The Loser Wins -
November 17
After what seemed
like an eternity without "Friends", NBC finally has
something to smile about... namely Tuesday nights. With
"My Name is Earl" and "SVU" leading the charge and "The
Office" still trying to find a cure for "Arrested
Development Syndrome", the big story is "The Biggest
Loser", which is anything but.
Last week's
broadcast of The Biggest Loser 2's ninth episode scored
the NBC reality show's best ratings performance of the
season, setting season highs in both total viewers and
the Adults 18-49 demographic.
As reported by
Reality TV World's Steve Rogers, November 8 episode
averaged 10.11 million overall viewers and a 4.0/11
rating/share among adults 18-49. In total viewers, the
show scored 6.9/10, a score that outdid two weeks
prior's 90-minute show by a tenth. These numbers show
season highs not seen since the first season finale
(contrary to what was reported, the show was bested by
CBS' NCIS. The blurb has since been corrected with our
apologies).
Additionally,
the show scored first in the women 18-34 and 18-49
demos.
We've been
seeing shows like these survive by the skein (pun
intended) of their teeth, due to their good nature and
their placement in the family-friendly 8pm hour. Why is
that? Well, consider this... people overcoming adversity
without the heavy use of the back-biting that has
plagued other shows... a reminder that hard work and
perseverance indeed pay off.
But of course,
these are just my altruistic views talking. I'd love to
hear what you think. E-mail me.... No one e-mails me
anymore. =p
We've seen
winners, now we talk losers...
These
losers... just lose.
The
Apprentice: Martha Stewart: last week, we only saw
5.3/8 in the overnights, 6.51 million viewers and
2.3/5 in the 18-49, all fourth place. Personally
watching, I don't care if a second season was EVER in
the mix, I just want the damned show gone.
Made in the
USA: I can only think of one reason why this would
see the light of day again... a sister cabler with a
convenient niche... Oh look, here we are then!
GSN: a
0.3... Simply embarrassing for a network with such shows
as "Millionaire" and "The Amazing Race" to fall back on.
If it were me (and Alex went into full depth on this
week's WLTI... and I happen to agree with him 115
percent), I'd count my losses and start listening to
what the audience wanted, rather than force-feeding
another clunker down our throats. "Ballbreakers" was
supposed to have a second season, but with the show
buried in Saturday nights, who's to know now?
Then again, this
is the network that gave "Extreme Dodgeball" and "Lingo"
a break before launching new seasons. So what else do
you have in that bag of yours, Mr. Ian Valentine? I'm
just DYING to know. And I'm sure the 300,000 people in
America that still give two flying flips also are.
Elsewhere in
the numbers...
Over to the
syndication shows, which tells two different tales. Last
week, we reported that "Wheel of Fortune" garnered an
8.2. This week, we have an 8.3, up 1 percent from the
week before, but down 11 percent from the year before.
It's still good enough to take the top spot.
"Jeopardy!", on the other hand, saw double-digit drops
from last year with a 6.3. This is a 32 percent drop
from last year, which, if you remember, saw a
combination of the Ken Jennings juggernaut and the
College Championship (winner Kermin Fleming would
eventually go to the UTOC himself, but would drop out in
round 1). There's more, though. This is a 1 percent drop
from last week, which saw the changeover from Maria
Wenglinski's run to this year's College Championship.
People who
report this sort of thing and get paid exorbitant
amounts of money to do so are crying "panic". As for me,
who does this simply as a labor of love, let's see what
happens when you no longer have that pesky Jennings
Quotient to factor in.
And
finally...
We'd be remiss
if we didn't mention this final number... 12. The number
of television series produced by Ralph Edwards, amongst
them the ever-revered "Truth or Consequences" and "The
People's Court", and who could forget "This is Your
Life". It's because of him we have Bob Barker. It's
because of him that Hot Springs, NM is now Truth or
Consequences, NM. And did you know that he also produced
1992's dater show, "Bzzz!"? Learn something new every
day.
Because of him,
broadcasting factuals is what it is today.
Good night,
Ralph.
Chico
Alexander never drove past Truth or Consequences, NM
(the closest he came was Deming). E-mail him at chico@gameshownewsnet.com. |