Calgary Herald
It was one of those odd weeks in television. The big election changed programming for three nights, knocking numbers in all sorts of directions. ABC came out on top in the coverage, and the four networks that went with election coverage (CW was regularly scheduled programming) combined to average nearly 40 million viewers and a 14 demo. And while we may not all agree on how the election came out, I think the one thing we can all be united on is that the NBC Friday night sucks. It could really use a little change of its own.
NBC - Since I put the boots to them in the open, might as well start with the peacock. The week started off with such promise. Football (14.22m/5.3) was back on Sunday and the SNL Presidential Bash (14.36m/5.6) took the place of Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy. Then, the wheels kind of came off a bit. Wednesday found Knight Rider (5.14m/1.6) stumbling. Life (5.82m/1.9) had good news, in the form of a full season order, but those numbers do still give pause. More concerning though was the premiere of Law & Order (7.85m/2.2) that followed. That is the lowest rated premiere in the history of the show. And then there was Friday. Yikes. The combination of Deal Or No Deal (5.53m/1.1), Crusoe (4.16m/1.0), and Lipstick Jungle (3.34m/1.2) leaves me wondering if we aren’t getting close to a rotating night of repeats.
FOX - There was another good start to the week here, but that’s to be expected with the annual Treehouse of Horror from The Simpsons (12.48m/6.2). They carried the boost through the rest of the night and managed to take the demo crown. Things were not so rosy on Monday, where Terminator:TSCC (5.16m/2.0) continues to be ignored. At this rate, by the time it moves to Friday next February there isn’t going to be much lead in left for Dollhouse. In better mid-season schedule news, Bones (10.09m/3.3) continues to quietly deliver solid numbers week after week. And, notably, managed to best the relocated DWTS results show in the demo. The move to Thursday is a bit of a gamble, but there is room to make some headway in the 8:00 hour, and Bones is the right show to do it.
ABC - Despite not even airing, it was another bad week for Pushing Daisies. The election bumped the DWTS results (15.64m/3.2) to Wednesday, and the difference was huge. Also benefiting from the much stronger lead in, Private Practice (9.54m/3.2) had a nice bump. It does make one wonder what is going to happen to ABC when DWTS wraps up. Sunday and Thursday are moving along nicely, but with DWTS propping up Monday and Tuesday, and nobody watching Wednesday and Friday, this could all get very ugly.
CBS - That’s a problem they don’t have over at CBS. Crime pays, in the form of strong shows every night of the week. Assuming you, like me, and the networks, no longer consider Saturday a night of the week. Highlights this week include Big Bang Theory (9.9m/3.8) and How I Met Your Mother (9.53m/4.1) beating DWTS in the demo. Also worth noting was the boost on Friday. Ghost Whisperer (11.05m/2.8) had a big night with their very special episode, and the Numb3rs (11.21m/2.6) crew is probably sending gorgeous fruit baskets to Mark Harmon as they once again benefited from an NCIS (11.26m/2.4) repeat. That can’t bode well for The Ex-List. The one concern for CBS this week was the drop for Old Christine (6.57m/1.9) and Gary Unmarried (6.4m/2.1). That’s not great, but for now let’s chalk it up to the relocated DWTS results and see what happens when Pushing Daisies returns.
CW - That’s not unlike what we saw with One Tree Hill (2.35m/1.6). Those numbers are very odd, and are probably more a factor of the SNL special than any changes for the show going forward. Along with Gossip Girl (3.16m/1.6), Mondays remain solid. As do Thursdays, with Smallville (4.81m/2.0) and Supernatural (3.73m/1.6). Smallville, in particular, interests me because I have to ask, why is this ending? Some would say that the show is actually getting better. With Next Top Model (3.94m/2.1) starting to fade, and nothing ground breaking in the pipe (Next Top Model spinoff, Melrose Place remake, some junk from The Bachelor team) is the network really in a position to cut Smallville loose? Because, if we’re betting, I think odds are that all of those options end up closer to Stylista (2.0m/1.0) numbers than Smallville.
This week we are almost back to a regular schedule. No sports, and no election craziness, just the 42nd annual CMAs taking over ABC on Wednesday and a Price Is Right special in place of The Ex-List on CBS. Given what we’ve learned so far, those should both offer improved numbers for the networks.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Nov 10, 2008 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Let’s just hope when Reaper comes back to the CW that we’ll see Smallville-like numbers. I am still wondering why they didn’t pick up Moonlight. It’s as if they want the network to fold???
Oh, and Ex-List was officially canceled, I believe.
*POST AUTHOR*
I haven’t seen the “official” notice of cancellation for Ex-List, so I went with doesn’t look good. It could make for an interesting comparison if you put the Ex-List numbers up against those of the NBC shows. I’ll look at that next week.
This is totally off, but that has to be the most sickly, juandiced looking picture of Obama I have ever seen, lol.
I think that part of the problem with the premiere of Law & Order is that it was supposed to be premiering in January … most people I know who are fans missed it because it popped out of nowhere.
The only reason I managed to see it was because my DVR is set to record all new L&O episodes on NBCHD
How’s Eleventh Hour doing? If it’s not registering here, I’m guessing it’s as good as canceled soon.
I would call Eleventh Hour “ok”. It continues to deliver between 11 and 12 million viewers with right around a 3 demo. This week was 11.48m/2.9. That puts it in first for the time slot, usually between 3 or 4 million more viewers than Life On Mars (8.41m/2.7) and 2 or 3 million more than ER. It has been losing the demo to ER (9.12m/3.4) however. If those numbers hold steady, I don’t think it’s in any real danger of cancellation, but it’s not doing anything remarkable either.
Law & Order returned with a weeks notice. Lipstick Jungle aired twice the week before. A second episode in it’s new Friday slot. Maybe people might actually tune in when they know that new episodes are airing.
My Own Worst Enemy and Lipstick Jungle have been cancelled
https://www.thrfeed.com/2008/11/nbc-cancels-ene.html