>
One network dominated all of primetime last night…
FOX: …and it wasn’t FOX. You can’t call TERRA NOVA a disaster–a 3.1 rating (slightly adjusted from Mitch Metcalf’s report) is a decent number these days, and the show did hold its audience solidly through all of the 2-hour premiere–but given the massive hype, not to mention the expense, it’s a crushing disappointment. (Read our Pilot + 1 Review.) After a summer of giant special effects movies, were viewers tired of spectacle? Are dinosaurs just out of style? The FOX executives will be pondering all of that this morning, and waiting for the numbers to settle post-premiere before making any decisions. But this is an awfully costly show (thirteen Executive Producers) for a mediocre rating.
CBS: All hail the Eye! The CBS Monday line-up is starting to look distinctly Must-See-TVish, as every one of its sitcoms did a terrific number last night. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (which had a vintage episode last night) was 25% above last year’s season average, and 2 BROKE GIRLS (which I simply don’t get, but good for Kat Dennings–see our Pilot + 1 Review) built on its lead; then 2 1/2 MEN, even post-premiere event, took things to a new level with a spectacular 7.2, and MIKE & MOLLY held an excellent chunk of that lead-in. HAWAII 5-0 mostly looked good because of its fading competition, but a 3.3 is nothing to sneeze at in the 10PM slot.
NBC: The hole just gets deeper. With PLAYBOY CLUB slumping to a terrible 1.3, the advice here is not to get too emotionally attached. (Take a look at our Pilot + 1 Review.) And while SING-OFF‘s 1.7 was comparatively less awful, it’s still mired in 4th place with nowhere to go. The signature decision of NBC’s fall may have been holding off the network’s powerhouse pair of The Voice and Smash till winter–they have to be wondering now if they chose right.
ABC: A 3.2 is a decent enough rating, and and second place for the night isn’t bad, but DANCING WITH THE STARS is officially having an off-cycle, and the network will need to bring in an extremely strong cast for Spring (especially against The Voice) to avoid damaging the brand. Castle did perfectly well holding its lead.
CW: HART OF DIXIE not only held all of its GOSSIP GIRL lead-in, the show even built in its second half-hour, so it did all the network could have asked in its premiere. It’s just hard to get excited about a 0.8 debut. With the arrival of Dixie, all of the CW’s shows except its Thursday line-up are below a 1, and only Vampire Diaries remains able to launch a new show. Not good.
About the Author
More articles by Mitch Salem »
