Monday
8pm
Nobody really lost out at
8pm, but
nobody really broke out either. At the top was "Fear Factor" (20),
which
continues to prove its value at NBC; even if it didn't really gain any
viewers, at least it didn't lose any either. Over on CBS, "Yes, Dear"
(40)
and "Still Standing (30) were solid, but down quite dramatically over
last
season when "King of Queens" was anchoring the hour. ABC, meanwhile,
aired
"PrimeTime" during the first part of the season and wound up in 86th
spot,
while a movie took over for the second half and completely bombed in
75th,
its ranking really only relfecting a few good weeks.Fox went the
reality
route for most of the season, but "Joe Millionaire 2" (108) was a huge
bomb, and when it went ht scripted route, results were worse: "Cracking
Up" flamed out in 127th while "Bernie Mack" spent a few weeks in the
hour
and failed to crack 5mil viewers. Meanwhile, over on the WB, "7th
Heaven,"
at 115th, still ranks as the WB's number one series, though it's down
17%
and definitely showing its age. Over on the UPN, "The Parkers" bowed
out
in 141st, while "Eve" did somewhat better in 136th.
Winner: Fear
Factor (NBC)
Loser: Fox
in general
9pm
9pm was CBS's once again
as "Raymond"
(10), though slipped, is still quite viable, and "Two & A Half Men"
(16) took the hour by storm. By the end of the season, the gap between
the two series had completely closed and "Men" was even building in
adults.
Second went to NBC this time around, but "Las Vegas" was the hour's
true
winner, finishing the season in 28th and giving NBC's its only renewal
from the fall season. What else is there to say? Oh year, football (13)
ruled ABC in the fall, only to be replaced byt he aforementioned
abysmal
movie. "Everwood" (125) could also be called a winner and even build on
its diminished lead-in for a few weeks. even the UPN got in on the act
with "Girlfriends" (135) and "Half & Half" (139). And that leaves
us
with Fox. It did have a big hit in "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" (12)
and
got some mileage out of "The Swan" (58), but "Skin" (117) was a "girls
club" type bomb, and "Forever Eden" (121) did even worse when it aired
on the night. The lesson? Reality is just like any other genre- there
are
some hits, but also alot of bombs. And when you hinge most of your
line-up
on reality, as ABC learned last season, the results are never as your
would
hope.
Winner: Las
Vegas (NBC), Two & A Half Men (CBS), Fiance (Fox)
Loser: Skin,
Forever Eden (Fox)
10pm
Things were alot calmer
in the 10pm
hour than they've been in a while. "CSI Miami" emerged as the break out
show on the night (even after a strong first season), ranking 9th on
the
season and hitting series highs in May, ABC stayed with football and a
movie, while NBC at first went with "Third Watch," then three editions
of "Average Joe" (26, 34, 46) with ever diminishing results, but then
completely
bombed with "The Restaurant" (102).
Winner: CSI
Miami (CBS)
Loser: The
Restaurant (NBC)
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