Question: How do you think Bones will fare in the ratings? I see it recently averaged around the eight million mark. I'm glad it won't be up against Dancing with the Stars every week! However, it does compete with the well-established NCIS and now the two ABC comedies Cavemen and Carpoolers, which for me have no appeal. Bones doesn't get the media blitz that some other Fox shows do, like House and Prison Break. I'm concerned it will spend another season as an underrated show. Shouldn't Fox be putting a few more bucks into promoting a series with such heart and humor, one that is well-crafted and has a terrific ensemble cast with great chemistry? I enjoy the pairing of Bones and House, but I know American Idol is looming in the background, waiting to snatch away its time slot. Having a short break for baseball after only three episodes doesn't exactly help build the fan base, either. So what do you think Bones' chances are in its third season?
Answer: Bones is probably never going to be a
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Mark Harmon, Kathleen York and Susanna Thompson, NCIS
From serial killers to terrorists, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) has faced off with some tough customers on NCIS (CBS, 8 pm/ET). But perhaps none were as intimidating as the trio he must confront tonight: his girlfriend, his ex-wife and his boss. When it's discovered that Gibbs' former spouse, Stephanie Flynn (guest star Kathleen York), may have information about the murder of a Marine captain, she's brought in to be questioned — by Gibbs' current squeeze, Col. Mann (Susanna Thompson)."Gibbs is surrounded by women who've been in his life: his girlfriend, his ex-wife, and Director Shepard [Lauren Holly], with whom he
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Cote de Pablo and Mark Harmon in NCIS by Robert Voets/CBS
Tuesday's ratings recap, here and now:8 pm/ETNCIS dominated the hour with 16.26 million total viewers, a massive 19 percent week-to-week surge. (It was also NCIS' most-watched outing since last Dec. 12.) ABC's Cavemen-Carpoolers combo placed second with about 9 mil each. Bones (7.89 mil) and Beauty and the Geek (2.66 mil) each lost around 350 thou.9 pmWith 17.28 million viewers, House dealt the DWTS results show (15.7 mil, dipping 902K) some bad medicine, in total viewers and key demos. Up 600,000 from its season opener, The Unit came in third with 11.34 mil. Reaper (2.82 mil) reaped 400 thou fewer souls than in its debut.10 pmLaw & Order: SVU (11.7 mil) topped... yet dropped (400K). Boston Legal (10.94 mil) gained 640 thou week-to-week to best CBS' Cane (whose ratings soured 17 percent from the premiere).Lastly, an update on Heroes' season premiere, which now — factoring in Saturday's replay — can boast an audience of 17 million (up from the original 14.1 mil). That a...
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Hugh Laurie in House by Isabella Vosmikova/Fox
ADDENDUM: Veronica Mars drew 3.3 mil in each of its last two season premieres, since many were asking.On this first "real" Tuesday of the new ratings season, as Dancing with the Stars' all-male revue averaged 18.34 million total viewers over its 90-minute run:8 pm/ETNCIS' shinier, happier backstage mood paid off on-screen, as it (13.65 mil) outperformed last year's premiere by 530 thou. Bones (8.25 mil) was down 16 percent versus its own previous opener. With three mil, Beauty and the Geek kissed off about 340K week-to-week.9 pm House's season premiere fared a hair better than last year's, with 18.13 mil. (What's more, it did better in key demos than the older-skewing DWTS and was Fox's highest-rated drama premiere in nearly seven years.) The Unit (10.73 mil) recruited 1.4 mil fewer than last fall. The arrival of the CW's Reaper (3.22 mil) improved upon its Geek lead-in.10 pmSVU topped the hour with 12.1 mil, albeit a 16 percent premiere-to-premiere plunge. Cane got some sugar from ...
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NCIS' Pauley Perrette on America's Most Wanted
Turns out Pauley Perrette isn't doing all her crime fighting on CBS' NCIS. The actress behind gothic forensic specialist Abby Sciuto turns up on Saturday's 21st-season premiere of America's Most Wanted (9 pm/ET, Fox) to help her hero, John Walsh, try to find the killers of two young girls: Raven Jeffries of Detroit and Shannon Paulk of Prattville, Alabama. But Perrette isn't just lending her face to the cases — she admirably put up $20,000 of her own money toward the reward funds and will be manning the AMW call center this weekend. TVGuide.com spoke to the actress about doing her part and what we can expect for her character this season on NCIS.
TVGuide.com: Why'd you get inv
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NCIS by Ron P. Jaffe/CBS
Pretty much crumbs here, but CBS sent out a few season-premiere deets for its fall lineup. If your show isn't here, it's because A) it's new, B) you could have written the supervague preview yourself and/or C) it's a sitcom that thrives independent of its story arcs.Cold Case: Several weeks after being shot, Lilly returns to work and tries to convince Stillman and herself that she's emotionally ready for work.Shark: Jessica helps Sebastian with a double homicide case, enlisting added firepower (Kevin Alejandro) from an organized crime unit.How I Met Your Mother: Robin hooks up with Enrique Iglesias, so Ted storms the bar scene with Barney.NCIS: The showdown between the team and an arms dealer reaches a deadly conclusion.The Unit: As Jonah evades an assasin, Bob secretly reports to a mysterious entity.Criminal Minds: A college campus killing spree... I dunno, prompts Gideon to rendezvous with Richie Cunningham's big brother Chuck?CSI: "Sara's fate remains in question." Yeah?Without a...
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Question: Do you have any scoop about ER? I love that show! Or how about NCIS?
Answer: Make up your mind, dammit! Better yet, I'll make it up for you — it's NCIS. We're going to meet one of Gibbs' ex-wives early in the season.
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Mark Harmon in NCIS by Cliff Lipson/CBS
How this happened, I cannot begin to imagine, but the season finale of NCIS drew more viewers — 14.4 million of 'em — than the season-enders of Lost (which drew 13.86 million), Heroes (13.48 million) and 24 (10.31 million). Dag — Grandma must really like that Mark Harmon character. In other ratings news, the season finales of Fox's House and ABC's Boston Legal handily won their time slots Tuesday. Even with the DOA On the Lot as a lead-in, House pulled in 16.9 million viewers (versus On the Lot's 4.0). Boston Legal trounced the competition with 9.8 million viewers.
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Question: It's never too early to critique fall programming! What do you make of the networks' plans for Tuesdays at 8 pm? The time slot is ripe for new, buzzworthy programming. Instead, the schedule is filled with also-rans: ABC offers two new "comedies" (am I the only one who finds the little gecko more appealing than the cavemen?); NBC serves up the aging, never-going-to-be-a-big-hit The Biggest Loser; CBS gives us NCIS, a show shaken by the uncertainty of behind-the-scenes upheaval; the CW presents more reality with Beauty and the Geek; and finally, Fox offers a 400-year-old immortal detective cursed by a gypsy — oh wait, that was Angel — in the hackneyed New Amsterdam. With the exception of Geek, a hit by CW standards, the other networks offer their B-list shows, at best. Is no one willing to step up and steal the hour? Are the networks too frightened to put better programming here because they think they will have to move it come January or suffer the wrath of Idol? Does Idol's ...
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This Tuesday's ratings, at a glance:• American Idol's final performance show delivered 24.51 million total viewers, a 1.2 mil bump from last Tuesday but down 5.7 mil from a year ago. Lead-out On the Lot, vying with the Dancing with the Stars finale, premiered to just 8.97 mil — less than half of the audience retention House was getting — and not at all helped by 9:30 tune-out to the tune of four mil.• DWTS bowed out before 22.6 mil, down 4.6 mil from its previous finale.• Tom Selleck's latest Jesse Stone telepic pulled almost 13 mil for CBS, two mil fewer than the series' year-ago entry.• Among scripted season-enders, NCIS put up a typical 13.88 mil; Veronica Mars' last two episodes ever* did 1.83 mil and 2.14 mil; and SVU (10.21 mil), slipping 2.3 mil, came in third at 10 pm.* See the Ausiello Report, now, for an intriguing update on Mars' fate.
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