FOX has been waiting all season to drop the big hammer, and the time has finally come. Idol returned last week, and the ripple effect of adding over 20 million viewers to Tuesday and Wednesday was felt by a number of shows, but not all of them. Despite Idol adding some 24 million viewers to the numbers that So You Think You Can Dance was delivering, Gibbs and his NCIS team still managed to garner 20.85 million viewers of their own.
FOX - In what was no surprise to anyone, Idol returned to huge numbers on Tuesday (29.94m/11.8) and Wednesday (26.39m/10.1). That was a pretty substantial drop for episode 2, but it’s hard to complain about anything approaching those numbers. Things were great earlier in the week as well. Fueled by a playoff football lead-in, The Simpsons (14.62m/6.9), and the Simpsons Anniversary Special (11.43m/5.5) had big numbers as well. The Cleveland Show (8.14m/3.8) finished up a very successful Sunday.
Monday, House (12.25m/4.6) was back, down a bit, but still very strong and finishing first in viewers and demo for the hour. Fringe (7.72m/2.8) got a shot following House on Monday, and matched what Lie To Me has been doing there. Another episode, in the regular Thursday (6.6m/2.6) spot continued to show slow growth in the demo, which is a good sign. That followed a very nice performance from Bones (10.75m/3.3) that took first in both measures. Dollhouse (2.09m/.8) finished the week on Friday.
CBS - The week started slowly, with only Cold Case (10.38m/1.9) offering a new episode on Sunday. Things picked up quickly on Monday, with How I Met Your Mother (9.77m/3.9), Accidentally On Purpose (8.43m/3.1), 2 ½ Men (17.27m/5.4), Big Bang Theory (15.82m/5.7), and CSI: Miami (13.7m/3.7) combining to make the network number one for the night by 3 million viewers and half a demo point.
As mentioned earlier, NCIS (20.85m/4.3) held up amazingly well when faced with Idol, dropping only half a million viewers and a tenth of a demo point over the previous week. That variance is completely within the norm, as the 12/15 episode finished with 20.69m/4.3. NCIS: LA (15.6m/3) took a bit more of a hit, but that’s still a solid number. The Good Wife (13.87m/3), fresh off a second season order, was strong as well.
There was a bit of a stumble on Wednesday, as Old Christine (5.97m/1.8) and Gary Unmarried (5.6m/1.9) saw drops against Idol. Fortunately, those were short lived as Criminal Minds (13.9m/3.8) and CSI: NY (14.03m/3.5) were both on pace. Thursday, CSI(15.33m/3.3) continued it’s post-Grissom struggles, and was once again beaten by The Mentalist (15.38m/3.4) in viewers and demo. Finally, Friday brought another easy win for the night, courtesy of Ghost Whisperer (8.63m/2.2), Medium (9.01m/2.2), and Numb3rs (9.52m/2.2).
ABC – The Sunday night lineup was just off the usual pace with Extreme Makeover (10.55m/3.3), Desperate Housewives (14.03m/4.7), and Brothers & Sisters (10.45m/3.5), but still strong. Monday was also successful, with The Bachelor (10.5m/3.6) and Castle (9.47m/2.6). The 2.6 for Castle is particularly encouraging, as that’s better than many of the weeks following Dancing With The Stars.
Tuesday, as has become the norm, it all went to hell. Better Off Ted (2.17m/.8), Scrubs (2.72m/1.2), and Better Off Ted (2.5m/1) did not hold up well versus Idol. The Forgotten (4.33m/1.2) finished the night at the usual disappointing levels. The Wednesday comedies, The Middle (5.95m/2.1), Modern Family (7.83m/3.3), and Cougar Town (7.27m/3.1) were also down against Idol, though still competitive in their slots. Ugly Betty (4.4m/1.6) continued to struggle in her new Wednesday digs.
There was more good news on Thursday, with Grey’s Anatomy (12.78m/4.8) and Private Practice (10.96m/4.2) both topped their hours in the demo. The week finished with Supernanny (5.39m/1.6), Shark Tank (4.44m/1.6), and 20/20 (5.41m/1.5) on Friday.
NBC - Chuck got the week off to a nice start. The return of everyone’s favorite spy team on Sunday (7.45m/2.9) marked the best numbers for the show since the post-Superbowl 3-D episode. The news was good on Monday (7.36m/2.6) as well. That still makes for a fourth place finish, but it is above where Chuck finished last season, and well above what Heroes has been managing Mondays at 8. Speaking of Heroes (4.72m/2.1), the move back to 9 didn’t offer any help.
Tuesday, The Biggest Loser (8.12m/3.2) took a substantial hit from Idol, dropping 3.5 million viewers and .6 in the demo.Wednesday’s lineup of Mercy (5.85m/1.5) and SVU (7.65m/2) was off the pace as well. Community (5.42m/2.4) and Parks & Recreation (4.63m/2.1) were both down in viewers on Thursday, despite Bones being the only new competition. Although, it is worth noting that Community topped both episodes of 30 Rock (5.12m/2.3 – 4.98m/2.3), which just doesn’t hold up when it doesn’t have The Office for a lead-in.
Friday, Law & Order (7.13m/1.4) and Dateline (7.75m/1.7) wrapped things up. I could give you the details on Leno, but isn’t it really enough to know that the show has been canceled?
CABLE - There were a number of premieres on cable last week, including Big Love (1.73m/.8), Southland (1.98m/.7), Leverage (3.69m/1.3), Archer (1.82m/.9), and Project Runway (2.94m/1.3). The other curious bit from the cable numbers came from Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (1.02m/.4). I’m going to assume that the low numbers can be chalked up to people having already seen it on DVD. Other cable numbers of note:
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Jan 18, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
