Those writing about the inexorably declining ratings of American Idol will have to stand down for at least a day as the amateur talent competition stayed even with last week in the industry-prized 18-to-49 demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen figures.
Now, we'll have to see if the cliff-hanger involving the hopeful who fainted and fell off the stage gooses the ratings for Fox. (By comparison, fair or not, NBC's The Voice grabbed 17.69 million viewers with a 6.6 demo rating Monday night on its first regularly scheduled airing.)
read moreOne of the better things about a good episode of NBC's stalwart Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is that you can rarely tell where it's headed. Is tonight's cameo-heavy hour (10/9c) the latest condemnation of reality TV's sordid excesses? Sure looks that way at the start, as we encounter an especially slimy Michael McKean (relishing his repulsiveness) as the predatory producer of a crap-tastic train wreck titled Showgirls, featuring young hopefuls who would do "whatever it takes" to land the starring role in a Broadway musical. (No small irony this is airing the week of the all-important-to-NBC Smash premiere, where such things could never happen!) As he liquors up a nervous contestant for her "audition," he leers for her to "seduce the audience. Let them know you want this." Doesn't take a genius to know where this is going.
read moreThe revival of CBS' legendary program Person to Person special will feature George Clooney, Jon Bon Jovi and Warren Buffett.
Longtime newsman Edward R. Murrow launched...read more