The Nielsen Media Research ratings for last week (Nov. 26-Dec. 2) are out and here are the Top 20 viewed shows. All I have to say is — Sad, very very sad! I am an American and seeing results like these tells me one thing, the average American has no class and no idea what good programming is if shows like “Dancing with the Stars” can rate both 1 & 2 in highest viewership. The apocalypse can’t be far off. The only shows listed here that deserve to be on the list are “House,” “C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation” and “Criminal Minds.” It is also telling that the only genre-related shows on the list are animated holiday fare. Very sad indeed.
Note: () season to date ranking. X= one time only presentation
1. (5) “Dancing with the Stars” (Tuesday), ABC, 24.88 million viewers.
2. (1) “Dancing with the Stars” (Monday), ABC, 24.23 million viewers.
3. (X) “Shrek the Halls,” ABC, 20.83 million viewers.
4. (4) “Desperate Housewives,” ABC, 20.65 million viewers.
5. (X) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” ABC, 18.53 million viewers.
6. (7) “NCIS,” CBS, 17.04 million viewers.
7. (6) “House,” Fox, 16.97 million viewers.
8. (10) “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 16.23 million viewers.
9. (9) “CSI: Miami,” CBS, 15.58 million viewers.
10. (13) “Two and a Half Men,” CBS, 15.26 million viewers.
11. (15) “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” ABC, 14.40 million viewers.
12. (8) NBC Sunday Night Football: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, NBC, 14.38 million viewers
13. (14) “CSI: NY,” CBS, 14.19 million viewers.
14. (12) “Survivor: China,” CBS, 13.57 million viewers.
15. (X) “Charlie Brown Christmas,” ABC, 13.55 million viewers.
16. (31) “The OT,” Fox, 13.32 million viewers.
17. (15) “60 Minutes,” CBS, 13.24 million viewers.
18. (19) “Brothers and Sisters,” ABC, 12.56 million viewers.
19. (2) “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 12.33 million viewers.
20. (22) “Law & Order: SVU,” NBC, 12.29 million viewers.
Wow, even Heroes isn’t in the top 20. This has got to be bad news for all the new genre related shows. You have to wonder if the large number of scifi and fantasy related shows which debuted this season might be a fluke. If the entire crop of genre related shows fail then it could be a long time before the networks take such a chance again.
“…seeing results like these tells me one thing, the average American has no class and no idea what good programming is…”
Think about it, though: the type of people who can watch a lot of TV and drive up the ratings of a particular show are not generally the types who are doing something more constructive with their time. For instance, I’ve been on a writing binge lately (finishing off my NaNoWriMo project), so I’ve missed the last three episodes of Heroes. I do plan to watch them as soon as I get the chance, but I’ve just had different priorities lately. Plus, with the writers’ strike and all, I think some of us have been rationing ourselves so that we have something to watch until our favorite shows go back into production (if they ever do…).
These rating happened before and they will happen again and again, again, again . . .
one question:
who the hell watches ‘Two and a Half Men’??