In case you forgot that football is huge, the NFC title game was there to remind you. The other big news on the networks was the sneak preview of ‘Touch’, and another win for ‘Big Bang Theory’ over ‘Idol’. On cable, ‘Pawn Stars’ continues to roll.
A big week of premieres was headlined by the return of ‘American Idol’, but the ratings king is not quite the juggernaut it used to be. ‘Big Bang Theory’ managed to top the singing kids in the demo.
The flood of premieres for the new year continues with ‘The Firm,’ ‘Are You There Chelsea,’ ‘The Finder,’ ’30 Rock,’ ‘Rob,’ and ‘The Game.’ That’s both good and bad, as the numbers run the gamut from ‘sure to be canceled’ to ‘solid hit’.
The new calendar year is upon us, and the mid-season premieres are already starting. ABC kicked off ‘The Bachelor’, ‘Wife Swap’, and ‘Work It’, while NBC had a brand new season of ‘Biggest Loser’. Over on cable, have the judge/host shenanigans ruined ‘Project Runway’?
After a five year break, ‘Fear Factor’ returned at the top of the NBC heap. Over on cable, a shocking finale for HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’ meant good things for everyone. Well… everyone but that actor… that played that guy.
‘Two And A Half Men’ has slipped back ahead of ‘Modern Family’ on the big networks, while over on cable the ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ finale was bested by bikes, boxes, and babies.
The holiday week didn’t do any favors for the networks where ratings are concerned. Turkey day found plenty of shows ending up on the wrong side of the up/down scale, and NBC finishing in fifth place, three times.
