I'm going to be honest with you because you all have been honest with me. Sometimes a bit too honest. Sometimes honest to the point of being creepy and making me change my phone number. But, honest nonetheless.
Anyway, I may be a bit jaded in my opinions of the summer schedule that FOX released last week. I mean, they take two of the most popular dramas on their schedule -- Bones and House -- and just bounce them around the schedule so much just so they can accommodate five thousand hours of American Idol. Frankly, it pisses me off a bit.
That's why I need your help to determine if I am way off in thinking that their summer programming schedule is a heaping pile of poo. Take a look at the schedule after the jump and then we'll talk.
Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.
No shock that American Idol grabs the first three slots again this week (and helps push both New Amsterdam episodes into the top 20), but I'm curious as to why the Thursday results show isn't higher than the Tuesday and Wednesday episodes, and why some weeks the Tuesday ep is number 1 in the ratings and other weeks the Wednesday show is number 1.
Lost continues to impress on its new night, and if you're wondering how 20/20 got to be number 5 for the week, it was the special "Royal Family" episode.
1. American Idol - Weds (FOX) 2. American Idol - Tues (FOX) 3. American Idol - Thurs (FOX)
Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.
There's good news and bad news about this list. The good news is that we live in a world where a great show like Lost, now in its fourth season and in a new time slot, can still come in at #4. The same thing with 60 Minutes, which has been on forever. The bad news? We live in a world where Deal Or No Deal takes up three of the top twenty spots (including two in the top ten). Ugh.
1. American Idol - Tues (FOX) 2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.
I can't remember the last time that one network had the first seven spots in the Nielsen ratings. FOX got the number one slot with the Super Bowl (of course), but then got the next six spots too, with the post-game, the episode of House that followed the post-game, the two American Idol episodes (again, of course), the other episode of House, and the new game/reality show Moment of Truth. And if you extend it to the top 20, FOX also had Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? and Don't Forget The Lyrics. Good week for them.
1. Super Bowl (FOX) 2. Super Bowl Post-Game (FOX) 3. House (FOX)
Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.
No surprise who grabbed the first two slots in the ratings: both episodes of American Idol. I am surprised - OK, not surprised, just dismayed - by the strong showing of Moment of Truth, which came in #3 after Idol. Interesting to see that 60 Minutes is still consistently in the top 10 after all these decades. Of course, CBS always has a lot of shows in the top 20 every week. It's amazing how shows like Without A Trace, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Two and a Half Men, Shark, and all of the CSI shows are always always always on the list.
1. American Idol - Tues (FOX) 2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
According to TMZ, the game show Moment of Truth sent a letter to Roger Clemens' manager asking him to appear as a contestant on the show. For those unaware, the former Yankees pitcher was mentioned in a document called the Mitchell Report which accused multiple baseball players of taking steroids and caused a big stir in the sport.
While as a viewer, I would find this entertaining (Clemens has not been proven to have taken steroids). That still doesn't stop me from thinking it's a bad idea for Clemens to do so. There is no advantage for him to it. The cynics of America will think either he takes steroids or the game is rigged (such as when it was revealed that one of the contestants was an actor). If they want Clemens on a reality show, I think he would do better on Dancing with the Stars.
On January 23rd, FOX will debut its newest gameshow, The Moment of Truth. On the show, contestants will have to answer 21 increasingly personal questions honestly (as determined by a polygraph) to win $500,000. Now, that's a lot of cash, but is it worth revealing your deepest feelings on national television while your family, friends, or spouse sit on stage and heckle you? After trying it out today, I really don't know.
FOX set up a Moment of Truth Booth here in Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade and let people try out the game in front of shoppers and other passers-by. For those of you who haven't been to Santa Monica, the Promenade is an open-air shopping mall with street performers, restaurants, and sadly, way too many homeless people. I'll give you the run-down of the questions they asked me after the jump.
One of these things is not like the other. I read this story and that's the song that got stuck in my head. The Hallmark Channel just bought the rights to air 29 feature films on its network. Soon, films like Miss Congeniality, Troy, The In-Laws, and New York Minute will pick up where Little House on the Prairie and Moment of Truth movies left off. The one movie that really stands out from the others is March of the Penguins. It actually makes a little bit of sense that it's on the Hallmark Channel, because the movie ends up being very emotional and about life's struggles and the saving grace of family. I just expected it to be on Discovery.