Happy Halloween! Note: an updated full overnight ratings post with viewer numbers and demographic info is available here.
Supernatural was the only thing I watched on TV last night. And I was expecting it to be fluff, Halloween filler, but it surprised me. Not fluff, not filler. It got a 2.5/4 (household rating/share) in the early metered market numbers. That’s in the typical range of less than Smallville (3.1/5) but more than Gossip Girl got on Monday in the same early metered markets.
Oh wait, I watched ABC’s Life on Mars too. Oops. Mars got a 5.8/9 — up a little bit in household rating vs. last week’s 5.6/10 in the early metered market numbers. Since its share of audience went down that just probably means a few more people overall were watching television last night than the previous week. 5.8 is no great shakes, but it’s better than a 5.6, and with so many shows underperforming ABC averages, the show seems very safe to me. Our Renew/Cancel index actually has it listed for renewal next year, but that is somewhat misleading because it pulled very high numbers its first week only to drop the next two airings. This was the similar to last year’s Bionic Woman only that kept dropping and at least for now Life on Mars is stabalizing. Since I enjoy the show, that’s a bit of good news.
The Office and 30 Rock are on the DVR. 30 Rock actually outdid The Office in these numbers (5.3/8 vs. 5.2/8). The Office will still likely win with 18-49 year olds, but I’m guessing 30 Rock had its best performance in a long while and Marc Berman says that it was up around 20% over its 2007-2008 season average in the overnights. I chalk it up to the Sarah Palin effect.
In the CSI vs. Grey’s Anatomy battle, CSI won again, 11.8/18 to 9.9/15 both Grey’s and CSI were up from last week’s metered market numbers, but Grey’s moreso, so I look for it to reclaim its 18-49 year old advantage which CSI wrested from it last week when the fast nationals are out. And it will surely crush it like a little bug among 18-34 year olds. Check back later for the full details.
In the meanwhile you can read the full metered market report on Marc Berman’s site.
Metered Market Overnight Ratings: This is normally the first available ratings information, and is based on the electronic measurement service that Nielsen provides in 56 of the nation’s largest markets. In each market a sample of homes is selected to represent that individual market. Often, networks or syndicators provide metered market information as an early indicator of a program’s performance. In aggregate, the 56 metered markets represent 79,890,610 homes, or 70% of all U.S. TV households. Preliminary metered market data are available as early as 8:00AM (ET). Final metered market information, reflecting line-up changes, pre-emptions and runovers, are normally available by 3:30PM (ET).
Is it just me, or is Smallville decidedly better this season than before? I haven’t been able to stomach Smallville in most every previous season because of all the teenie drama that seemed to persist even as they grew up and took grown up jobs and whatnot. I’ve actually watched the last few episodes in a row now this season.
I liked Supernatural as well, although I didn’t think the Sam fight scene towards the end to make much sense… how for some weird reason he didn’t draw his knife in the first place. Seemed like sloppy writing to me.
Mars was awesome, I hope it sticks around.
Random closing thought, maybe it’s just me, but I hear all the time about Nielsen families and how many there are and the importance of ratings and all that… yet I’ve never met anyone who’s a Nielsen family or anyone who knows anyone who’s a Nielsen family…
Yay, 30 Rock up; hope it does better this year. An average of 6.4 million last year was pretty poor.
Not just you Sam. Smallville is all kinds of good this year. Finally, they’re back to remembering that they are a young Superman show, and Welling is in his element. The show has been really strong. It really makes me wonder what kind of bump the show could get if the CW was giving it (and Supernatural) more support and publicity.
I would love to see the shows’ ratings if they swapped timeslots. I actually think that if Supernatural led at 8pm the ratings would be even. The only reason I think this is that when they did a double-airing of Nightshifter/Jus in Bello last year, the Nightshifter repeat airing at 8pm got like 2.7 million.
what u guys talking about? smallville sucks period. but then again so do most CW shows. am i wrong? no
Angie, I think you’re probably right. The gap between the two shows would at least be narrower since the 9pm hour is definitely tougher on Thursdays than 8pm.
*Waits for next week when 30 Rock plummets*
I think next week, 30 ROCK will drop like a rock.
The Office is ok, but it seems like its the same thing over and over. The novelty has worn off. I wish it was more like a series version of OFFICE SPACE. That movie would have made a great series.
What about ER? I guess we have to wait to see how the smoking wreckage of that once great show did in the ratings as it slides across the finish line. Half the characters appear to be sleep walking thru the episodes with that 1000 yard stare. Its getting prett bad when the featured plot involves a woman with teenage kids shacking up with an 18 year old boy causing fights to break out in the ER. The only reason I still watch it is out of habit. Im glad its finally over.
I haven’t watched ‘ER’ regularly in almost ten years, and the last episode I watched is when Dr. Greene died in Hawaii. It amazes me that this show has been on for this long.
I haven’t watched last nights “Life on Mars” episode, but am looking forward to it. I really enjoy this show so I’m glad to hear it seems to be stablizing. However, I’m curious to know what long term impact this show is going to have. Are we ever going to learn why he’s there, or is that just the red herring?
I didn’t watch Supernatural last year but this year has been amazing. The introduction of angels into the series was a great call!
You will learn why he is there as some of those who have watched the original UK version had no problem just writing comments spoiling that completely for me. I won’t spoil it for *you* though if you listen to the opening explanation closely, you can probably guess at it. It’s a spoiler, but not an “OMG, I can’t BELIEVE THEY DID THAT” kind of thing because of the way it was set-up to begin with.
Allara, I agree. And righteous, obedient angels with faith, but also “doubt” are also a good call. I liked last night’s episode and it was still fun in spots, but very deep in others. It’s also interesting that the way the story is unfolding the man upstairs focuses on Dean’s potential, rather than Sam’s.
I also loved the “I’m Agent Geddy, and this is agent Lee” bit. It must be “Rush” celebration week as Monday’s Chuck paid some *serious* homage to the band as well.
Supernatural is the only show I watch live and has been amazing this year. So happy to see they’re holding on to the improved ratings.
30 Rock is still the best thing on TV, though I wish last night’s episode had been a bit better since it got such a nice bump. But they were really going for the double Palin effect with Megan Mullally as well. Which had to have been total coincidence since this must have been shot in July.
Robert: nothing says the US version will necessarily break the same way, right?
Heh, sorry about that Robert, if I contributed to the spoiling, though I think I only did it in response to someone else. But I highly doubt the US version does the same thing, because it’s too vague an ending. No one in this country would stand for it.
Life on Mars. If yall aren’t watching, you’re missing out. This show is fantastic from so many different angles. Last night’s episode was a knock out. Fresh, smart and compelling stories. Great actors, great characters. Great social commentary – looking at our present through the lens of the 70’s. Set design, everything. Our new favorite show. Give it a look.
But why should I watch a crude imitation when I’ve already seen the original, B?
It’s not really fair calling it a crude imitation if you haven’t seen it yet, Julia. I loved the original, but this one is definitely carving out its own path. It’s good so far.
I have seen the new one.
The pilot was nearly a shot-by-shot remake of the original first episode, yes. But, it was followed by two good episodes that were markedly different and compelling in their own way. I can’t imagine how the word “crude” could possibly fit this, unless you’re implying that the original was some high-toned social drama, which it most certainly wasn’t. It was down and dirty, like “The Sweeney” and other cop shows of the ’70s.
Simply because it’s a remake doesn’t automatically mean it’s worse than the original. Judge it on its own terms.
Robert – not quite. The man upstairs is focused on Sam’s potential, too. This is why the Angels have been watching him and want Dean to keep him on a tight leash. The boys are a package deal. My personal theory is that Sam could potentially be one of the 66 seals and God is testing him to get him ready to battle his brother.
I don’t find it a crude imitation either. I”m curious to see how they continue to chane things up while keeping the best of the UK show.
As I said, I have judged it on its own terms. It does not live up to the original.
I don’t question your opinion; I question your word choice, which to me, makes it sound like you made up your mind before you even watched.
Your prerogative, of course. It’s just sad that some people aren’t willing to give it a chance. Even though its best days may be behind it, “The Office” came very close to matching the original.
I think the US take on Life On Mars is pretty good actually, and I too love the original UK version. You cannot watch a remake and compare it to whatever came first. It will fail every time. It’s not necessary to compare them anyway. It’s a different show in a different country with different people. It’s bound to be ..different??….Would anyone want to see the same 16 episodes that were produced the first time around? That would be a let down. Of course the firt episode was the same, it had to be. The setup is the same as the original so the first episode has to be the legs of the show. I’m pretty happy that they are holding on to the main ideas of the original and adding in new things that add to THIS version of Sam Tyler. I must say too that the actors chosen for the US show are great. I’ll be happy to see this show live for a little while yet!
The cast of “Life on Mars” is fantastic! I love Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli, and the actor playing Sam is also very good. It’s been a while since a new series has caught my attention this fast.
The New LoM after its initial opening is now displaying all the subtlety of a nuke in a cabbage patch. I’ll still watch but with ear mufflers to make sure i don’t go deaf from the battering ram social commentary.
…..I liked Supernatural as well, although I didn’t think the Sam fight scene towards the end to make much sense… how for some weird reason he didn’t draw his knife in the first place. Seemed like sloppy writing to me…..
Not to me. Simple logistics really as to why he didn’t draw the knife immediately–the guy saw him coming from all the way across the room. If Sam draws the knife before he gets to him, it’s pretty easy to deflect Sam’s arm because it was a pretty big guy. Sam tried to draw on Lilith/Ruby and she was able to bug out before he plunged in the blade. Were Sam sneaking up from behind him, drawing the knife first makes more sense. Also, part of Sam *wants* to use his powers.