TVSquad

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

OK, I know that everyone is really excited about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but I'm still surprised that a repeat of an almost 30 year-old movie grabbed the number one slot in the cable ratings this week. Not only that, but the sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, got the number six slot. Hasn't everyone seen these movies a gazillion times already?

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (USA)
2. NBA Playoffs - Hornets/Spurs (ESPN)
3. NBA Playoffs - Cavaliers/Celtics (TNT)
4. Monday Night RAW (USA)
5. Monday Night RAW (USA)
6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (USA)
7. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (TNT)
8. NBA Playoffs - Hornets/Spurs (ESPN)
9. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
10. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (ESPN)

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

Looks like everybody was chasing Zoey this week, and not just the paparazzi. The Nickelodeon show got the top two spots in viewers (a movie and a regular episode of the show), knocking Monday Night RAW down a bit. TNT did really well with the NBA Playoffs.

1. Chasing Zoey (Nickelodeon)
2. Zoey 101 (Nickelodeon)
3. Monday Night RAW (USA)
4. NBA Playoffs - Suns/Spurs (TNT)
5. Monday Night RAW (USA)
6. The Hills (MTV)
7. NBA Playoffs - Lakers/Nuggets (TNT)
8. NBA Playoffs - Spurs/Hornets (TNT)
9. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
10. NBA Playoffs - Hawks/Celtics (TNT)

Sometimes reruns from a cable series can do rather well on network television as a bigger audience pool checks them out. That wasn't the case with Monk and Psych.

The two USA network hits (often in the top 10 in the Nielsen cable ratings) didn't fare too well when NBC ran them on Sunday nights the past couple of months, so the Peacock Network is pulling the shows immediately. Fans of The Office will be happy to hear that NBC will air a two hour marathon of Office repeats in the 9 to 11 time slot. That is, until they decide to put another reality show at that time.

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

Wait, no SpongeBob SquarePants this week? Actually, two episodes of the show just missed making the top 10. Probably because a certain cranky doctor named House decided to go on a rampage this week and take up three spots. The NBA Playoffs are rather popular too.

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. NFL Draft (ESPN)
3. Monday Night RAW (USA)
4. NBA Playoffs (TNT)
5. House (USA)
6. House (USA)
7. House (USA)
8. NBA Playoffs (ESPN)
9. NBA Playoffs (TNT)
10. Zoey 101 (Nickelodeon)

With the untimely death of actor Stanley Kamel, USA Network and the producers of Monk were compelled to find another actor to play a psychiatrist for the OCD detective. TV Guide has gotten the exclusive word that Hector Elizondo has been cast as Monk's new shrink. The veteran actor -- you'll recognize him from every Garry Marshall movie from Pretty Woman to The Princess Diaries -- was most recently on Cane. As Michael Ausiello points out, if Hector's doing Monk, chances are that CBS has officially canned Cane, even if they haven't announced it yet.

Tricia Helfer will be in good hands once her run with Battlestar Galactica is over which, as we all know, is coming up very soon. As part of her recently announced talent deal with Fox, Helfer will be appearing on USA's Burn Notice when it returns to the air this July (Fox produces the show). She will be playing Michael's handler for an uknown number of episodes. Hey, the more episodes the better if you ask me.

I just love it when two shows I love come together and involve the same people that make each show great. No, I don't mean a cross-over; with the exception of spin-offs, I usually hate cross-overs. When I see a director or actor I love head over to another show I love (or, in the case of a new show, one that sounds up my alley), it's magic. It's like when you switch jobs and and old co-worker friend comes with you. Except the whole part about hating the first job you left. OK that was a horrible analogy.

One of the most eagerly anticipated new series from USA Network, In Plain Sight, will premiere on June 1st, a week earlier than previously announced. The Mary McCormack-Frederick Weller drama, the latest in USA's "characters welcome" campaign, was originally going to air on Sunday, June 8th, at 10 p.m., but that would have put the show up against two tough cable competitors -- the return of Lifetime's Army Wives for a second season, and History Channel's second year of Ice Road Truckers. This is USA's way of giving In Plain Sight a leg up on the competition -- unless Lifetime moves Army Wives and History moves IRT, respectively, to June 1st. Quick, who's going to blink?

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

Okay NCIS fans, we get it. It's the most awesome-est show in the universe. In the top 10 every week in the network ratings, and now its shows up twice in the top 10 cable ratings. If this keeps up, it's not going to make Hannah Montana very happy.

But it doesn't really bother SpongeBob SquarePants. NCIS might have gotten better ratings, but SpongeBob got four of the top 10 slots this week.

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. Monday Night RAW (USA)
3. NCIS (USA)
4. Rock of Love 2 (VH-1)
5. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
6. The Hills (MTV)
7. NCIS (USA)
8. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
9. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

This sounds like good casting to me. Cybill Shepherd is joining Psych for a mini-arc as Shawn's mom. The actress, best known on TV from her hit series Moonlighting (remember, her and Bruce Willis?), has recently been on Showtime's The L Word. Cybill's not a great dramatic actress, but she is pretty funny and should fit in perfectly with the goofy, good-natured fun on Psych.

When Psych comes back to USA Network on July 18 with new shows, her episodes (at least two) will be broadcast. She's playing Madeleine, Henry's ex-wife and Shawn's mama. So far in the series, Maddie (like Maddie Hayes in Moonlighting perhaps?), has not been shown in the scenes depicting Shawn -- and Gus's -- childhood. Corbin Bernsen, who plays Henry, has worn a hairpiece for the retro scenes and goes bald for the present day scenes. We'll see whether Cybill's in both scenes or not...

According to the show, when Madeleine appears in Santa Barbara, she's coming from Europe and wants to visit her sonny boy. The visit, so we're told, dredges up some old memories. And since this is a crime/caper/mystery show, perhaps Maddie's bound to get involved in one of Shawn's cases.

Set your DVRs, friends, because USA and USA HD will begin re-airing the first season of what I consider one of last years most overlooked, good new shows, Burn Notice. In fact, the pilot episode starts airing tonight at 11:00 PM ET, but if you miss that you can catch it at 2:30 AM. Or Sunday at 10 AM. Or later, at midnight. Oh, and then there's the DVD set coming out in June. In other words, no excuses!

I just finished catching up with this show a couple of weeks ago with Deb, and I'm glad I did. Joel recently had a quick interview with Jeffrey Donovan of Burn Notice, who mentioned how, even if you have no idea what the show is about, every episode starts with a very brief "what this show is about" montage that should set anyone straight. Still, if you haven't checked the series out yet, give at least the first couple of episodes a shot.

[Thanks Gordon!]

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

A rather odd top 10 in the cable ratings this week. Not only did Monday Night RAW get pushed around a bit (down to #'s 4 and 6 for both hours because of strong showings for Rock Of Love and a Lifetime movie), but SpongeBob SquarePants has come back with a vengeance. He's not going to take any crap from anyone anymore.

1. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
2. The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Lifetime)
3. Rock Of Love (VH-1)
4. Monday Night RAW (USA)
5. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
6. Monday Night RAW (USA)
7. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
8. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
9. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

Stanley Kamel, who played Dr. Charles Kroger on the USA hit series Monk, was found dead in his Hollywood house earlier today. No cause of death has been announced yet. He was 65.

Kamel has had an incredibly long career in TV and the movies. He was a regular on such series as Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Murder One, L.A. Law, and Cagney and Lacey, and appeared in dozens of TV shows over the years, including The West Wing, MacGyver, The Golden Girls, Hunter, Star Trek: TNG, Murder, She Wrote, Reba, The Guardian, General Hospital, NYPD Blue, 7th Heaven, The Mod Squad, Mannix, The Rookies, Three's Company, Emergency, Kojak, and many more. Besides episodes of Monk, he was also filming a feature film titled For Better Or Worse, and a new movie, The Urn, which will be released later this year.

We'll update this post once we found out what exactly happened. Access Hollywood and the other shows will have more later today.

Update: Kamel died of a heart attack.

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

A rather mixed up top 10 in the cable ratings this week. Not only did a bunch of kids and a certain green, slimy substance knock around the Monday Night RAW wrestlers, MTV pushed into the list with two shows, America's Best Dance Crew and The Hills. No Hannah Montana or iCarly in sight this week.

But nothing can stop the SpongeBob SquarePants juggernaut.

1. Kids Choice Awards (Nickelodeon)

Last night, USA Network invited some of their favorite advertisers -- and a few reporters -- to their upfront presentation, held at The Modern, a sleek restaurant and lounge located at New York's Museum of Modern Art. It was an opportunity for USA and NBC Universal executives to crow about the network's continued success as well as let advertisers know what's coming up in 2008 and how they can combine their advertising message with the unique "characters" that USA offers.

All that's well and good -- be ready for more product placement and ad pods that other networks have recently adopted -- but the best part about an upfront presentation are the stars that the network drags out to schmooze and booze with those advertisers. And USA brought the big guns, including Tony Shalhoub from Monk, Debra Messing from The Starter Wife, Jeffrey Donovan and Bruce Campbell from Burn Notice, Dulé Hill, James Roday, and Corbin Bernsen from Psych, Kathryn Erbe and Chris Noth from Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the WWE's Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and Mary McCormack from the network's new show In Plain Sight. I got to speak to a few of them; audio of those interviews is after the jump.

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

I just realized that I don't watch any of the shows in this week's top ten cable ratings. I mean, yeah, I've seen episodes of Law and Order: SVU and SpongeBob SquarePants in the past but they aren't shows I watch regularly. As for Monday Night RAW, Hannah Montana, iCarly, and Ella Enchanted...well, they're not really made for me I guess.

I think the last time something was in the top ten here that I watch regularly was Burn Notice.

1. Monday Night RAW (USA)
2. Monday Night RAW (USA)