studio60

So last night was the first really big Monday night of the new year, with the return of Heroes and Studio 60. And how did those shows fare?

Typical numbers for Studio 60 at 10pm, with around 7.4 million viewers. It was crushed by CSI: Miami, which got 18.7 million viewers. But the big news of the night (well big-ish, I guess) is that Two and a Half Men beat Heroes fairly easily. The Charlie Sheen show got 16.1 viewers, with Heroes getting 14.8 (24 was close, with 14.4). And yes, for you 18 to 49 demographic fans, Heroes won in that race.

That number for CSI: Miami is what I keep thinking about though. My God, almost 19 million for that show? I'm not just saying this because I'm a fan of Studio 60, I'd still say it if it was on Tuesdays at 8 or Saturdays at 9. It just depresses me that this show (and all the CSIs, actually) do that well in the ratings. It must make the network execs scream "hey, we should do more of those shows!"

Every week it's the same damn thing: the top 20 network shows always include a few CSIs, a couple of Law and Orders, and a bunch of reality shows and game shows. Why doesn't the Nielsen list reflect what I watch every week? Why do people complain about the Nielsens when the numbers say that, well, somebody is watching those shows every single week.

Sure, it's great to see a show like Heroes or Lost or Old Christine or even ER crack the top 20 on some weeks, but most weeks the list is a mystery to me. In my mind, this is my dream Top 10 for any given week. (I could try to name 20 but I think after 10 I probably couldn't think of any shows and that would depress me.)

So here we are at the start of Thanksgiving week, that time of year that we give thanks to everything we have in our lives. While most of us will, of course, be thankful for having our family and friends in our lives, we also can't forget about television!

1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip getting a full season. Come on, you read this site, so you know this would be number one for me. I think it's a really good show, no matter what some people say. And kudos to NBC for actually giving the show (and Friday Night Lights, too) a full season even though the ratings weren't spectacular. Imagine, a network that didn't cancel a show quickly, instead having a strategy to move it to a new night! Who knows if the show will get a second season, it at least gets a whole first season, and that makes me happy.

Well, the new TV season has been going strong for over a month now, and it's already kinda clear how things are going to shake out, which shows are doing well and which shows are doing poorly. But the network execs shouldn't give up on shows just because they're doing badly or not as well as they hoped. With a little reconfiguration you can fix anything:

1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC): I would move this from Mondays at 10 to Thursdays at 10. Heroes isn't the best lead-in for Sorkin's show, even if it is getting good ratings. Thursdays at 10 isn't ideal either, but with so many sitcoms, reality shows, and Deal Or No Deal taking up the 8 to 9 slots, it's hard to find a place for a new one-hour drama. Move ER to Mondays at 10. Not a great fit with Heroes either, but it has more of a fan base that will probably follow it anywhere. (NBC, if you got rid of one, just one, DOND, you'd have more options, but I understand it's a hit.)

• "Has your pit bull ever killed anyone?" - Larry King, to guest Rachael Ray.
• "You make the legal system into a game to be played for fun and profit."
  "You make that seem like a bad thing ..." - D.A. Devlin to Stark, on Shark.
• "Did you ask [the victim] who shot him?"
  Uniformed officer: "Yeah. He said it was a guy with a gun." - Detective Bunk on The Wire, questioning first officer on a crime scene.
• "Never have I had to step over dead bodies to get my hair done!" - Rose's friend, on Brotherhood after the pair pass the scene of police investigating a street shooting.
• "I'm sure you were great, but it was the National Anthem, they were standing already." - Matt, about his ex-girlfriend Harriet saying she got a standing ovation when she sang before a Dodgers game, on Studio 60.

• At 8, FOX has a new Prison Break, followed by a new Vanished.
• ABC has two new episodes of Wife Swap at 8, followed by a new Supernanny. What a terrible night of television on ABC.
• CBS' new fall starts tonight at 8, with The Class, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Old Christine, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Deal or No Deal at 8, followed by the series premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
• Also at 8: WE has a very entertaining movie, Quick Change, with Bill Murray and Geena Davis. It's repeated at 10:30.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Steelers vs. Jaguars.
• At 9, USA has a new WWE Monday Night RAW.
• PBS has a new Great Performances at 9, with the Vienna State Opera 50 Anniversary Reopening.
• At 10, Food Network has a new The Secret Life Of..., focusing on road houses.
• There's a new Weeds on Showtime at 10.

And now, written and proofread for your enjoyment, a poem on the official start of the 2006 fall television season. Please hold all applause until the end.

Rejoice, rejoice,

the new season's here!

So warm your remotes,

and sit on your rears.

Its been a long summer

with nothing to watch

so we just sat around

scratching our . . . sunburn we got at the beach.

So many new shows to watch, so many old shows to keep watching. But one - even someone who writes about TV for a living - has to draw the line somewhere. So, right off the bat, I've decided to no longer watch Survivor, American Idol and ER. And I won't miss them.

Here's what I will be watching this season, and what I'll TiVo:

Sunday: 60 Minutes at 7pm, then The Simpsons at 8, then I'll watch Family Guy at 9.

Monday: I'll give The Class a shot at 8, then Heroes at 9, followed by Studio 60 at 10.

Believe it or not, I don't watch much TV. With two daughters, five- and three-years-old respectively, and a set of five-month-old fraternal twins (boy and girl), there really isn't much time in the schedule to sit down and watch a show on a regular basis. Heck, by the time I turn on the television some evenings it's to watch Futurama and Family Guy on Adult Swim. So, the shows I do choose are ones that I know I'll watch on the regular basis because I'm reviewing them for TV Squad, or because I've already committed years of time on them already. With that in mind, here is the breakdown of what I'll be watching this fall.

Sunday: With Sunday Night Football dominating the NBC schedule for the first half of the television season, and the fact I do not watch football (yes, I'm un-American. So deport me!), I won't be watching much this day. I will probably get back into The Simpsons and Family Guy (and King of the Hill when it returns) this year since The West Wing is no longer with us.