season, but got renewed anyway. The WB obviously saw something in the show that nobody else did. Last month, it stumbled out of the gate and never recovered. Averaging less than 2mil viewers, its the lowest rated show on network tv.
      On the other hand, the show that airs an hour earlier than it, "Do Over," got a full season order from the WB. In the lowest rated show of the season race, only three series rate below it, "JKX," the UPN's Friday movie, and "Off Centre."
       Over on Friday nights, the WB had picked up "Greetings From Tucson" for a full 22 episodes. the show drew its largest audience to date last Friday, 4.0mil, losing a quarter of "Reba"s aud. The WB says decisions on its other new shows will be made soon, but it's more than likely that "Birds of Prey" will get a new season, as will "What I Like About You." As for "Family Affair," don't hold your breath. (October 15)

ABC's Wednesday fortunes grow
     After dying on the vine last season this time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, ABC is rocking- mostly. "My Wife & Kids" opened up the night with an okay 13.0mil viewers, followed by "George Lopez" with an ever increasing 11.8mil viewers, it's best outing to date. "The Bachelor" kicked off 9pm with 13.0mil viewers, up 2mil from last week, and more than 30% above the comparable series 1 record. "MDs" was its downfall, drawing only 6.6mil viewers at 10pm.
      But it wasn't ABC who won the night. "Ed" drew 10.3mil at 8pm, "The West Wing" a weak 15.7mil at 9pm and "Law & Order" 20.0mil at 10pm. Fox was third on the night, drawing 10.5mil viewers for baseball. On CBS, "60 Minutes II" was second at 8pm with 10.4mil viewers, but its numbers kept creeping downwards with "The Amazing Race" (8.5mil) and the likely-to-be-canned "Presidio Med" (6.5mil). 
       There was some excellent news on the WB with the premiere of "Birds of Prey." That show raked up 7.2mil viewers at 9pm, growing hughly out of "Dawsons Creek" (4.7mil). So far this week, the WB had 4 shows drawing more than 7mil viewers, as many as Fox. Granted, Fox has only aired 4 programs this week, 3 of them baseball. Over on the UPN, "Enterprise" drew a strong 5.7mil at 8pm, but "The Twilight Zone" slipped to just 3.5mil at 9pm. (October 9)

ABC dumps two series
    ABC has decided, not surprizingly, to cancel "That Was Then" and "Push, Nevada." "That" is gone effectively immediately, to be replaced by "Americas Funniest Home Videos." "Push" will air for two more weeks to give viewers more chances to collect clues and solve the mystery, then it will be gone too.
     For November sweeps, "Drew Carey" and "Whose Line" will move to Fridays at 9pm, while "Monk" will relocated to Mondays at 8pm. Saved, for the moment, is "MDs," but the axe shoulw fall soon. (October 9)

The UPN renews one show
     The UPN has announced that "Half & Half" will be around for the rest of the season, a move that's not so surprizing. As for it's two other new shows, "Haunted & "The Twilight Zone," their future is less certain. (October 9)

Two series set records on Tuesday
     Two series set records on Tuesday night, but don't look to stalwarts like "Frasier" "NYPD Blue" nor "Buffy" for the good news. Instead look to the 8pm hour, over on ABC and the WB. "According To Jim" was the lucky guy on ABC, setting a series high 13.5mil viewers and a high 5.6/15 rating in adults. It held onto 92% of an amazing "8 Simple Rules" lead-in, and tied the sitcom for top demo spot on the night. And "ATJ" even beat "Frasier" in 18-49s shar, 15 to 14, though they both tied at a 5.6 rating. It seems to me like there is a new Tuesday order, and it doesn't include NBC.
     But it does include the WB. "Gilmore Girls" drew a record 7.0mil viewers at 8pm, and is so far averaging 6.7mil viewers this season, up 20% over last season. But still, that only makes it the WB's third highest rated series- this is a net on the move. On the other nets at 8pm, there was some very ugly news, and it came from NBC. The bottom fell out of the premiere of "Just Shoot Me." And when I say them bottom, I REALLY mean the bottom. The show drew a record low 6.7mil viewers and a putrid 2.7/8 rating in adults. "The In Laws" didn't improve much on that, raking up only 7.8mil viewers and a 3.4/9 rating. But it's the news about "JSM" that's really stunning. Considering its barely above the horrible level set by the two episoder "Imagine That," one only can wonder how soon it will get pulled- or protected. CBS won the 8pm hour with "JAG" (15.1mil), though ABC was a very close second. "JAG" actually slipped to 4th in adults. Fox was third with baseball (10.2mil overall), while "Buffy" (4.5mil) continues to languish down the charts.
      At 9pm, there were no real winner. "Frasier" limped its way to first at 9pm, but "Hidden Hills" tumbled to 9.7mil at 9:30pm, giving "The Guardian" (13.6mil) the hour. Fox was third. ABC actually fell to fourth with "Life With Bonnie" (10.3mil) and "Less Than Perfect" (9.7mil), but they were second in adults. In fact, "Bonnie" (4.6/12) was only 18% behind "Frasier" in adults, and "Perfect" (4.2/11) was only 11% behind "Hills." "Hills" loss of 17% from "Frasier" in adults, but 32% in total viewers indicated how good NBC is at scaring off it's older viewers. "Smallville" (8.4mil) was up again, posted another hugh night, while the UPN's "Haunted" (2.5mil) was as good as nothing.
      At 10pm, "Blue" (12.9mil) beat out "Amy" (14.0mil) by a large margin in adults, but fell behind in viewers. "Dateline" (11.0mil) was third.
      Compared to last season, three nets were up, but you'd be surprized who the leader was. On the losers side, the UPN lost 19%, CBS a troubling 13% and NBC 5%. On the flipside, the WB gained 17%, Fox 20%, while ABC was up 58%. Third night last season, ABC averaged 7.6mil viewers as the bottom fell out of its line-up. Talk about transformations. In total, the nets drew  58.1mil viewers last night, up 7% from last season. (October 8)

"Less Than Perfect" more than that
      After two promising outings, "Less Than Perfect" has been picked up for the entire season. The show is averaging 10.1mil viewers after two airings, but is a close second in adults, and has held in the 90th percentile of "Life With Bonnie"s viewers every week. There are also unconfirmed rumours that ABC's "Push, Nevada" has been cancelled. (October 8)
CBS scratches its Monday head
      Don't get me wrong, CBS is still winning Mondays. But still, something funny is going on. This Monday, several of its series hit head scrathingly low numbers despite doing very well in the overnight ratings. "King of Queens" (13.0mil) and "Yes, Dear" (14.1mil) were at April like numbers at 8pm, down 20% from last season. At 9pm, "Raymond" drew 20.0mil, a good number, but it drew a 14.4 ratings in the overnights, meaning that it only got about a 1.38 viewer factor from that rating. Usually, it would draw almost 22mil from a 14.4 rating, with a factor of over 1.5. At 9:30pm, "Still Standing" fell to a disappointing 15.1mil viewers, down 17% from its premiere. But 10pm brought the biggest disappointment of all as "CSI Miami" fell to 17.1mil viewers, down 26% from its premiere only 3 weeks ago and only 60% of what the regular "CSI" drew last week. It drew a solid 13.1 rating in the overnights with a 1.305 viewer factor. Last week, "CSI" had a 1.48 and "Miami" had a 1.42. Maybe its just a statistical anomily, but something looks off.
       So, did CBS's drop give the other nets a fighting chance? Not really. At 8pm, "Fear Factor" was second with a season high 11.9mil, while Fox was third with the Presidential address (8.8mil) and baseball (10.5mil from 8:30pm on). The WB was fourth with another strong "7th Heaven" (8.7mil), while the UPN was a deep sixth with "The Parkers" (3.8mil) and "One On One" (4.1mil). 
       At 9pm, after CBS, it was ABC's football (16.7mil) that took top spot. NBC was third with "Third Watch" (11.5mil), Fox was fourth and "Everwood" (6.4mil) fifth. "Girlfriends" (4.5mil) and "Half & Half" (4.0mil) were last. At 10pm, it was Miami, then football, then "Crossing Jordan" (10.5mil) which, considering "Miami"s fall, should be doing better than this. (October 7)

"Everwood" a go for 22
      The WB has officially picked up "Everwood" for 22 episodes. Need I say more? (October 7)

NBC's big guns slip
     It may not be a cause for too much concern. I mean, they still did well, but NBC's Thursday big guns were off significantly from their premieres only one week ago. At 8pm, "Friends" drew 28.3mil viewers, down 17% from last week and 6% from last season. It's the first time since season number 7 that "Friends" didn't grow over the previous season. At 10pm, "ER" took a quick tumble down the charts, raking in a low-for-the-series 24.8mil viewers. That was down 7% from premiere week and 8% from last season. While not too significant, it should be cause for concern as CBS's new drama "Without A Trace" drew 15.8mil viewers, a small drop from last week. NBC's middle shows didn't fare too badly in week two. "Scrubs" drew 19.4mil viewers in week 2, down a troubling 32% from "Friends." While the loss was 35% last week, it's still cause for concern. Maybe into between Survivor 5 and 6, the sitcom will be able to pick up some slack. At 9pm, "Will & Grace" actually had a great outing, drawing 21.2mil viewers, down only 1% from last week. "Good Morning Miami" scored 16.5mil at 9:30, down a small 5% from its premiere. Over on the other Thursday network, "Survivor" drew 20.6mil viewers at 8pm, "CSI" 28.4mil at 9pm, while "Without A Trace" was second at 10pm.
     Then there were the rest. Third place Fox drew roughly a third of what second place CBS did, drawing 7.5mil for baseball coverage. ABC was fourth, but sometimes fifth. At 8pm, "Monk" drew a rocking 8.5mil viewers, leading to its inevitable pick up by ABC. It was a distant third in the hour. The UPN was fifth (5.6mil overall), while the WB's comedies "Family Affair" (2.8mil) and "Do Over" (2.9mil) appear to have halted their fall. At 9pm, the UPN vaulted in fourth while "Push Nevada" once again stumbled to just 4.6mil viewers. The WB was dead last with "JKX" (2.6mil) and "Off Centre" (2.1mil). "PrimeTime Thursday" capped off the night for ABC in an unspectacular note, drawing just 7.5mil viewers.
     Looking at last season, four nets swung wildly in the ratings, while two lost lightly. the two who lost light were the UPN and NBC, down just 4%. on the big losers side, ABC lost a quarter, while the WB drowned, bleeding out 62%. On the upside,  CBS was up 58% while Fox jumped 63%. But was it enough? Yes, barely. The nets drew 66.3mil viewers on Thursday, up 6% from last season.
     In adults, so far this week NBC is leading with a 6.3/16. CBS is second at a 5.4/15, ABC a solid third with a 4.5/13. Fox is a deep fourth at a low 2.9/8, barely ahead (surprisingly) or the WB, which is averaging a 2.6/7. The UPN is last at a 2.1/5. (October 4)
 

ABC renews first, renews twice
    ABC is officially the first network to renew (rather order additional episodes of) new fall series. Three weeks was all it needed of "8 Simple Rules" and "Life With Bonnie" to give them both a full season. The move is not surprising, considering that "8 Simple Rules" is the net's third highest rated series and "Life With Bonnie" scored 11.1mil viewers last week, within 77% of "Frasier"s total.
    Who'll be next? Fox, which has preempted most of its series for baseball, is not likely to make any announcements soon, though "Cedric" and "Fastlane" both look safe. CBS has a winner in "Without A Trace," while second week results for "Still Standing" and "Hack" could seal their back 9's. Over on NBC, "Hidden Hills" and "Good Morning Miami" are performing okay enough to get renewed, but the dramas "Boomtown" and "American Dreams" did backflips in their first week, almost assuring their renewals. Over on the WB, "Everwood" is a no brainer, "Birds of Prey" probably will be, while "What I Like About You" and "Greetings From Tucson" are looking pretty good. It's Thursday line-up is looking pretty bad at this point. On the UPN., "The Twilight Zone" looks safe, as does "Half & Half." 
      In other ABC news, the network officially decided not to bring back "Houston Medical." (October 4)

The WB: the road to legitamacy
     Truth be told, the WB nor the UPN have ever been thought of as legitamate networks, even as they have made some ratings inroads in some areas. But early this season, as the UPN struggles out of the box, the WB is flying, and there is no better example than Monday and Tuesday of this week. On Tuesday night, it was third overall in adults 18-49 (3.4 rating), beating out Fox and coming close to CBS (3.8). It was first, however, in a slew of demos. Adults 18-34 (4.2/13); 12-34 (4.4/13), women 12-34 (5.1/15); female teens (5.9/19) and male teens (4.0/13). It was second overall in women 18-34 (4.9/10), men 18-34 (3.6/11) and men 12-34. You maybe thinking, those are pretty narrow demos there. But add them up, and the WB was either first or second on the night in all people 12-34, which is very impressive. The net also drew 6.8mil viewers for "Gilmore Girls," which set numbers series and timeslot records, and 8.1mil for "Smallville."
      But that's not the only night of the week that's gangbuster. Monday is rocking. This past week, the WB was first on the night in women 12-34 (4.6/14); teens (4.3/14); female teens (6.1/20) and third in people 12-34 (3.4/10), women 18-34 (4.0/12) and women 18-49 (4.1/10). Most of those are narrow demos, save women 18-49. "7th Heaven" scored 8.5mil viewers on the night and "Everwood" 6.1mil.
      On Wednesday, the net was no slouch, raking up 5.2mil viewers for "Dawsons Creek." Likely to debut to huge ratings next week is "Birds of Prey." So things are definitely looking up, way up. Fridays & Sundays are also holding their own. The only problem area is Thursdays, but hey, even CBS has a Thursday. It's called Friday. (October 3)

Will the real "Bachelor" premiere please stand up
     I think (and I may be wrong), but last night the premiere of "The Bachelor 2" drew 11.0mil viewers overall, coming in second in the slot in viewers. I say I may be wrong, because last week was supposed to be the premeire of the series. But after the shallow Neilsens came in, ABC insisted that was just a special, and that this week was the real premiere. Maybe it can do the same thing with "That Was Then." Regardless, the show was second at 9pm, not bad, but not great. Meanwhile, NBC had to be hoping that the weakest first week results for "The West Wing" were a fluke, but they weren't. The second episode of the fourth season dipped to 16.2mil viewers, the series worst results for an original episde since its first season. "Ed'  started off the night with a typical 10.4mil viewers, while "Law & Order" closed the night was a high but unspectacular 18.7mil.
     Starting the night out at 8pm, ABC won the hour with "My Wife & Kids" (13.4mil) and a strong premiere for "George Lopez" (11.4mil). NBC was second and CBS third with "60 Minutes II" (10.3mil). Fox was fourth (10.1mil overall) with baseball coverage, while "Enterprise" (5.6mil) had its strongest outing of the season, beating a strong "Dawsons Creek" (5.2mil overall).
     An hour later, NBC won, but by an ever decreasing marign, while ABC was second. Fox was third, while "The Amazing Race 3" scored a mediocre 9.5mil for its premiere. The WB was fifth, while "The Twilight Zone" was last with 4.1mil. At 10pm, NBC won with "Presidio Med" (7.7mil) and "MDs" (6.0mil) shrinking fast. 
     Compared to last season, the UPN was the biggest loser, down 30%. NBC lost 18%, ABC 9% and CBS 2%. On the flipside, the WB was up 44%, while Fox registered a 66% gain. Overall, the nets averaged 54.8mil viewers on the night, off only 1% from last season. (October 3)

ABC lands a Tuesday win
     ABC won Tuesday night for the first time during the regular season since "Millionaire" left, at least in adults. The net drew a 4.9/14 rating, over NBC (4.5/13), CBS (3.7/12) and Fox (3.1/10). The net was a very solid second at 8pm with "8 Simple Rules" (13.7mil) looking up, and a strong premiere for "According To Jim" (12.4mil). "JAG" (15.3mil) won over on CBS, though it's viewer total is starting to slip. NBC's "The In Laws" stood its ground in its second week, drawing 8.5mil at 8pm and 11.5mil at 8:30pm. That had to have NBC buzzing, especially since the rest of its line-up took a tumble from strong premieres. Fox was fourth with the baseball playoffs (9.3mil overall) while the WB had yet another strong performance from "Gilmore Girls" (6.5mil). The UPN was a distant sixth with the slipping "Buffy" (4.4mil).
     An hour later, NBC didn't win in adults, but it did do some good in the hour. "The Guardian" (14.4mil) won overall, while "Frasier" (15.6mil) and "Hidden Hills" (11.7mil) took a huge tumble from last week, indicating that it might be a long season for NBC in the hour. ABC was third with surprizingly strong outings from "Life With Bonnie" (11.2mil) and "Less Than Perfect" (11.1mil). When the last time ABC had a line-up gel this well so early? A lineup without "Millionaire," that is. Fox was fourth, while the WB grew with "Smallville" (7.8mil), which continues to put up big numbers. "Haunted" (2.6mil) barely registered on the UPN. At 10pm, "Judging Amy" premiered to 15.6mil, leaving "NYPD Blue" in a typical second (12.9mil), and "Dateline" (11.0mil) last.
      Compared to last season, the WB was up an amazing 140% (compared to repeats), ABC jumped 26%, and Fox 11%. On the downside, CBS shed a slight 1%, NBC 10%, while the UPN lost 55% from last season's record "Buffy" premiere. The nets drew 59.0mil viewers this season, up 3% from last year's 57.1mil. (October 2)

Monday revisions
     Tiem for some revisions, which I'll probably be doing more often. Turns out the UPN's Monday line-up may have drawn pathetic numbers in the overnights, but averaged 4.7mil viewers overall, a big increase from last season. "Everwood" slipped to 6.1mil after all was said and done, still good compared to "Heaven"s 8.5mil. Over on ABC, "Whose Line" (4.9mil) and "Drew Carey" (5.4mil) slipped to their worst numbers yet. (October 2)

"Third Watch" is NBC's Monday winner
     Last season, it was a big "Fear Factor" and a big "Crossing Jordan" sandwiching a small "Third Watch." This year, if week one is any indication, it will be the other way around. "Third Watch" debuted to a solid 11.7mil viewers on Monday, up from "Fear Factor" (10.7mil) and significantly higher than "Crossing Jordan" (10.0mil). That premiere was up from last year's weak 9.8mil, but still third in the slot. "Raymond" (21.7mil) and a strong premiere for "Still Standing" (18.2mil) and ABC's football (18.1mil overall). The WB's "Everwood" was fourth in the hour with 6.8mil, nearly reaching its premiere high. Looks like the WB has another franchise on its hands... Fox's "Celebrity Bootcamp" (5.8mil) turned out to be a pathetic two hour dud, while the UPN's 9pm sitcoms "Girlfriends" (3.9mil) and "Half & Half" (3.6mil) continued to sputter in their tracks.
     An hour earlier, it was CBS again, as "King of Queens" (15.0mil) and "Yes, Dear" (15.2mil) combined for a win in demos and viewers. NBC was second, and the WB third with a continuingly strong "7th Heaven" (8.7mil). Say what you will about CBS's Monday line-up, but comparatively, the WB's Monday gets the job done better. ABC was a very pathetic fourth with "Drew Carey" (6.4mil) and "Whose Line?" while Fox stalled in fifth. The UPN was sixth with "The Parkers" (3.7mil) and "One On One" (4.0mil). At 10pm, "CSI Miami" (19.5mil) dipped from its first week, but still took a big victory.

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