Where were you last Thursday? I ask, because the numbers suggest that plenty of you weren’t watching TV. That lack of viewers made for a very strange night. CBS finally pulled the trigger on the Mentalist/CSI time slot switch, and both shows dropped in the ratings. You might think that’s a good thing for ABC. But no… FlashForward, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice were all down as well. That made for perfect conditions for the return of Bones and Fringe. Strangely enough, both of those were well off the pace as well. In fact, everything on Thursday took a hit. It was all very strange. In happier news, how ’bout that Castle?
ABC - With the housewives taking a week off, Dancing With The Stars (22.97m/5.6) kicked things off on Monday. That is down from the premiere, but still very good. In fact, that made DWTS the most watched show of the week. The news was also good for Castle (13.86m/3.5). Despite DWTS dropping, Castle was up. The DWTS Results (14.28m/3) were a welcome addition to Tuesday. That added 10m viewers and doubled the demo for what the Lost repeats have been doing. The new Lost (10.13m/4.1) was up just a bit. V (7.03m/2.8) returned well off its pre-break pace, but also well ahead of what The Forgotten had been able to do in that spot.
The much talked about comedy night on Wednesday is looking more and more like a comedy half-hour. Modern Family (9.51m/3.9) is putting up great numbers, despite the Idol competition. But The Middle (6.23m/2) and Cougar Town (6.01m/2.6) aren’t knocking down any impressive numbers. Thursday, if you listened very closely, you might have heard the sound of a nail being driven into the FlashForward (5.04m/1.5) coffin. Grey’s Anatomy (9.51m/3.5) looks fantastic by comparison, but I can’t remember the show every falling below 10m viewers. Private Practice (7.82m/2.6) held up better than most shows on the night, but was still down. Finally, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (4.31m/1.5) came back down to earth after last week’s big Friday premiere numbers.
NBC - Minute To Win It (5.73m/1.9) and Celebrity Apprentice (7.31m/2.8) made some small gains this week on Sunday. As did Chuck (5.68m/2.1) and Trauma (4.72m/1.5) on Monday. Unfortunately, ‘gaining’ to those numbers still leaves Chuck squarely on the bubble. Trauma is just waiting to be canceled, again. Law & Order (6.01m/1.8) was steady.
The Biggest Loser (7.43m/2.8) was down again, and it took Parenthood (6.23m/2.5) with it. It might be worth it for NBC to consider moving Biggest Loser to another night. Facing Idol and DWTS is putting quite the drain on their second most successful show. I’d be curious to see what the show would do on Sunday. Wednesday, the news was not good for Mercy. The show wasn’t even on, but a repeat of Minute To Win It (6.13m/1.8) beat the last four Mercy airings in the demo. SVU (10.08m/2.9) continues to rebound. Things wrapped up with Who Do You Think You Are (5.9m/1.4) and Dateline (6.57m/1.4 – 6.68m/1.6) on Friday.
FOX - The Simpsons (5.69m/2.7), Cleveland (5.64m/2.8), Family Guy (7.32m/3.8), and Sons of Tuscon (4.03m/2) got the week off to the expected start. 24 (8.48m/2.6) was off just a bit with no help from House. American Idol was dominant on Tuesday (21.85m/7.7) and Wednesday (20.49m/6.7), while Human Target (8.23m/2.3) is hanging in there.
Things got very curious on Thursday, with the return of Bones (8.68m/2.4) and Fringe (5.84m/2.2). Between the two, they were down over 5m viewers and a point in the demo from the last airing. I’m not sure if that is a signal that two month long breaks in the middle of the season are stupid, or confirmation that if you do take one of those breaks, don’t bring the show back as we head into a holiday weekend. Either way, it was a very unexpected drop.
CBS – There wasn’t a lot happening on CBS last week. The Amazing Race (12.73m/3.9) and Undercover Boss (16.72m/5.1) looked great on Sunday. Cold Case (10.32m/2.6) finished the night off. Monday, Rules Of Engagement (7.35m/3) was flying solo, and put up a respectable number given that. Then there was Thursday. Survivor (11.26m/3.5) started the night off well enough, but then the swap of The Mentalist (14.11m/2.7) and CSI (13.35m/2.8) just went all to hell. Somehow both were down over half a point in the demo.
There was more bad news on Friday, as Ghost Whisperer (5.91m/1.3) and Medium (6.18m/1.3) were both well off the pace. Miami Medical (7.54m/1.6) actually premiered as the #1 show on the night, but it too was off the pace that Numb3rs had been setting, and you can expect that number to go down in week two.
CW – I really have no idea what’s happening on Mondays, with Life Unexpected (1.97m/.9) and Gossip Girl (1.69m/1). They seem to be swapping the viewer wins back and forth. That’s not a problem on Tuesday, with 90210 (1.48m/.8) and Melrose Place (1.06m/.6). We all know what’s happening there. America’s Next Top Model (3.18m/1.4) was solid on Wednesday. Fly Girls (1.12m/.4) and High Society (.75m/.3) weren’t. Thursday, Vampire Diaries (2.8m/1.3) and Supernatural (2.4m/1.1) were bitten by the same bug that took down every other Thursday show. Smallville (1.99m/.9) finished things up on Friday.
CABLE - It was lady cop week on cable, with TNT premiering Saving Grace (2.198m/.5) and the return of In Plain Sight (3.82m/.9) on USA. The fate of Saving Grace has already been decided, so no worries there. For In Plain Sight, if those numbers hold up throughout the season, that should put it right in the ballpark with White Collar and Psych. Other cable numbers:
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Apr 05, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
