Ratings Report - Week of Monday, May 4

After a week hiatus, we're back with our weekly ratings report!

Monday, May 4
ABC:
8:00PM DANCING WITH THE STARS - 20.28 million, 12.6/19 HH, 4.8/13 (18-49), 6.2/14 (25-54)
10:02PM CASTLE - 9.97 million, 6.6/11 HH, 2.8/7 (18-49), 3.4/8 (25-54)

CBS:
8:00PM THE BIG BANG THEORY - 9.25 million, 5.8/9 HH, 3.4/10, 4.1/11
8:30PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - 8.89 million, 5.5/8 HH, 3.6/9, 4.2/10
9:00PM TWO AND A HALF MEN - 14.17 million, 8.6/13 HH, 5.0/12, 6.1/14
9:30PM RULES OF ENGAGEMENT - 11.33 million, 6.9/10 HH, 4.1/10, 5.1/11
10:00PM CSI: MIAMI - 13.72 million, 8.7/14 HH, 4.0/11, 5.1/13

NBC:
8:00PM DEAL OR NO DEAL MONDAY 2.7/4, 4.36 million, 1.2/3, 1.5/4
9:00PM MEDIUM - 6.38 million
10:00PM MEDIUM - 8.07 million
(MEDIUM ratings 9-11pm: 7.24 million, 4.8/7 HH, 2.2/6, 2.9/7)

FOX:
8:00PM HOUSE - 12.05 million, 7.1/11 HH, 4.6/13, 5.1/13
9:00PM 24 - 10.11 million, 5.9/9 HH, 3.3/8, 4.1/9

The CW:
8:00PM GOSSIP GIRL - 2.22 million, 1.5/2 HH, 1.1/3, 0.8/2
9:00PM ONE TREE HILL - 2.23 million, 1.6/2 HH, 1.1/3, 0.8/2

My thoughts: Dancing with the Stars dominated again, back with a 2 hour edition. Castle, with a nice lead-in, was way up, but still not up to what it should be. On NBC, the return of Deal or No Deal was a huge bust, while Medium was right on par with Heroes at 9pm, seeing a huge buildup at 10pm to give it one of its best showings of the season. House and 24 remain strong, but are still down year-to-year, both having lost their buzz. On CBS, the comedies were all down as well. Big Bang Theory still had a great performance, but How I Met Your Mother's total viewers is a bit disappointing, although it was good in the demo. Watch for Rules of Engagement airing at 8pm tomorrow night! Will it do better than Old Christine, or will it also be disappointing?

Tuesday, May 5
ABC:
8:00PM SCRUBS -TUES - 3.7 million, 2.5/4 HH, 1.5/4, 1.6/4
8:30PM BETTER OFF TED -TUES - 3.07 million, 2.1/3 HH, 1.2/3, 1.4/3
9:00PM DANCING WITH THE STARS: THE RESULTS - 14.56 million, 9.4/14 HH, 3.2/8, 4.2/10
10:02PM CUPID - 5.14 million, 3.5/6 HH, 1.6/4, 2.0/5

CBS:
8:00PM NCIS - 16.72 million, 10.4/17 HH, 3.4/10, 4.8/12
9:00PM THE MENTALIST - 16.68 million, 10.4/16 HH, 3.6/9, 5.1/12
10:01PM WITHOUT A TRACE - 11.83 million, 7.7/13 HH, 2.6/7, 3.6/9

NBC:
8:00PM BIGGEST LOSER 7 - 9.13 million, 5.6/9 HH, 3.6/10, 4.0/10
10:00PM LAW & ORDER: SVU - 9.82 million, 6.9/12 HH, 3.7/10, 4.2/11

FOX:
8:00PM AMERICAN IDOL TUESDAY - 23.41 million, 13.4/21 HH, 8.3/23, 10.1/25
9:03PM FRINGE THRU 10:01PM ET - 9.24 million, 5.6/8 HH, 3.8/10, 4.5/10

The CW:
8:00PM REAPER - 1.89 million, 1.2/2 HH, 0.8/2, 0.8/2
9:00PM 90210 - 1.84 million, 1.3/4 HH, 0.9/2, 0.8/2

My thoughts: NCIS and The Mentalist are definitely a great duo, aren't they? It's unfortunate they'll most likely be broken up next season, because they'll see far greater success airing together. Both demos are very low, though, especially NCIS. For 17 million viewers, a 3.4 is terrible. Fringe's performance was also losing - 23 million viewer lead-in, and it can only generate 9.24 million? Thankfully for fans, it already got a full 22 episode second season - why, I don't know. Biggest Loser is having a great season, one of the few successful shows on NBC. And SVU is definitely down, but it's still generating good numbers. Without a Trace was down quite a bit for some reason, and Scrubs/Better Off Ted did absolutely terrible. Both shows need to just go away - how much more can we really take of Scrubs???

Wednesday, May 6
ABC:
8:00PM SCRUBS FINALE - 5.07 million, 3.5/6 HH, 2.1/6, 2.2/6
9:00PM LOST - 8.7 million, 5.3/8 HH, 4.0/10, 4.4/10
10:02PM THE UNUSUALS - 4.63 million, 3.1/5 HH, 1.6/4, 1.9/5

CBS:
8:00PM OLD CHRISTINE - 6.45 million, 4.4/8 HH, 1.9/6, 2.5/7
8:30PM GARY UNMARRIED - 6.66 million, 4.3/7 HH, 2.0/6, 2.7/7
9:00PM CRIMINAL MINDS - 14.13 million, 8.9/14 HH, 3.3/8, 4.6/10
10:00PM CSI NY - 13.4 million, 8.5/14 HH, 3.3/9, 4.5/11

NBC:
8:00PM LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT NBC - 5.71 million, 3.9/7 HH, 1.3/4, 1.7/5
9:00PM LAW & ORDER: SVU WED-REPEAT - 4.51 million, 3.2/5 HH, 1.1/3, 1.3/3
10:00PM LAW & ORDER - 8.14 million, 5.5/9 HH, 2.3/6, 2.9/7

FOX:
8:00PM LIE TO ME - 8.68 million, 5.4/9 HH, 2.7/8, 3.3/9
9:00PM AMERICAN IDOL WED THRU 10:02PM ET - 23.57 million, 13.7/21 HH, 8.3/20, 10.1/22

The CW:
8:00PM AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL - 3.82 million, 2.6/4 HH, 1.7/5, 1.6/4
9:00PM 90210 WED-REPEAT - 1.09 million, 0.8/1 HH, 0.5/1, 0.4/1

My thoughts: The Scrubs finale saw a bump, but went off with little excitement. Now can we hope this is the final finale? I swear, this feels like the 5th finale of Scrubs we've had to date. Lost is really down, though. It's demo remains very strong, but under 9 million viewers shouldn't be acceptable for this once powerhouse show. And The Unusuals - a good show, but no one's watching. The CBS comedies had a rough week for some reason. Look out for Rules of Engagement and Old Christine airing 8-9pm tomorrow. Meanwhile, both Criminal Minds and CSI:NY were up. Both Law & Order and Lie to Me did very well, both worthy of a renewal. And The CW continues to waste that prime 9pm slot, after their highest rated show. How stupid can you get, really?

Thursday, May 7
ABC:
8:00PM UGLY BETTY - 7.38 million, 4.9/9 HH, 2.1/7, 2.5/7
9:00PM GREY'S ANATOMY - 15.55 million, 10.3/16 HH, 5.4/14, 6.2/15
10:02PM MICHAEL J. FOX: ADVENTURES OF AN INCURABLE OPTIMIST - 10.23 million, 6.8/12 HH, 3.1/9, 4.0/10

CBS:
8:00PM SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS - 11.99 million, 7.0/12 HH, 3.8/12, 4.7/13
9:00PM CSI - 14.91 million, 9.2/15 HH, 3.6/10, 4.9/12
10:01PM CSI-REPEAT - 9.58 million, 6.5/11 HH, 2.4/7, 3.2/9

NBC:
8:00PM MY NAME IS EARL - 4.47 million, 3.0/5 HH, 1.7/6, 1.9/6
8:30PM PARKS AND RECREATION - 4.72 million, 3.0/5 HH, 2.1/6, 2.2/6
9:00PM THE OFFICE - 7.84 million, 4.5/7 HH, 3.9/11, 3.8/9
9:31PM 30 ROCK - 6.13 million, 3.8/6 HH, 2.9/8, 3.1/7
10:01PM SOUTHLAND - 6.61 million, 4.4/8 HH, 2.0/6, 2.6/7

FOX:
8:00PM BONES - 8.76 million, 5.5/10 HH, 2.3/7, 3.0/9
9:00PM HELL'S KITCHEN - 6.5 million, 3.9/6 HH, 2.7/7, 3.2/8

The CW:
8:00PM SMALLVILLE - 3.39 million, 2.1/4 HH, 1.5/5, 1.5/4
9:00PM SUPERNATURAL - 2.79 million, 1.7/3 HH, 1.2/3, 1.1/3

My thoughts: Grey's Anatomy had a VERY good performance on this Thursday. It beat out CSI in total viewers, and hugely in the demo, something it hasn't done all season, so that was great to see. Seems like CSI is really suffering now without William Petersen. Ugly Betty had an okay airing, but its ratings remain down. They should be better for this. I'm thinking either Tuesdays at 8pm for Fridays for this show next season. Survivor was way up in the demo for some reason, and remains really on par with last cycle. My Name is Earl is seeing the end of the road - these ratings are nothing short of horrible. Parks & Rec actually looks good compared to those Earl ratings. And Southland was right on par with last week - not terrible, but could definitely be better. This is just not the hit we previously thought it was. Bones and Hell's Kitchen were both down - why?? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea of FOX to air another season of HK this summer. Season finale is this Thursday!!

Friday, May 8
ABC:
8:00PM ABC FRIDAY MOVIE OF THE WEEK: HAPPY FEET - 5.01 million, 3.1/6 HH, 1.3/5, 1.6/5
10:00PM 20/20 - 5.02 million, 3.3/6 HH, 1.2/4, 1.6/5

CBS:
8:00PM GHOST WHISPERER - 9.5 million, 6.0/12 HH, 2.2/8, 3.1/10
9:02PM FLASHPOINT - 8.62 million, 5.5/10 HH, 1.8/6, 2.5/8
10:00PM NUMB3RS - 9.57 million, 6.0/11 HH, 2.0/7, 2.9/9

NBC:
8:00PM HOWDIE DO IT -REPEAT - 2.67 million, 1.8/4 HH, 0.8/3, 1.0/3
8:29PM HOWDIE DO IT -REPEAT - 2.31 million, 1.5/3 HH, 0.8/3, 0.9/3
9:00PM DATELINE - 5.23 million, 3.7/7 HH, 1.4/5, 1.9/6

FOX:
8:00PM PRISON BREAK - 2.99 million, 1.9/4 HH, 0.9/3, 1.0/4
9:01PM DOLLHOUSE - 2.7 million, 1.7/3 HH, 1.0/4, 1.1/3

The CW:
8:00PM EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS - 1.67 million, 1.0/2 HH, 0.7/3, 0.7/2
8:30PM THE GAME - 1.82 million, 1.1/2 HH, 0.8/3, 0.8/2
9:00PM AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL FRI-REPEAT - 1.14 million, 0.8/2 HH, 0.5/2, 0.5/2

My thoughts: Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs remain down in these spring months. Flashpoint remains weak at 9pm. If CBS is still looking for that stable 9pm show, it isn't Flashpoint. My suggestion: put Cold Case or Without a Trace in the slot. Both are lower demo shows and would fit in nicely with the other 2 shows. Flashpoint can remain a midseason option, or even go to Saturdays. It's cheap, so I think it would be worth the try on Saturdays. I still can't get over how low Prison Break and Dollhouse are. Wow. Hopefully FOX decides to stick with 5th Grader and Lyrics on Fridays all next season. I'm hoping to see scripted shows on ABC Fridays next season, like I said before, Ugly Betty and perhaps something else, to boost 20/20 a bit. And NBC: Law & Order with perhaps a new show or Medium would be a good option. Don't expect Chris or The Game to be back on The CW next season.

Saturday, May 9
ABC:
8:00 NBC PLAYOFFS - 4.5 million, 1.7/6 (18-49)

CBS:
8:00 CSI-REPEAT - 4.45 million, 0.7/3 (18-49)
9:00 HARPER'S ISLAND - 4.64 million, 1.1/4 (18-49)
10:00 48 HOURS MYSTERY - 6.4 million, 1.5/5 (18-49)

NBC:
8:00 LAW & ORDER: SVU-REPEAT - 3.45 million, 0.7/3 (18-49)
9:00 SOUTHLAND-REPEAT - 3.75 million, 0.6/2 (18-49)
10:00 LAW & ORDER-REPEAT - 5.18 million, 1.0/3 (18-49)

FOX:
8:00 NASCAR: DARLINGTON - 6.48 million, 2.0/7 (18-49)

My thoughts: Another sad Saturday night. Harper's Island did okay, right on par to the point with last week. I guess the viewers that followed over to Saturdays have stuck around. Now will this 2 week hiatus hurt the show or help the show? It could build up suspense, but in 2 weeks, viewers might not care anymore. Overall, a nice build for CBS from 8-11pm. FOX did great with Nascar, and the Southland repeat was more than half of what the regular airing got on Thursday. Perhaps viewers are watching it here instead?

Sunday, May 10
ABC:
7:00 AFHV - 7.00 million, 2.0/7 (18-49)
8:00 EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION - 8.19 million, 2.6/7 (18-49)
9:00 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - 12.13 million, 4.1/11 (18-49)
10:00 BROTHERS & SISTERS - 8.84 million, 3.1/8 (18-49)

CBS:
7:00 60 MINUTES - 9.97 million, 1.5/5 (18-49)
8:00 THE AMAZING RACE - 10.43 million, 3.0/9 (18-49)
9:00 COLD CASE - 11.78 million, 2.7/7 (18-49)
10:00 THE UNIT - 9.66 million, 2.4/7 (18-49)

NBC:
7:00 DATELINE - 4.03 million, 0.9/3 (18-49)
8:00 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE-FINALE - 6.45 million, 2.1/7 (18-49)
8:30 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE - 7.06 million, 2.4/7 (18-49)
9:00 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE - 8.57 million, 3.0/8
9:30 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE - 9.79 million, 3.6/9
10:00 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE - 10.42 million, 3.8/10
10:30 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE - 10.07 million, 3.6/10

FOX:
7:00 SIT DOWN SHUT UP - 1.59 million, 0.7/3
7:30 AMERICAN DAD-REPEAT - 2.36 million, 1.1/4
8:00 THE SIMPSONS - 5.16 million, 2.5/8
8:30 KING OF THE HILL - 4.1 million, 1.8/5
9:00 FAMILY GUY - 6.47 million, 3.2/9
9:30 AMERICAN DAD - 4.95 million, 2.5/6

The CW:
6:30 JERICHO-REPEAT - 0.72 million, 0.3/1
7:30 THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - 1.00 million, 0.3/1

My thoughts: What a finale on Celebrity Apprentice? Congratulations to Joan Rivers, who rightfully deserved it over poker "trash" Annie Duke. Keep in mind - this was Mother's Day, and ratings were down approximately 20% on average as recorded by Nielsen. With this said, Celebrity Apprenitce is the only NBC show of the week to reach 10 million viewers - overall, it averaged 8.73 million, right on par with the season average. This could have been the best Apprentice season since season 1! Next season is expected to begin next March. Desperate Housewives hit a series low - did CA do some damage, or are people getting sick of seeing their favorite housewives 5 years in the future? Brothers & Sisters disappointed for its season finale - expect this to move out of Sundays next fall. The Unit beat it in total viewers - congrats to The Unit. Amazing Race ended its season on a high, as did Cold Case, which deserves a renewal. And FOX - this animation domination needs to end. The Simpsons - was that a series low? If it wasn't, it was close to it.