I bet you thought you had seen the last of ABC's National Bingo Night. But you'd be wrong.
The show didn't do too well in the ratings when it aired recently on Friday nights, but the web traffic was so good that the network is bringing the show back for five nights starting on December 17. Just in time to win a bunch of money and buy something for your special someone.
At 8, ABC has Seven Nights That Changed New Orleans, followed by new episodes of National Bingo Night and 20/20.
PBS has a new NOW at 8, then a new Washington Week and a new Bill Moyers Journal.
The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
Also at 8: Sci-Fi has the series finale of Stargate SG-1, then new episodes of Stargate Atlantis and Painkiller Jane. (Check back for our live Stargate SG-1 series finale chat before the show!)
At 9, FOX has a new Standoff.
Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild at 9.
There's a new Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter at 9 on WE.
Or, maybe the question should be does anyone know that ABC broadcasts National Bingo Night on Friday night? The answer to both questions is 'apparently not'. At least according to the most recent ratings, that is.
Last Friday's episode came in fourth place in its time slot, garnering a measly 3.3 million viewers. It lost to a rerun of TV's Funniest Moments on FOX. If you break it down to age demographics (18-49 year-olds, to be precise) National Bingo Night came in fifth place behind shows being broadcast on Univision. If this show were on during the regular season it would have probably been yanked after its first half-hour.
Heroes (Mon., 9PM ET, NBC) 1st season finale A drama about heroes needs one super ending; this one goes "boom." All the characters, who started the year spread out across the world, come together in New York City to try to stop Sylar from wreaking nuclear havoc. Is anyone else geeking out over a possible X-Men-style showdown between the good guys and the villain? And no doubt this season will end with a cliffhanger that'll keep us drooling until fall.
Dancing With the Stars (Tue., 9PM ET, ABC) 4th season finale It's no surprise that two of the final three contestants are athletes. You really need stamina and strength to get through so many weeks of waltzing, jiving and cha-cha-cha-ing. My pick to win, though, has to be Apolo Ohno. Who knew an Olympic speed skater would be such a passionate dancer? His performances always exhibit flair and youth. He and his cute-as-a-button partner Julianne Hough should sail away with the trophy.
My first inclination was to scoff at the idea of a primetime gameshow based on Bingo, but the more I think about it the smarter this idea sounds.
Think about it: one of the most popular and enduring game shows of all time is essentially based on the children's game hangman. Sometimes, the simplest approach can work quite well.