Another Week, Another Bad Trend for Net TV

Something disturbing has developed in the world of network TV.

OK, so name a week when that sentence doesn't apply.

This week's pattern that has emerged is the rise of Univision. Or maybe not so much the rise of Univision, as the collapse of ABC and NBC to below Univision levels.

This past Monday the finale of SUPERSTARS OF DANCE and the second part of KNIGHTS TEMPLAR finished 5th in their time slots in Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. The good news is that NBC managed to beat reruns on the CW.

Tuesday, ABC's HOMELAND SECURITY USA trailed UNI's CIUDADO CON EL ANGEL in A-18-49 & 18-34, while SCRUBS trailed FUEGO EN LA SANGRE in total viewers by 30,000 people.

Wednesday, CIUDADO CON EL ANGEL beat everything but AMERICAN IDOL in the demos during the first hour of prime time. A Katie Couris news special, a new KNIGHT RIDER, a rerun of last week's LOST and a repeat of PRIVELEGED were all dispatched by Spanish language telenovela.

And it's not like CIUDADO is a ratings blockbuster. It's winning with a 2.1 rating. The other nets can't make it to a 2 against IDOL? Ouch.

SANGRE bumped UNI's performance up to a 2.4 18-34 demo rating and beat a repeat of CRIMINAL MINDS, LAW & ORDER and 90210.

At 10/9c DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA beat LIFE ON MARS and a rerun of CSI: NY with a 1.6 rating in 18-34.

It doesn't end there.

Thursday, with a special edition of IDOL in the mix, it's more of the same.

CIUDADO came within one tenth of a point of catching a second place rerun of CRIMINAL MINDS in A18-49. In 18-34s, it beat CRIMINAL MINDS by a good 8 tenths. That's a substantial margin when 2nd place only scores a 2.3.

So what are we seeing here?

1) Network reruns have almost ZERO appeal to 18-34 year olds who are being trained by these very same networks to go online to catch episiodes the miss?

2) UNIVISION represents a growing Latino market. Not proven. UNI's success seems to have an upper limit. It's the other nets collapse that is the equalizer here.

3) IDOL destroys everything in its path when it coms to 18-34s. Not mentioned above are the 8s and 9s in 18-34 compared to everyone else's 2s and 1.5s

What do you think?

Future Classic: Ferguson

I haven't watch an episode of THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON in a couple of weeks - and now I fear I've missed some incredibly wacky TV.

I happened to be in the room when my DVR switched over to catch the beginning of last night's show.

The video quality leaves a bit to be desired, but this is how Craig opened his show last night:



It's brilliant in it's simplicity, and it makes me think of Ernie Kovacks. Here's a clip of his famous Nairobi Trio:



Set your DVR. Stay up late. Do what you must, but find a way to catch Craig. You'll sleep with a smile on your face.

Obama vs. Reagan

Much has been made of the size of the TV audience for President Obama's inauguration.

Neilsen's best guess (and it IS a guess, there's little science involved in any ratings information) is that some 38 million viewers tuned in, second only to the 41.8 million who tuned in for Ronald Reagan's inauguration.

That may be.

But, I think we need to look at a couple of other numbers before we get too congratulatory.

There are about 115 million TV households in the United States today. in 1981, that number was a mere 82 million.

So, Reagan's TV audience share was around 51% of the available households, while Obama's audience share is only about 33%.

Let me be clear. I'm not saying this shows a significant difference in the importance of one event over the other.

What I'm saying is, as a nation we're relying on live TV less and less and less to get our news.

Mid-Season: By the Numbers

So we've come to the mid-point of the TV season and here's how things are stacking up for the networks:

Through January 11, the season-to-date numbers show CBS averaging 10.98 million viewers,
ABC 8.78, FOX 7.91, NBC 7.64.

The annual arrival of 24 and AMERICAN IDOL are once again changing the map. How so? The week ending January 4th showed FOX in 4th place behind NBC with 7.43 million viewers.

In the 18-49 demographic, FOX should pass CBS this week to take over the lead. CBS held a slim 70,000 viewer lead as of 1/11. That was well before FOX scored with a roundhouse punch with their new Monday night lineup of HOUSE and 24. The new tandem dethroned CBS' strong Monday night lineup for the first time in months.

In terms of total viewers, FOX will have to draw about 2.5 million viewers more than CBS each week to catch up by the end of the season.

The week of 1/11, FOX outpulled CBS by 2.43 million viewers, so it could easily go down to the wire.

We'll have a much clearer picture next week once the new Monday lineups are factored in and we see how the IDOL crowd sticks around for FRINGE and LIE TO ME - and how well BONES performs on Thursday.

Meanwhile, more kudos to the programming geniuses at NBC who managed to come in SIXTH in Adults 18-34 this past Monday.

SIXTH.

Behind the CW.

Behind UNIVISION.

But hey, as long as they're making money, right?

IDOL Coming Down to Earth?

In the past my favorite saying when it came to AMERICAN IDOL was "How high is up?"

The numbers were always astronomical and the question year after year was will this be the year IDOL slows down?

This year looks like it could be that year.

Numbers were down 10% for IDOL compared to last year - but I've got to say the show is already better than it has been in the past three seasons. It will be interesting to see if the slide holds true for Night 2.

The new judge, Kara is strong and opinionated - but also a gal pal for Paula. The editors have stayed true to their promise to focus on quality singers, with a bit less of the train wreck auditions - and I think it's working.

I'm very excited to see how Hollywood Week is portrayed. In two weeks we find out if the producers are actually able to capitalize on the inherent reality TV component of having 150 young adults fighting it out for 36 slots.

Oughta be a bit of back stage drama to mine.

Stay tuned.

PRISON BREAK: Dead Show Walking

It's not a shocker - but PRISON BREAK will be wrapping it up this spring.

The show with a concept no one thought could last more than one year will officially come to a conclusion at the end of this, its fourth, season.

This season has been so over the top convoluted - but it's so hard to stop watching.

Creators and the network have agreed that everyone involved is out of juice and there are no more stories to tell.

There are four episodes remaining in this season's order, although FOX is considering adding one more episode to allow the creators a chance to wrap everything up.

PRISON BREAK is currently on mid-season hiatus and will finish out its run on Friday nights after SARAH CONNOR completes its run.

'TIL DEATH - and Beyond

In a week when I was planning on discussing the return of 24 and AMERICAN IDOL, FOX is rocking the world with news that is completely unexpected.

'TIL DEATH has been renewed.

Not just renewed, mind you. 'TIL DEATH has been given a full 22 episode order for a fourth season.

Huh?

'TIL DEATH was never a brilliant sitcom. It was marginal at best, but the original premise had promise. A pair of newlyweds move in next door to a couple that has been married for 25 years.

Unfortunately, that premise got tossed to the curb, along with the actors playing the newlyweds during the writer's strike. When 'TIL DEATH returned from the strike hiatus, it was a completely different show - and not for the good.

Seven episodes from the current season remain unaired. The last time we saw Brad Garrett was in an embarrassing YouTube video. The last time we saw him in 'TIL DEATH was back in October. Ratings were too poor for the show to get any airings during the all important November sweeps.

So the questions is "For the love of God, why?"

The answer is remarkably simple. Sony, the producer of the show, offered a drastic cut in the licensing deal for the show for a fourth season. Even with marginal numbers, the economics of the show suddenly become much more attractive for FOX. And with the 22 additional episodes, Sony has a product available for syndication that will have 83 episodes instead of 61.

Never mind the fact that it's really a library of 31 episodes of the original sitcom and 52 episodes of the lesser version.

Oh well. You get what you pay for.

Ferguson No Longer Available

Craig Ferguson's personal life has contributed to some of the most special moments on THE LATE LATE SHOW. And now, he's gotten married - again.




Enjoy.

Pushing Daisies is...Pushing Up Daisies

PUSHING DAISIES Executive Producer Bryon Fuller (who has rejoined the creative team over at HEROES) reports that ABC has changed its mind concerning the three unaired episodes of the quirky canceled show.

There was talk that ABC might burn of the three hours over the course of one night, but now it's beginning to look like the only we're going to get to see them is on the eventual DVD release.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Fuller reports "They are not scheduled to air right now," he sighs, "and that's all we know."

So, for me, DAISIES joins the club populated by FIREFLY, WONDERFALLS, BRISCO COUNTY, JR and ANGEL.

They all died too young.

Discuss. What are your favorite short-lived shows?

The New American Idol

In Simon Cowell's book "I Don't Mean to be Rude, But..." he tells the behind-the-scenes story of getting AMERICAN IDOL on the air.

For starters, every network passed on the concept on the first lap. 'Cause network execs are geniuses.

But I digress.

Further examples of the genius of American television executives include their insistence on changing the formula of a proven television blockbuster. "Yeah, but do they have to sing? Could they be gymnasts? Could they have a dog? Could they brick layers?" Again, I digress.

One of the elements founding producer Nigel Lithgow insisted on was a panel of three judges.

The model requires Simon Cowell, who tells the cold hard truth, breaks the spirits of the breakable and challenges those who are unbreakable to be better than the know they can be. He's also one of the most successful finders of new talent in the industry.

Judge #2 should be a successful producer who knows the music business and knows what it takes to make a hit record. That's Randy.

Judge #3 should be someone who has been successful as a performer. That's Paula.

Sidebar: Simon was unimpressed with Paula at first, explaining American songwriters lacked energy, unlike say, Kylie Minogue's "Spinning Round." After Paula pointed out that she had CO-WRITTEN that song, she was in the club.

The other thing Lithgow fought to keep was the dual host format. He caved on that one in Year 2 and Brian Dunkleman is now hosting "Family Feud Live" in Las Vegas.

As IDOL progressed, the baboons slowly worked their way into the mix (see TV Shows Written by Baboons) and we began to see more and more Bad TV Creep - emphasis on bad contestants, and a drifting away from what should be one of the most compelling reality mini-series - Hollywood Week.

So this year, we're adding a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi. She has a reputation for being tough and she's the other half of the team that wrote "Spinning Round." Is she a Paula backup? You bet she is. Are we straying from the original format by having a fourth voice on the judging panel. Not for long.

The other promising announcement for this season is a reduction on the emphasis on the untalented folks in the auditions, and extra episodes focusing on the backstage drama of Hollywood Week - both EXCELLENT ideas.

They're going to put more singers through from Hollywood Week to the first round, which means they're going to be cutting contestants at a pretty quick pace in the early weeks.

I, for one, think it all sounds like IDOL may be on track for a pretty damnged good season.

What say you?

Superstars of Dance

One wonders how a good performance competition program ever gets to the air.

It takes a great concept, capable producers, spiffy sets, qualified directors, an engaging host and apparently lightning in a bottle.

NBC's SUPERSTARS OF DANCE is produced by Nigel Lithgow, also producer of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and a former producer of AMERICAN IDOL. Nigel knows performance competition and he knows dance. That's a big positive.

The concept of dance troupes from across the world competing head to head may initially sound like a good idea, but so did FOX's WORLD IDOL special following the first season of AMERICAN IDOL. (Kelly Clarkson came in 2nd to a hobbit.) Gonna call this one a near miss.

As for the set... well let's start with the fact that we have a production concept screaming out for swooping, sweeping camera movement - a design that should require a Hi-Def production. However, my widescreen was cropped on the sides for this one. What a wasted opportunity to show off HD with some spectacular spectacle.

Unfortunately, it's pretty clear that production cost-savings are all over this production. Chintzy set elements, a small stage (even IDOL's stage is bigger and no one's dancing on that show!) inexplicably dark lighting and poor camera choices add up to a look that is hard to explain. It's just not big enough, energetic enough, professional enough or produced enough to meet a smart audience's expectations. Big miss on this one. Not even close.

Host Michael Flattley may have once been the Lord of the Dance, but he's no Ryan Seacrest, Cat Deely or even Tom Bergeron. Big miss on this one too.

Suffice to say, there ain't no lightning in this bottle, folks. A convoluted contest, with rules that are yet to be explained, no audience participation and sub-par production values in what amounts to a program better suited for a summer run - all comes together in what may foretell where NBC is headed in the future.

TV is not spaghetti. You can't just produce it, throw it against the wall and see if it sticks. It has to be done right - or you as well not do it at all. If this is an example of NBC''s cost cutting coookie-cutter copycat approach to success, GE stockholders are going to be needing bottles filled with something with a bit more of a kick than lightning.

SUPERSTARS OF DANCE is a dud that no peacock would be proud of.

Shows I Wish I Was Watching

The year in review stuff continues...

This time, let's talk about the show's I wish I was watching.

2008 saw the wrap up for two shows I never had a chance to get invested in - THE WIRE and THE SHIELD.

I never, not once, not ever watch a single episode of THE SHIELD. In trying to figure out why, it may have come down to content issues when the show launched. See, back then there were teenagers in my house. A lot of the TV choices that were made in my household at that time took their tastes into account.

I was still working in TV at the time, so there was a lot of monitoring going on - and with a single tuner TiVo, not much opportunity to invest in hit or miss programming.

As for THE WIRE, I do recall watching the pilot and not caring much for it. I do intend to give the entire series another go on DVD.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - I was against the reboot on this one. Saw a bit of the first episode, but didn't find it compelling. Now that the series has apparently got the fanboys all tied up in knots, the DVDs are on their way from Netflix.

BIG BANG THEORY - Watched my first episode this week. It's clever and young and on the wrong network.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - Didn't feel like I could just jump into the middle fo this one. I've started watching from the beginning courtesy of a nifty little website WatchTVSitcoms.com. Not sure how this exists, but I'm glad it does. Like BIG BANG THEORY, MOTHER is too young and way too hip to be on CBS.

2008's Guilty Pleasures

OK, I ain't proud of 'em, but I likes 'em, so's I watch 'em.

HELL'S KITCHEN - It's profane and abusive but HK has one thing a lot of reality shows don't. I doesn't feel forced. If it is, it's well disguised. If you think about it, Gordon Ramsay is really the one going through the torture. I'll admit to skimming through the team rewards elements and getting right back into the kitchen for the good stuff.

PRISON BREAK - Man, oh, man. "How will they continue this show once they break out of prison?" Simple, they'll be on the run for a year. Then they'll get caught and have to escape from a Panamanian prison. Then they'll be on the run again, but this time a government agent will offer them freedom in return for stealing something from a Halliburton-esque organization. THEN they'll get double-crossed and have the item stolen from them BY THEIR MOTHER. This thing has more twists per episode than a month of DAYS OF OUR LIVES. And I love it!

BONES - BONES didn't make my Top 10 list for a very good reason. Sometimes the writing is a tad short of tortorous. It's hard to buy that someone who has written several best selling books can be as ignorant about modern American culture as Temperence Brennan. But David Boreanaz is sharp as Agent Booth. He's why I tuned in to begin with. (I REALLY miss ANGEL)

HEROES - Faded in year two, wasted too much time in year three, but it's going to have to get a lot worse for me to bail out. What started as a brilliant 'what if?' concept has quickly devolved into an over-populated comic book world. We need fewer dead end sotrylines, a narrower focus on fewer characters and a return to the magic of discovery that made up so much of that first season.

ER - Back in the beginning, I chose CHICAGO HOPE over E.R.. The two medical dramas were both set in a Chicago hospital and were scheduled head to head on NBC and CBS. By mid-season Hope had moved to Monday and I've seen every episode of E.R. since. That being said, this show is a long way away from the show that scored 40 shares with EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. Thank God the torurous storyline of Dr. Abby is finally finished. It felt like some sort of penance to force myself to sit through the darkmess and dreariness that accompanied that character. Seriously, the show would have benefitted from having another flaming helicopter falling out of the sky and squishing her like a whiny bug about two years ago. The show is better - by far - without her. It's a shame we're nto going to get to know some of the new characters very well before the entire thing wraps up in March.

[SIDEBAR: On 12/30/08, the five networks combined managed to score a measly 22 share. That means 78 percent of TVs in use at the time were watching something other than network TV. In its prime, E.R. used to score a 25 share with a RERUN.]

FAMILY GUY - OK, I admit it. I watch it. But, to be fair, it's better than it used to be. It's WAY better than it was back when it was cancelled. It still goes too far, too often, but the non-sequiters have found their own rhythm and the show has found its voice. I suppose from here on out, the decline begins.

OK - what about you? Your turn. Confess away.

TV's Top 10 of 2008

Without too much thought put into it, here's my Top 10 list of TV shows from 2008.

AMERICAN IDOL - Love it. Not as good as in years past, but improvements are coming in 2009.

LOST - Now that the producers know when the series will end, the filler episodes are gone and this show is flying at warp speed.

BREAKING BAD - Love Bryan Cranston. Love him. He is a fearless actor - just look at the risks he took during the run of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE. Aaron Paul's performance as Jesse is equal to Cranston's - which is saying something.

MAD MEN - Love the languid, yet taught pace, the attention to detail. This year it became clear that the nuclear family the advertising geniuses are pushing on the public is even more foreign to them than it is to us. You know you're a hot property when THE SIMPSONS send up your show intro.


PUSHING DAISIES - The abbreviated first season was far superior to the second. Brilliant art direction and a self-contained universe free of modern technology made this an instant favorite. As the show progressed, that self-contained universe began to fray a bit at the edges and the second season saw a darker, less whimsical texture but this one will be missed. Three episodes remain unaired, then it's done.

HOUSE - Same story week in and week out - but I don't care.

LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON - His monologues are a different creature from anything else on TV. Craig isn't afraid to talk about his demons or his pride in being a naturalized American citizen. His show that followed the passing of his mother was heart-breaking, personal and brave. He will no doubt benefit from the 2009 late night re-rack over at NBC.

SUPERNATURAL - You can tell a lot of X-FILES veterans are involved in this show (Kim Manners rocks!). It has the same gritty, creepy flavor that helped every episode of THE X-FILES look like a mini-movie. The Winchester brothers have never been better.

SMALLVILLE - What? Really? Smallville? Yep. This show is so much better than it was three years ago. As someone who someday hopes to create a TV series it pains me to say that this show has vastly improved with the departure of its original show runners. Maybe it's luck, but their departure, along with the loss of Lex Luthor and Lana Lang and Clark's relocation to metropolis have all combined to make this show more grown up, much more palatable and better written.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE - This is THE dance competition to watch. Great summer programming, filled with folks who have danced all their lives. It's amazing stuff.

What's on your list? (There are very few wrong answers.) Show you list, defend your choices!

What Did YOU Watch?

I'll be the first to admit I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with It's Over TV over the last year or so. Less than 20 posts over the course of a calendar year does not make for a blog worthy of visiting on a regular basis.

Well, HOPEFULLY, that's all about to change.

I'm embarking on a concerted effort to post SOMETHING here each and every day of 2009.

Just typing that on my screen sends shudders down my spine.

BUT. There's a lot going on in the world of broadcasting these days - and not a lot of it is good. Even less of it is excellent. And by gum, we're gonna talk about it.

TV's second season will be upon us soon, and there are some very promising shows in the wings. We've seen other very promising shows wither, wilt and fade away from lingering effects od the writers' strike. We'll chat about both topics in the weeks to come.

Right now, I want to talk about what I and YOU have been watching over the last few months. It'll help me get an idea of where you're coming from, and vice versa.

So, now that '08 is history, here's what I was watching this fall:

MONDAY
Heroes - NBC
Prison Break - FOX
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - FOX
Saving Grace - TNT

TUESDAY
House - FOX
Fringe - FOX

WEDNESDAY
Bones - FOX
Pushing Daisies - ABC

THURSDAY
Smallville - CW
Supernatural - CW
ER - NBC

SUNDAY
The Simpsons - FOX
Family Guy - FOX
American Dad - FOX
Mad Men - AMC
True Blood - HBO

WEEKNIGHTS
Special Report with Brit Hume - FNC
Glenn Beck - Headline News
Craig Ferguson - CBS

The DVR rules in my den. NOTHING is watched live anymore. (That's part of the reason I didn't include times on my list - Heck it's hard to remember what night some of these shows air!)

I find I will dawdle in the kitchen for fifteen minutes just to be able to start a show late and fly through the commercial breaks. For me, it's not that I'm not interested in the commercials - I will back and watch one I haven't seen, or one I want to share - it's about squeezing more into my day. If I can enjoy HOUSE in 45 minutes AND have time to nuke leftovers, the world is a better place than it used to be.

And if I'm busy, maybe Heroes is the only thing that gets viewed on Monday. It could be Saturday before I get all caught up on the week. It's a great thing.

So, what did you watch this fall? (We'll talk about your mid-season plans next time!)