TVSquad

You would think that the highest-rated Comedy Central show of all-time would either be an episode of South Park or one of the nightly news satire programs, The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. It's actually none of those. The biggest audience-getter was a Christmas special featuring various puppets.

The Sunday debut of Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special grabbed 6. 6 million viewers. South Park held the record before and is now in second place.

Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to worry about TV ratings? That we could watch all of our favorite shows and not have to worry about them being watched by a lot of people, getting good ratings, and all that? And they'd be on for as long as we wanted?

Back to reality.

My Own Worst Enemy, the new Christian Slater spy show that I happen to like a lot, got its lowest ratings yet last night. The number was down 22% from the previous week. I think that kinda translates into "not many people really care about this show." I don't think any show can succeed in NBC's Monday at 10 slot, at least not in the past three or four years, and MOWE is no exception. It's up against CBS's CSI: Miami and ABC's Boston Legal, which gets a strong lead-in from Dancing with the Stars and Samantha Who?

You never heard John McCain or Barack Obama talking about this on the campaign trail.

A lot of people were surprised that The Sarah Connor Chronicles was renewed. Not because it's a bad show or doesn't deserve to grow and all that, but just because it wasn't getting the best ratings (plus it's on FOX). Now The Hollywood Reporter has a theory: the bad economy is helping these borderline shows.

The theory is that because of the bad economy, combined with the writers strike earlier this year and advertising dollars are down across the board, networks are renewing shows that wouldn't ordinarily be renewed. Besides The Sarah Connor Chronicles, shows like Knight Rider have gotten orders for more episodes.

Looks like the NBC black hole time slot of Monday at 10 p.m. is about to swallow another victim.

My Own Worst Enemy, the new Christian Slater spy series that I'm really enjoying, continues to drop in the ratings. The premiere episode did only so-so, and this week's second episode saw a drop of 22%. Those aren't the kind of numbers that scream "second season renewal" or even "full season order." Seems more like "put on hiatus" or maybe a "let's put it on Friday nights instead!" thing.

Ratings for NBC's Heroes are falling each and every week. The most recent episode was down 11% from the previous week's numbers.

I gotta tell ya, I don't get it. I'm really loving this season, but TV critics left and right have given up on the show. Sure, it's completely ridiculous and over the top, but if you remember the first season wasn't exactly a PBS documentary. The show has always been comic-book crazy, so I wonder if the writers strike had a bigger impact on the show than we all thought. Or maybe people have just gotten tired of the show, not because of any massive drop in quality but just because they're watching other things, not into sci-fi as much anymore, or don't want to follow another show with a continuing storyline and a lot of characters. I don't know, but I do know that the show is a ton of fun to watch, and even if there is a lot going on, it's a great ride.

It probably doesn't help that the ratings for the lead in show, Chuck, are down 15%. Wow, if these two shows go away, what other hour-long shows will there be left to watch on NBC? I'm not sitting through The Biggest Loser or Knight Rider, sorry. I wonder how My Own Worst Enemy will do in the Monday at 10 time slot when it premieres next week?

Remember all of the interest over the summer about whether or not FOX was going to keep The Sarah Connor Chronicles or cancel it after one season like they do with so many fan favorites? Well, how come you're not watching the show?

There are reports swirling around that the network is going to cancel the Monday night show because of bad ratings, ratings that worse than FOX expected. The show is averaging a 4.1/6, which means it's down 34% from last year. Even the 18-49 demo loved by networks and advertisers aren't watching the show. When the geeks science fiction enthusiasts aren't watching the show, you know you're in trouble.

I have to admit I've drifted away from the show. There are just too many shows to watch and towards the end of the first season I sort of decided to not want to follow this story anymore (same thing is happening with Fringe). Anyone else there stop watching this show after the first season?

We've only been into the new season for a few days, but some ratings numbers are already in. Looks like people love robots and prisons but might be getting sick of vampires.

On Monday, NBC won the night, with its lineup of Deal Or No Deal (9.6 million viewers), America's Toughest Jobs (6.5), and Dateline (6.2), but FOX won in the all-important 18 to 49 demographic with its lineup of the Sarah Connor Chronicles season premiere and a new episode of Prison Break. The Sarah Connor Chronicles grabbed 6.3 million viewers, while Prison Break did even better, with 6.5 million. CBS beat NBC in the 18-49 demo with their lineup of comedy repeats. ABC was fourth and The CW was fifth.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

Anyone else sick of the summer? These are, as the cliche goes, the dog days. I'm sick of seeing America's Got Talent in the top slot, all of the CBS cop shows (repeats, no less), and reality/game shows. Flashpoint got in the top 20 again on its new Thursday night at 10pm slot.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. Wipeout (ABC)
3. Two and a Half Men (CBS)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

What, no America's Got Talent in the top spot or Wipeout in the #2 spot this week? Nope, thanks to FOX's All-Star Game. Wipeout fell all the way to #7, beaten by repeats of Criminal Minds and CSI.

CBS' Flashpoint came in at #18, which explains why they moved Swingtown to Fridays at 10 and put Flashpoint on Thursdays at 10.

1. MLB All-Star Game (FOX)
2. America's Got Talent (NBC)
3. MLB All-Star Pre-Game Show (FOX)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

Doing the ratings during the summer is rather boring. America's Got Talent and Wipeout are on top again, and the rest of it is the usual mix of other reality shows and game shows and the CBS lineup of crime crime crime, which even gets big ratings when they're repeated, for some reason. Even the newest crime drama Flashpoint grabbed the #15 slot with its premiere, and it's on Friday nights.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. Wipeout (ABC)

At least CBS is having a little fun with their new summer reality competition.

The network sent out a press release saying that the premiere of Greatest American Dog got the highest prime-time audience among dogs since an episode of Lassie in 1974. They also say that the show won its time slot against Ugly Betty "in dog-patrolled households, canine viewers, upscale purebreds, Heinz 57 (mutt) adults, and the advertiser-coveted 1.79-7 year-olds."

The press release goes on to say that the show did better than the network thought, especially since the test audience of dogs in Las Vegas didn't show numbers this high. The number should go higher later today when "factoring in dogs who know how to use their paws to program their DVRs."

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

Breaking News: No SpongeBob is the top 10 this week! But USA must be happy with what they're doing, with five shows on the list. And it's a good bet that Burn Notice will be on the list when the second season premieres next week.

Don't know what to tell you about the top 4 shows. There's that many people watching wrestling and auto racing?

1. Sprint Cup - Daytona (TNT)
2. Monday Night RAW (USA)
3. Monday Night RAW (USA)
4. NASCAR Post-Race Show (TNT)
5. Law and Order: CI (USA)
6. In Plain Sight (USA)
7. Red Sox/Yankees (ESPN)
8. The Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney)
9. Army Wives (Lifetime)
10. Law and Order: SVU (USA)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

NBC must be really happy that it's summer. With their reality shows and reality competitions, it's the only way they can get the top spot in the ratings. ABC's Wipeout continues to be strong, though I Survived A Japanese Game Show must be losing a lot of viewers. I'm really surprised that repeats of shows like Criminal Minds, 60 Minutes, and all of the CSIs continue to do so well in the summer.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. Wipeout (ABC)

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

That's right, not only does Monday Night RAW retake the #1 spot on the cable ratings this week, it takes up three spots in the top 10. That doesn't seem fair, does it? I can hear the people at Disney asking, "why aren't the two hours of Camp Rock split into two different spots? Or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Fine, we'll just run Camp Rock every hour for the entire week and we'll see what the ratings are!"

(And yes, SpongeBob is on the list yet again. It's comforting to see him there almost every week.)

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. BET Awards (BET)
3. Sprint Cup Racing - Loudon (TNT)
4. Monday Night RAW (USA)
5. In Plain Sight (USA)
6. Camp Rock (Disney)
7. Monday Night RAW (USA)
8. Law and Order: CI (USA)
9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Disney)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

Here are the weekly ratings, by number of viewers.

Yes, NBC had four shows in the top 20 this week, but it took the summer and reality and/or reality game shows to get there, including America's Got Talent, The Baby Borrowers, and Celebrity Family Feud. ABC's new game shows, Wipeout and I Survived A Japanese Game Show, both made the top ten.

I'm surprised Hell's Kitchen isn't higher. #14 is great, I just thought it would do better during the summer (though it does well on its night). 60 Minutes' repackaged repeat segments continue to do well too.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. Wipeout (ABC)
3. 60 Minutes (CBS)