Fox's Prison Break was back with a decent bang Monday night, averaging 10.3 million total viewers — a dip from the Nov. 28 "fall finale" but an 11 percent bump from the series' average and enough to put it on par with CBS' Queens-Mother combo. (Of course, the 8 o'clock hour's champ was NBC's Deal or No Deal, still a big deal for 16.6 million viewers.) At 9 pm, Two and a Half Men and The New Adventures of Old Christine proved an unbeatable tag team (with 16.9 and 15.3 mil viewers, respectively), while Fox's 24 placed with 13.6 million. Come 10 pm, yawn, CSI: Miami dominated with an audience of 19.5 mil.
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Question: Looking at this TV season, I realized that the only new shows I watched even semiregularly were Bones (which isn't a smash hit) and Prison Break (which was my substitute for 24 and has been gone for so long that my excitement has waned). Last year Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey's Anatomy premiered. Does it seem to you like this year was missing any breakout hits, and if you agree with me that most of this season's new shows thus far were a letdown, is there anything that you think will make a late splash, like Grey's did last year?
Answer: A year like the one that launched Housewives, Lost and eventually Grey's is exceptionally rare. Megahits are few and far between nowadays. (Before the 2004-2005 season began, I used the template of the 1994 season a decade earlier, in which Friends and ER were launched, to wonder if we'd ever see hits of that caliber again. Turns out the answer was yes.) This season we've had at least a few critical hits with solid followings (My Name
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NBC has picked up eight more installments of Deal or No Deal, which now will air Monday and Friday nights. Per Variety, the game show's additional airing relocates Most Outrageous Moments to Tuesdays at 9, effectively returning Joey to the shelf for at least the next few weeks, if not forever.
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Question: I'm not normally a big fan of procedurals. I've quit all the CSIs and all the Law & Orders (though I used to love the original L&O, back in the day). I find I'm more drawn to dramas with longer story arcs and character development (Gilmore Girls, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, etc.). There are a few procedurals I really have gotten into. I love Without a Trace and Numbers. Here's the thing: I know it's not a critical favorite, but I've really gotten into E-Ring. There's something about the international intrigue and the action elements that I find fun. But it seems to have disappeared from the schedule! What's more, I feel like it could have longer arcs and it could have more character development if it could get comfortable. But it seems like NBC moves it around, replaces it with Deal or No Deal (ugh), and gives it no respect. Do you know what they plan to do with this show? On a similar topic, I've heard rumblings about a show called The Unit, which sounds very similar. Do you ...
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In the Monday-night ratings, NBC's Deal or No Deal (with 13.5 million total viewers) bested ABC's Wife Swap (9.4 mil), CBS' King of Queens-How I Met Your Mother combo (which averaged 10.3 mil) and Part 1 of Fox's Skating with Celebrities finale (8.7 mil) in the 8 pm hour. Come 9 pm CBS' Two and a Half Men dominated with 17.3 million viewers, trumping the first half hours of Fox's 24 (13.4 mil), NBC's relocated The Apprentice (down from its typical take with just 9.9 mil) and ABC's The Bachelor finale (9.5 mil). Courting Alex dropped the Eye's lead at 9:30 to the back end of 24, which surged to 14.2 mil. At 10 pm, CBS' CSI: Miami ruled with 18 million, compared to 12.8 for the final stretch of Bachelor and 10.4 mil for NBC's Medium.
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Question: I wanted to know your take on NBC's scheduling changes after the Olympics. I personally think that NBC may be putting itself in a grave situation. First I need to talk about the moving of Law & Order to Wednesdays, an hour earlier, at 9 pm/ET. This is a horrible time slot considering its competition. I have to give up Law & Order because I already tape Veronica Mars while I watch Lost. Again Scrubs was denied a Thursday time slot (post-Earl when The Office ends in March). And I feel that NBC is trying to annoy Dick Wolf. First, Trial by Jury was canceled, they move Law & Order to Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET and now they are airing Conviction Fridays at 10 pm/ET (the same slot as Trial by Jury) when they should pair it with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since many SVU fans are going to watch because of Stephanie March reprising her role as Alexandra Cabot. Also, Deal or No Deal and The Apprentice are the lead-ins to the underappreciated Medium. They should have kept
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I'm often quick to criticize NBC when it blunders, which sometimes seems like a full-time job. And it's pretty clear the network is still far from perfect — witness the bungling of The Book of Daniel, buried on Fridays where low ratings would almost certainly have doomed it, even without a religious-right protest that scared away spineless advertisers.
But when NBC does something right, as in a series of aggressive moves announced over the weekend, it seems only right to take notice. Among the highlights:
Ta-ta, West Wing: Calling it quits was inevitable, but even so, I feared that NBC would, out of desperation, try to keep the franchise going after President Bartlet passes the torch to his successor. Thankfully, that will not be the case, and the show will wrap up with a retrospective and series final
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In other Peacock Network news, both My Name Is Earl and The Office have been picked up (and deservedly so) for next season, Will & Grace's eighth and last season will conclude May 18 with a one-hour retrospective and an hourlong finale, and, post-Olympics, The Apprentice and Deal or No Deal will call Monday home, pushing Las Vegas to Friday. Meanwhile, Law & Order will air an hour earlier on Wednesdays — opposite Lost. Now that's criminal intent.
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Former Walt Disney Co. chief Michael Eisner will host Conversations with Michael Eisner, an hourlong interview program for CNBC, the network announced on Tuesday.... David Bowie, blues pioneer Robert Johnson and the late Richard Pryor will be honored with lifetime achievement awards at next month's Grammys.... FX has ponied up big bucks for the cable-TV rights to Superman Returns, six months before the film even hits theaters.... NBC's hot new game show, Deal or No Deal, is looking for contestants in Universal City (today), San Francisco (Jan. 14) and Philadelphia (Jan. 19). For places and times, visit NBC.com.
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The Howie Mandel-hosted U.S. import of the game show Deal or No Deal finished its five-night run on Friday with an average of 11.7 million viewers, giving NBC its best non-Olympics ratings in the 8 o'clock hour in more than three years. As such, ABC NBC has quickly ordered additional outings for Millionaire Deal, which are likely to air in March.
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