Ratings

Not even an organized Twitter assault could help NBC's 'Chuck' find viewers.

According to the Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed, 'Chuck,' 'House' and 'Big Bang Theory' all hit record season low ratings. Fans of NBC's 'Chuck' did their best to drum up interest in the bubble show, from trying to organize a flash mob to a Twitter campaign, but it didn't work.

'Chuck' dropped 10 percent compared to last week and with 5.9 million viewers the episode tied with the lowest-rated episode ever.

Talk about a reversal of fortune: After a dismal premiere, which drew just 126,000 viewers, Starz' sophomore comedy series 'Party Down' rose to 289,000 viewers in its second episode, marking a jump of 129 percent, according to the Live Feed.

Sure, that's less than the approximately one-million viewers who watched 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' on the same night. However, it may be a telling sign that the positive feedback 'Party Down' is getting is finally funneling down to people who normally don't consider Starz as a home for original programming.

Still, with ratings still in the toilet, and with much of its cast exiting after season 2, the future of 'Party Down' isn't looking too bright.

Numbers aren't looking too hot for 'Gravity.' According to reports, its premiere drew just 123,000 viewers.

'Party Down' airs Fridays at 10PM.

For the most part, CBS has had a very good year. New series like 'Undercover Boss' and 'NCIS: LA' lived up to expectations and emerged as hits, and even though it's fallen off a bit lately, 'The Good Wife' is also a success.

But as the May upfront approaches, when the network has to make difficult decisions about what new shows to order and which programs to axe, it's a good time to assess what might happen. Here's our look at what's Tiffany network shows are on the brink ... and how it might play out.

It's been a tumultuous few months for ABC's daytime drama 'One Life to Live.' Recently, we reported that Tuc Watkins is returning, and they are bringing in a former scribe to be the associate headwriter, and the gay couple -- Kyle and Oliver -- were dumped. All that hubbub had us speculating about the future of 'One Life to Live' in an era when longtime soaps like 'Guiding Light' have been canceled and another legendary daytimer, 'As the World Turns' is ending it's run in September.

Well, fans are concerned, too, especially after the story emerged last week about ABC Daytime developing a talk show for Tori Spelling. TV Guide went to the Jori Petersen, the head ABC Daytime PR, to ask if the Spelling show might threaten the future of 'One Life.'

Sue Sylvester's cheerios have something significant to cheer -- and sing -- about: With its ratings on Tuesday night, 'Glee' has edged past ABC's laugh-riot 'Modern Family' to become the highest-rated new scripted series of the season.

Thanks in part to 'American Idol' having run a few minutes late, the 'Glee' gang attracted an impressive 12.6 million viewers and, in a week that saw most shows slip in the ratings, held steady with last week's numbers.

With that heady one-two punch, FOX handily won the night, followed by CBS, whose 'NCIS' (15.9 million) and 'The Good Wife' (12.1 million) both posted season lows.

'America: The Story of Us' is a hit for History.

Sunday's premiere of the six-part miniseries drew 5.7 million viewers to become the cable net's highest-rated special ever. The record-breaking educational series, which featured an intro by President Barack Obama, tracks 400 years of American history, from the early Jamestown settlers to the headlines of today.

"The success personifies the hunger for information and the desire to re-connect with our past," History President Nancy Dubuc said in a statement. "Ultimately there's no story more dramatic and gripping than the story of America itself.

This is either a hiccup or a sign of things to come: Ratings for most of the shows that aired last night were down, according to the Live Feed.

The ratings winner was CBS, who aired 'Survivor,' 'CSI' (which tied its all-time series low, with 13.3 million viewers and a 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demo) and 'The Mentalist.'

Fox placed second with 'Bones' and 'Fringe,' which pulled in 8.8 million and 5.9 million viewers, respectively.

Meanwhile, things didn't turn out well on the NBC front: 'Community' hit a series low, with a measly 3.9 million viewers,' while 'The Office' (6.4 million) and a double-feature of '30 Rock' (4.2 million, 5.2 million) hit season lows.

Also hitting a season low: ABC's 'Private Practice,' with just 7.4 million viewers.

Tell us: What did you watch last night?

Since landing the cushy debut time slot after the Super Bowl to launch its run, CBS's 'Undercover Boss' has been an unqualified success for the network. In fact, in nearly every Sunday since its premiere -- with or without the lead in of a sporting event -- 'Undercover Boss' has showed well in the ratings.

The season finale on April 11 was the number one program in the 18-49 rating, the one that TV execs covet the most. Therefore, you can understand why 'Undercover Boss' easily earned a second season renewal. It won't be a mid-season drop in, either. You watch, it's going to be on the CBS upfront schedule for the fall.

The trailer for the SyFy television movie 'Mega Piranha' is pretty ridiculous. It makes the "Imagine Greater" tagline of the channel seem ironic. Even more ridiculous, however, is the fact that the television movie got higher ratings than 'Caprica' and was the channel's most-watched movie for the year.

One would hope that a cable network specializing in science fiction would promote philosophical programming about the human condition rather than a silly television movie about mutated fish. Obviously, the majority of people in the United States that stay in on a Saturday night disagree with me. Perhaps everyone just wanted to see what Barry "Greg Brady" Williams was up to nowadays.

On the other hand, everybody has guilty pleasures (which would explain the success of many reality shows) and perhaps 'Mega Pirahna' is one of them. If that's what it takes to keep 'Caprica' on the air, then I'm all for it.

By my own reckoning, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 various forms of media (books, television shows, movies) have been done about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient Pompeii, Italy. Whatever the count actually is, add one more to it because Ridley Scott will be producing a miniseries about the famous eruption for Sony Pictures Television and Germany's Tandem Communications.

The story is described by the people involved as a thriller love story set against the backdrop of a historical disaster. In other words, it's a thematic duplicate of the movie 'Titanic.' The miniseries will be based on the book 'Pompeii' by Robert Harris, which was originally intended to be developed into a film directed by Roman Polanski (who suddenly became unavailable due to his arrest).

When a major historical event has been covered in an episode of 'Doctor Who,' you know it's been overdone. Hopefully Ridley Scott and company can put a unique spin on the tale. Has anybody read the book? Do you think it could be made into a good miniseries?

Forbes has an interesting article about the sources of Glenn Beck's income. Interestingly, only $2 million of his $32 million annual salary comes from his Fox News show where he gets most of his publicity. The majority of the money comes from his radio and publishing empire. It could be said that Fox News is the platform from which he hawks the rest of his wares.

But as Master Yogurt said, merchandising is where the real money from the movie comes from. Pretty soon I'm sure we'll be seeing the Glenn Beck action figure, the Glenn Beck cookbook, the Glenn Beck barbecue grill and the Glenn Beck video game for the Wii which will come with its own interactive chalkboard.

However, to put things in perspective: no matter how much the man makes from his media empire, Glenn Beck will still make a lot less in annual income than Oprah.

We keep hearing about original series from paid channels like HBO or Showtime getting major kudos and ratings, but we never hear much about the original series from Starz, until now. Their series 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' has been picking up some serious numbers in terms of viewers since its premiere on January 22nd of this year.

The show has gotten lukewarm reviews from the critics. Perhaps it's the gladiatorial combat that draws in the viewers. Or perhaps it's the proliferation of sex in the series (including some nudity on the part of former 'Battlestar Galactica' cylon/'Xena: Warrior Princess,' Lucy Lawless). Or perhaps people are confusing it with the movie 'Spartacus' that starred Kirk Douglas and was directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Starz could very well become the Cinemax of scripted programming, relying on more adult original scripted programming with lots of sex and violence in order to be a player in the game along with HBO and Showtime. Time will tell.

This is only at the rumor stage, but if it's true then it's a pretty big story. People.com is saying that Charlie Sheen is quietly telling his friends that he won't be returning to 'Two and a Half Men' after this season.

Given his high profile addiction and marital problems, this move is not an entire surprise. However, 'Two and a Half Men' still remains a ratings powerhouse and Sheen is one of the centerpieces (if not the centerpiece) of it. On the other hand, it would be a better idea for the show to go out on top. CBS has 'The Big Bang Theory' waiting in the wings to take its place on Monday nights.

So what do you think? Would Charlie be nuts to give up one of the highest rated comedies on television or should he just take some time off from the spotlight and concentrate on his personal problems? And what would a show without him look like?

Having Sarah Palin on Fox News is a bit of a no-brainer, particularly since they appeal to the same demographic. Rupert Murdoch takes full advantage of this fact when she appears as a contributor and will do so again this coming Thursday when the former Governor hosts 'Real American Stories.'

The show will be your basic celebrity interview show in which successful Americans reveal the history and secrets of their success. Guests will include Toby Keith, LL Cool J and former GE CEO Jack Welch. Hopefully they'll be on the same show and they'll be fighting each other in a ring.

Honestly, Sarah Palin is so busy nowadays. She's got her book. She's got her new reality show on TLC. Pretty soon she'll be getting her own sitcom on NBC Thursday nights. Hmmmm.

Whatever you do, don't read too much into the fact that the show begins on April Fool's Day. No, stop reading into that. Stop that right now. That's not appreciated.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that Showtime is the home of two of the best comedies currently on the air, 'Nurse Jackie' and 'United States of Tara.' Having been fortunate enough to enjoy the season two premieres of these two shows last Sunday, it came as no surprise that Showtime announced today that both 'Jackie' and 'Tara' are coming back for a third season.

Actually, it is a bit of a surprise ... that it happened so fast! Showtime could have saved the news for a few weeks or even the end of these second seasons. But you have to figure the premium cable channel is pretty happy with the ratings these shows have generated and the enthusiasm is palpable. Another season, twelve more episodes of each, and for the creators of these shows that just has to be a great validation.