Ratings Report - Week of Monday, May 18

Okay, we're back for the final ratings report of the season! This week saw many series finales, with the first day of the summer season on Thursday (which also saw season finales). Throughout summer, I'll continue with the summer ratings report, so stay tuned for those each week.

Monday, May 18
ABC:
8:00PM DANCING WITH THE STARS - 19.17 million, 12.2/20 HH, 4.4/13, 5.6/15
9:02PM THE BACHELORETTE - 8.69 million, 5.9/10 HH, 3.0/8, 3.4/8

CBS:
8:00PM RULES OF ENGAGEMENT - 7.5 million, 4.7/8 HH, 2.7/8, 3.2/9
8:30PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - 8.73 million, 5.4/9 HH, 3.7/10, 4.2/11
9:00PM TWO AND A HALF MEN - 16.18 million, 9.9/15 HH, 5.3/14, 6.6/16
9:30PM RULES OF ENGAGEMENT - 12.87 million, 7.9/12 HH, 4.4/11, 5.6/13
10:00PM CSI: MIAMI - 14.2 million, 8.9/15 HH, 3.8/10, 5.0/13

NBC:
8:00PM DEAL OR NO DEAL MONDAY - 4.36 million, 2.8/5 HH, 1.2/4, 1.5/4
9:00PM DEAL OR NO DEAL MONDAY - 5.39, 3.4/5 HH, 1.5/4, 1.8/4
10:00PM MEDIUM - 6.56 million, 4.4/7 HH, 1.9/5, 2.6/7

FOX:
8:00PM 24 - 9.64 million, 5.7/9 HH, 3.1/9, 3.9/10

The CW:
8:00PM GOSSIP GIRL - 2.23 million, 1.6/3 HH, 1.1/3, 0.9/2
9:00PM ONE TREE HILL - 2.68 million, 1.8/3 HH, 1.3/3, 1.0/

My thoughts: Nice numbers across the board. Dancing with the Stars lead the finales at 8pm, while The Bachelorette was off to a sluggish start in my opinion. Castle was doing much better after Dancing, but for a summer series, Bachelorette remains strong. Over at CBS, Two and a Half led the sitcoms, up nearly 3 million from the previous week and close to a season high. Meanwhile, Big Bang Theory will be missed at 8pm next season, as Rules of Engagement couldn't hold up in the slot and How I Met Your Mother was lost without it. CSI: Miami was up from the previous week and went out strong. At FOX, 24 hit a season low for its season finale. Not too good, as House clearly holds this show up. It did build in its half hours, though, going from 8 million to 10 million. At NBC, Deal or No Deal, while building up nicely, was terrible once again. I believe NBC has also cancelled the primetime series, so don't expect to see this back in primetime, at least not anytime soon. And Medium didn't benefit, as it saw a rough showing at 10pm, right before NBC cancelled it. Watch out for Medium on CBS Fridays next season! Medium still has 2 more episodes to air, tonight and next Monday, the season finale. The CW had finales of their shows, but both were off a million from what they premiered to back in September.

Tuesday, May 19
ABC:
8:00PM DANCING WITH THE STARS-REPEAT - 7.65 million, 5.0/8 HH, 1.8/5, 2.2/6
9:00PM DANCING WITH THE STARS: THE RESULTS-FINALE - 20.31 million, 12.6/20 HH, 5.2/14, 6.5/15

CBS:
8:00PM NCIS - million, 10.3/17 HH, 16.5 million, 3.4/10, 4.6/12
9:00PM THE MENTALIST - 16.82 million, 10.4/16 HH, 3.7/10, 5.2/12
10:01PM WITHOUT A TRACE - 11.21 million, 7.3/12 HH, 2.5/7, 3.3/8

NBC:
8:00PM MOST OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS -REPEAT - 3.0 million, 1.9/3 HH, 0.8/3, 1.0/3
8:30PM MOST OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS -REPEAT - 2.99 million, 1.9/3 HH,
9:00PM LAW & ORDER: SVU-REPEAT - 3.48 million, 2.4/4 HH, 1.2/3, 1.4/3
10:00PM LAW & ORDER: SVU - 6.93 million, 4.7/8 HH, 2.5/7, 2.9/7

FOX:
8:00PM AMERICAN IDOL TUESDAY - 23.82 million, 13.5/22 HH, 8.6/25, 10.3/17
9:03PM GLEE PREVIEW THRU 10:02PM ET - 9.62 million, 5.6/9 HH, 3.9/10, 4.4/10

The CW:
8:00PM REAPER - 1.71 million, 1.1/2 HH, 0.7/2, 0.6/2
9:00PM 90210 - 2.0 million, 1.4/2 HH, 1.1/3, 0.9/2

My thoughts: The Dancing finale seemed to have an effect across the board. The results show was up nearly 6 million from the previous week, so it was a great showing and a great finale. American Idol aired at 8pm and still dominated, leading into the preview premiere of Glee at a respectable rating. It was a little better than Fringe the previous week, which is the good news. I'm sure FOX will be happy if it can continue to get those ratings. If anyone watched it, how did you like it? I loved it - a refreshing drama, and the music was fantastic. Meanwhile, the CBS finales also did good, with both NCIS and The Mentalist holding up very well against the Idol and Dancing. The Mentalist rose hugely in the demo from NCIS and in total viewers. Without a Trace's finale was off 2 million from the previous week, as it turned out to be the series finale. And the Law & Order: SVU finale was absolutely terrible, and a series low. Seems like DWTS had a huge effect on it. NBC should be worried with those numbers.

Wednesday, May 20
ABC:
8:00PM ABC WEDNESDAY MOVIE OF THE WEEK: PIRATES of the CARIBBEAN - DEAD MAN'S CHEST - 3.41 million, 2.2/4 HH, 1.2/3, 1.4/3

CBS:
8:00PM OLD CHRISTINE - 5.55 million, 3.7/7 HH, 1.6/5, 2.1/6
8:30PM GARY UNMARRIED - 5.52 million, 3.7/6 HH, 1.7/5, 2.2/6
9:00PM CRIMINAL MINDS - 13.99 million, 8.7/14 HH, 3.5/9, 4.7/11

NBC:
8:00PM LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT NBC - 5.04 million, 3.5/6 HH, 1.0/3, 1.3/4
9:00PM LAW & ORDER: SVU WED-REPEAT - 4.32 million, 3.0/5 HH, 1.0/3, 1.3/3
10:00PM LAW & ORDER - 6.67 million, 4.6/8 HH,2.0/5, 2.5/6

FOX:
8:00PM AMERICAN IDOL WED THRU 10:07PM ET - 28.84 million, 16.1/27 HH, 10.0/28, 11.8/30

The CW:
8:00PM CW MOVIE: TAKE THE LEAD-REPEAT - 1.24 millio, 0.9/1 HH, 0.4/1, 0.4/1

My thoughts: Clearly FOX dominated this final day of May sweeps with the American Idol finale. It amazes me how people will only come to watch the premiere and the finale of this show. Congratulations to Kris! The only thing that held up against it was Criminal Minds, which had a respectable 14 million for its season finale. CBS should be very proud with that. The comedies, meanwhile, all hit series lows. I'm sure it was the Idol finale that really effected them, but it probably would have been a good idea to move the comedy hour to Tuesdays, putting NCIS: LA to Wednesdays at 8pm. ABC gave up the night, and Law & Order should make a good Friday show for NBC.

Thursday, May 21
ABC:
8:00 UGLY BETTY - 6.27 million, 1.9/6 (18-49)
10:00 GREY'S ANATOMY-REPEAT - 3.61 million, 1.1/3

CBS:
8:00 NCIS-REPEAT - 7.37 million, 1.3/5
9:00 CSI-REPEAT - 9.64 million, 1.9/6
10:00 FLASHPOINT-REPEAT - 7.49 million, 1.8/5

NBC:
8:00 MY NAME IS EARL-REPEAT - 3.32 million, 1.1/4
8:30 30 ROCK-REPEAT - 2.79 million, 1.2/4
9:00 THE OFFICE-REPEAT - 3.28 million, 1.4/4
9:30 30 ROCK-REPEAT - 3.19 million, 1.3/4
10:00 SOUTHLAND - 6.39 million, 2.0/6

FOX:
8:00 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE - 8.77 million, 3.4/11

The CW:
8:00 SMALLVILLE-REPEAT - 1.42 million, 0.5/2
9:00 SUPERNATURAL-REPEAT - 1.29 million, 0.5/1

My thoughts: And the summer season officially starts! Ugly Betty aired is finale out of season on ABC with a season low. But, if it can do this on Fridays next season, I'm sure ABC will be happy. If it continues to go down - next season will definitely be its last. Southland was the other finale, at an almost identical rating. Southland will be moving to the same timeslot on Fridays next season. My guess is it will drop even more. I'm definitley going to give the edge to Medium next season, with Ugly Betty coming in second, Southland a close third, and Dollhouse deadlast at 9pm. And summer favorite So You Think You Can Dance premiered to respectable ratings. But, those are not the ratings FOX will want in the fall. It will need to do better than this.

Friday, May 22
ABC:
8:00 WIFE SWAP-REPEAT - 3.23 million, 1.0/4
9:00 SUPERNANNY-REPEAT - 2.57 million, 0.8/3
10:00 20/20 - 4.5 million, 1.3/4

CBS:
8:00 GHOST WHISPERER-REPEAT - 5.98 million, 1.1/5
9:00 FLASHPOINT-REPEAT - 6.49 million, 1.2/4
10:00 NUMB3RS-REPEAT - 6.4 million, 1.1/4

NBC:
8:00 HOWIE DO IT-REPEAT - 2.3 million, 0.6/2
9:00 DATELINE - 4.8 million, 1.1/4

FOX:
8:00 DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS! - 3.3 million, 1.0/5
9:00 HOUSE-REPEAT - 3.12 million, 1.0/4

The CW:
8:00 EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS-REPEAT - 1.24 million, 0.4/2
8:30 THE GAME-REPEAT - 1.24 million, 0.5/2
9:00 EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS-REPEAT - 1.09 million, 0.4/2
9:30 THE GAME-REPEAT - 1.1 million, 0.4/1

My thoughts: Summer continues. Don't Forget the Lyrics! returned to abysmal numbers, although it built a lot at 8:30, and without absolutely no promotion, I'm sure this is all FOX was expecting. House did even worse at 9:00. And everything else, besides Dateline and 20/20 was repeats.

Saturday, May 23
ABC:
8:00 NBA PLAYOFF, GAME 3, WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS - 6.54 million, 2.6/10

CBS:
8:00 GHOST WHISPERER-REPEAT - 2.78 million, 0.6/2
9:00 HARPER'S ISLAND - 3.9 million, 1.0/5
10:00 48 HOURS MYSTERY - 5.5 million, 1.2/4

NBC:
8:00 LAW & ORDER: CI-REPEAT - 3.24 million, 0.6/2
9:00 SOUTHLAND-REPEAT - 3.02 million, 0.7/3
10:00 LAW & ORDER-REPEAT - 4.5 million, 0.9/3

FOX:
8:00 COPS-REPEAT - 3.52 million, 1.1/5
9:00 AMERICA'S MOST WANTED - 3.71 million, 1.2/4

My thoughts: Just another Saturday. After a week off, Harper's Island returned to not-so-good numbers. But, for a Saturday, how much better could it be doing? Unfortunately, more people should be watching, but aren't - the mystery is really getting good now

Sunday, May 24
ABC:
7:00 AFV-REPEAT - 4.69 million, 1.2/5
8:00 EXTREME MAKEOVER: HE-REPEAT - 4.58 million, 1.3/5
9:00 MINISERIES: DIAMONS (PART 1) - 4.25 million, 1.0/3

CBS:
7:00 60 MINUTES - 7.95 million, 1.0/4
8:00 MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD-REPEAT - 5.19 million, 0.9/3
9:00 COLD CASE-REPEAT - 7.04 million, 1.5/5
10:00 THE UNIT-REPEAT - 5.02 million, 1.1/3

NBC:
7:00 DATELINE - 4.57 million, 0.8/3
9:00 THE LAST TEMPLAR-REPEAT - 3.84 million, 0.8/3

FOX:
7:00 NASCAR - 3.06 million, 1.2/4

The CW:
7:00 JERICHO-REPEAT - 0.61 million
8:00 LOVE IS ALL THERE IS - 0.88 million

My thoughts: ABC'S Diamonds really bombed last night. They were promoting it, too. A clearly disappointing showing. Million Dollar Password returned with a repeat, and to just okay numbers. It will be airing until Big Brother premieres, with 2 new episodes mixed in with repeats. Cold Case was the only winner of the night, in both viewers and the demo. Finally, Cold Case is a winner!