Movie Box Review

Lots of news, but it's only good for one network.

CBS:  Keeping in mind that the Thursday 8-9PM landscape will change drastically next week with the return of American Idol, CBS got everything it could have wished from the debut of ROB at 8:30PM.  The show's 4.1 blew past the numbers that Rules of Engagement was doing in that slot (let alone How To Be A Gentleman), retained 80% of its BIG BANG THEORY lead-in, and boosted PERSON OF INTEREST at 9PM to its own season high of 3.2.  THE MENTALIST was at a standard 2.7 at 10PM, good enough to win the hour.  Last year, the CBS 8:30PM sitcom (S#![ My Dad Says) did a 2.8 against the debut of Idol, after a 4.2 for Big Bang Theory, so even if Rob takes a hit from last night, it's in a good position to improve CBS's numbers overall.

NBC:  Ugh.  30 ROCK only made it to a 1.8 in its season debut.  That's a little better than what Community had been doing at 8PM, but a whopping 30% behind last year's season average.  On any other network, it would be in line for cancellation.  PARKS & RECREATION didn't benefit from the new lead-in, rising only 0.1 from its last original outing after a Community episode.  (In what now look like the halcyon days of 2011, NBC's 8-9PM sitcoms averaged a 2.2 against the debut of Idol.  That's not gonna happen next week.)  Despite all the marketing dollars spent to promote the new 9PM hour, THE OFFICE tied its season low, and UP ALL NIGHT, in its new timeslot, was up only 0.1 from Whitney's lowest rating in the slot.  But the worst was yet to come:  THE FIRM had its timeslot premiere with a catastrophic 1.0, 45% lower than the number Outsourced did last season at 10:30PM.  That would be a decent (and not exceptional) number for USA; it's a ridiculous rating for NBC. 

FOX:  THE FINDER had a very unimpressive 1.7 debut.  Of course its lead-in beginning next week will be probably triple the 2.4 it had from BONES last night, which should certainly leave it looking healthier--but still, a 4th place finish doesn't suggest much audience enthusiasm.

ABC:  The network took a hit from the higher level of competition on the night, not to mention the marketing dollars spent by the other networks in promoting their changes, as GREY'S ANATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE fell to the mid-levels of their season numbers.

CW:  VAMPIRE DIARIES was down a significant 0.3 (by CW terms), but still huge (by CW terms) with a 1.2.  Even with the diminished lead-in, SECRET CIRCLE held steady at a strong 0.8.

Tonight:  the return of FRINGE!  (There may not be many more chances to use that phrase.)  And the final regular episodes of EXTREME MAKEOVER:  HOME EDITION.  

More repeats:  CBS could do this all season.

CBS:  A sparkling 2.0 average, spearheaded by BIG BANG THEORY's 2.8--a number so good that if it were earned by a new episode on any other network, it would be enough to get that show renewed.

ABC:  At least they aired HAPPY NEW YEAR, CHARLIE BROWN to break up the monotony.  Its 1.1 was better than the 0.9 average for 2 hours of the serialized GREY'S ANATOMY.

FOX:  2 hours of BONES yielded a 1.1.

NBC:  Apart from a 1.1 for the 9PM OFFICE, nothing cracked a 0.8.

CW:  0.3 for 2 hours.

Tonight, in its race to get CHUCK the hell off its air, NBC will actually air a new episode, the first original scripted show we've seen since... well, since NBC burned off another Chuck and a PRIME SUSPECT last week.  DATELINE will also be new (but GRIMM in between them is a repeat).

For all the numbers, see Mitch Metcalf's ratings report. 

Whatever America is doing early in this holiday season, it's not watching network television.

NBC:  The network attempted to help GRIMM in its return after a 3-week hiatus by giving it a showcase Thursday night run, but its 1.6 rating didn't suggest bubbling fan interest (and may prefigure an ugly score in its timeslot return tonight)--it scored better than PRIME SUSPECT, but that's the definition of "not saying much."  Earlier in the evening, a parade of season lows:  PARKS & RECREATION, THE OFFICE and WHITNEY all tied their lows, while the "winner" was COMMUNITY, a whopping 0.1 above its low for its last pre (permanent?) vanishing episode.

CBS:  BIG BANG THEORY was just above its season low, while RULES OF ENGAGEMENT narrowly set a new one.  Initial numbers have strong results for PERSON OF INTEREST and THE MENTALIST, but CBS in Pittsburgh aired the Steelers vs Browns game, so those numbers are due to come down.

FOX:  The FOX affiliate in Cleveland had the other end of the NFL game, so these numbers are probably high as well.  That won't be good news for FOX, since even with the NFL boost, right now X FACTOR is at a season low and BONES is only 0.1 above its own low.

ABC:  WIPEOUT's season premiere at 1.9 was 20% below last season's average.  After that, AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS and  THE GREAT BIG AMERICAN AUCTION specials were nothing of the sort, with lousy 1.9 and 1.4 numbers respectively.  

CW:  Gone fishin till January.

Tonight, as noted above, the question is how GRIMM will fare in its return to timeslot, against atypical competition:  CBS and FOX are airing holiday specials and reruns.

On a rare night this week not affected by baseball, a mixed set of results for the networks.

NBC:  The strategy of double-pumping WHITNEY and PRIME SUSPECT with repeat episodes on Mondays and Wednesdays in order to expose new viewers to the shows backfired:  those people must not have liked what they saw, because both series fell to new lows, a terrible 2.0 for Whitney and a worse 1.3 for Suspect.  On any other network (except CW), that would get them both cancelled, but the truth is that with NBC in its current state, it's hard to tell just what the network will find "acceptable."  Incredibly, with the exception of football and THE OFFICE (which held up well, albeit 20% below last year's average), there won't be a single show on NBC this week with a rating over 2.1.  In comparison, the entire Sun-Thurs CBS schedule probably won't have a single show under that mark.  Depending on what ratings were proffered to advertisers in this year's Upfront sales, the network may need to air a tremendous number of "make-good" (i.e., free) ads in compensation for under-delilvery.

ABC  CHARLIE'S ANGELS had s slight uptick from last week (and the network instantly issued a press release to crow about it), but let's face it:  a 1.3 and 5th place in the timeslot (behind CW) isn't good news, and it's hard to imagine the show seeing the lights of November in its current timeslot.  GREY'S ANATOMY was up, but still 20% below last year's average, while PRIVATE PRACTICE was also up and a more reasonable 15% below last year.

CBS:  A BIG BANG THEORY rerun proved far more compatible with the show's new episode than How To Be A Gentleman had been.  The bad news was that even with a much stronger lead-in, and an enormous amount of promo attention from the network, PERSON OF INTEREST barely ticked up and still ranked in 3d place for its hour.  THE MENTALIST just barely edged out Private Practice to take the hour at 10PM.

FOX:  The network finally got to air a regularly scheduled night of programming, but all the confusion of this past week may have taken a small toll, as X FACTOR declined slightly.  However, it was still strong enough to give FOX a comfortable win for the night.

Once-glorious Thursdays continue to become just another broadcast network night.

NBC:  Before the season started, all the attention on THE OFFICE was focused on how the show would replace Steve Carell.  But it's turning out that the bigger problem this season is the weirdly dark tone the series has taken--last night's episode had a premise that sounded funny (the warehouse guys hit the lottery and quit en masse), but chose to delve into the bleak depression of Daryl, who repeatedly begged Andy to fire him and put him out of his misery.  Viewers apparently feel the same way, as ratings have gone steadily down since the premiere; last night the show was almost 25% below last season's average.  As The Office goes, so goes WHITNEY, which like its fellow back orderee Up All Night is now doing a barely-passable 2.3 rating.  The rest of the the night was even worse, with COMMUNITY, PARKS & RECREATION and PRIME SUSPECT all under a 2.

ABC:  The news wasn't much better at the Alphabet.  Last night's GREY'S ANATOMY was 30% below last season's average, although that was still good enough for 2d place in the hour.  PRIVATE PRACTICE was also down over 20% from last year, which thanks to Prime Suspect was again good enough for 2d.  CHARLIE'S ANGELS is just playing out its string; it wouldn't be a surprise to see double-pumped episodes of ONCE UPON A TIME in this slot, once it premieres in 2 weeks.

CBS:  With last night's drop, THE BIG BANG THEORY is running even with last season, so that's a success story.  HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN was fairly steady behind it but lost a hefty chunk of its lead-in, and the question for CBS is whether they think RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (currently scheduled for the limbo of Saturdays) would do better in the slot.  PERSON OF INTEREST is an unacceptable 4th place in its hour (will the network try a run of Unforgettable there to see if it can find a foothold?), but THE MENTALIST perked up to win at 10PM.

FOX:  X-FACTOR is winning the night for FOX by a 25% margin, and that's all that matters.  (But no one will be watching tonight's deciding Phillies-Cardinals playoff game with more attention than FOX executives.)

CW:  VAMPIRE DIARIES is holding fairly steady with last season (down about 15%).  But even with that lead-in, SECRET CIRCLE isn't doing better than the network's other new shows that have less help.  However, none of them would be as compatible with Diaries as Circle is, not to mention that the network will want to keep Kevin Williamson happy, so a back order should be coming soon.

Tonight, the main interest will be to see if the scrutiny of A GIFTED MAN becomes a death watch.

On what has traditionally been the flagship night for network television, a mostly subdued start.

NBC:  Amidst the carnage of its premiere week, finally there was a tenuous hour of good news for the Peacock.  THE OFFICE held very well at a 3.9, almost even with its average last season, and that was followed by a solid 3.2 for the debut of WHITNEY.  Now, last night was a big event episode for The Office, because Steve Carell's successor as office manager was finally revealed (see our reboot review), so we'll see how those numbers hold up next week.  (Also, when quarter-hour numbers become available later today, we'll see how many people who tried Whitney out stayed to the end of the show.  UPDATE:  the quarter-hours indicate about a 20% decline from the first half-hour to the second, suggesting some viewer dissatisfaction.)  For now, though, NBC Marketing can breathe a sigh of relief that they've successfully launched a show.  Not too much of a sigh, however:  after Whitney, PRIME SUSPECT was a total bust with a sad 1.8 (UPDATE:  and a 25% decline from the beginning of the hour to the end makes the story even worse).  The 8PM hour also wasn't anything to brag about, with the terrific PARKS & RECREATION only managing a 2, and the equally marvelous COMMUNITY (come on, that 2001 sequence was sheer brilliance) just a 1.7, in both cases below last season's average.

CBS:  Good news!  THE BIG BANG THEORY had the single highest rating of the night, a robust 4.9.  Bad news!  The massively hyped PERSON OF INTEREST, even with a full-hour Big Bang lead-in, was thoroughly unimpressive with a 3.1 (UPDATE:  although it at least held steady with only about a 10% drop during the hour)--that makes 2 procedurals, with Unforgettable, that CBS Marketing couldn't get going this year.  The Mentalist, too, didn't show much, with a 2.8 season premiere below last year's average.  (Although in its defense, it faced atypical competition from ABC.)

ABC:  Nobody was longing for a reboot of CHARLIE'S ANGELS, and it managed only a dismal 2.1 debut  (UPDATE:  it grew slightly during the hour, but that's probably a function of viewership rising between 8-9PM).  (Hey--after the failed retreads of Conan the Barbarian, Fright Night, The Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, Killer Elite, Straw Dogs, Prime Suspect and now Charlie's Angels, could we maybe call a halt to remakes from the 1970s-90s for a while?  Huh?  I know Battlestar Galactica was brilliant, but that was about 1 in 100.  And yes, I'm aware a new Footloose is on the way.  Shoot me now.  End of rant.)  And the 2-hour GREY'S ANATOMY premiere with its 4.1 didn't even hit last year's average.  

FOX:  So, like, who won the night?  That would be FOX, with Night 2 of X-FACTOR.  No, it's not Idol or Voice, but it looks like it's going to be a sturdy performer for the network, and 2-4 hours of a reliable 4+ rating in your pocket every week is enough to make any network head happy.

CW:  VAMPIRE DIARIES, possibly because of the increased competition on the night, slipped to a 1.2, and more worrisome, SECRET DIARIES fell below a 1 rating.  Nothing to panic about in the CW world of ratings just yet, but not happy news either.

Tonight, the only major debut is CBS's A GIFTED MAN, but for some of us there is a huge event this evening:  FRINGE is back!  And maybe we'll find out if Peter still exists in a parallel universe where Community is a hit...