TVSquad

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

Week after week I post these numbers, and one thing is always abundantly clear: NBC really doesn't have any big, consistent hits on its hands. Sure, Heroes sneaks in once in a while, maybe a Law and Order: SVU here and there or a Deal Or No Deal, but the top 20 is always filled with reality shows, the CSI shows, and doctor shows. I'm looking at this list, and if you take out The World Series - which I watched only because I'm a Red Sox fan - I only watch one of these shows: 60 Minutes. I'm either really out of touch or there are better shows on TV right now (I always fear the former but pray for the latter).

And can someone tell me what Extreme Makeover: Home Edition means? Is there an edition outside, or in space?

1. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)

• At 8, FOX Game 3 of The World Series.
• ABC has college football at 8, Ohio State vs. Penn State.
• TLC has Halloween Madness at 8, followed by two new episodes of Flip That House and a new Trading Spaces.
• More baseball: TCM has Fear Strikes Out at 8, with Anthony Perkins.
• The History Channel has Vampire Secrets at 8.
• At 9, CNBC has a Suze Orman Show Halloween special (?)
• Cartoon Network has two new episodes of Naruto at 9, then a new One Piece.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Torchwood, then a new Graham Norton Show, with guests Gabriel Byrne, The Backstreet Boys, and Letitia Dean.
• At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, FOX has Game 2 of The World Series.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8.
• ABC has new episodes of Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, and Big Shots.
• NBC has a new My Name Is Earl at 8, then new episodes of 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs, and ER.
• There's a new Smallville on The CW at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• The History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 8.
• At 10, CBS has a new Without A Trace.
• USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 10.
• FX has two new eps of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Drawn Together.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, followed by a new Men In Trees and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Close To Home and Numb3rs.
• NBC has a new 1 vs. 100 at 8, then the season opener of Las Vegas and a new Law and Order.
• Over on FOX, Game 5 of the World Series at 8.
• The CW has a new Friday Night Smackdown at 8.
• HGTV has a new Designed To Sell at 8, followed by new eps of 24 Hour Design, Under 1 Roof, and Save Us From Our House.
• Sci-Fi has a new Doctor Who at 8, then a new Battlestar Galactica.
• Also at 8: The Travel Channel has America's Haunted Houses, followed by America's Scariest Halloween Attractions.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Harry Belafonte, Andrew Sullivan, Arianna Huffington, and former NJ Gov. Christine Todd Whitman

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by two repeats of Grey's Anatomy.
• CBS has a wrapup episode of Survivor at 8, followed by repeats of CSI and Shark.
• NBC has repeats of My Name Is Earl and The Office, then a new Deal Or No Deal, then a repeat ER.
• FOX has Game 4 of the World Series at 8.
• Over on The CW at 8, a new Smallville, followed by a new Supernatural.
• At 9, Discovery has a new episode of A Haunting.
• Lifetime has the new movie Her Fatal Flaw at 9.
• The History Channel has a new Decoding The Past at 9, about the "real" Dr. Frankenstein.
• HGTV has a new Divine Design at 9.
• Also at 9: Travel Channel has a new Joan Cusack's Local Flavor.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• Comedy Central has a new Freak Show at 10:30.

As per the norm of FOX over the last few years, the fourth network (which has been around for almost, gasp, 20 years), will jump out of the starting gate earlier than the other networks with fall season premieres. This is done to give new and returning shows time to build up steam before Major League Baseball takes the stage in early October with playoffs and the World Series.

The new season will begin on Monday, August 21st with the second season premiere of Prison Break and the introduction of the new drama Vanished. On Wednesday, August 30th, Bones will enter its second season, along with new lawyer-drama Justice. Duets, the series that pairs singing stars with celebrities outside the music world, will have its 2-hour premiere a day later. House will step into its third season on Tuesday, September 5th.

The complete listing of premieres can be viewed at Zap2it.com. Save a copy of it, folks, because I'm sure the schedule will change during the first week of premieres, then again after the World Series, then again during the NFL post-season, and then once more when the juggernaut we know as American Idol premieres in January. By the time 2007 rolls around you may just see some of the shows now listed as entries in our 'Short-Lived Shows' category.