Survivor ruled the 8 o’clock hour, but Bones pulled off a decisive win against FlashForward this week, topping the freshman drama by over 1 million viewers and winning in the 18-49 demographic as Forward dropped to its lowest ratings yet. CBS’s cross-over sweeps stunt worked for CSI, which posted its best numbers of the season; the 9:00 slot still proved tough for Fringe, which is losing much of its lead-in. NBC comedies were relatively stable, as was the 10:00 hour.
| Time | Show | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 p.m. | Survivor: Samoa (CBS) Bones (Fox) FlashForward (ABC) Community (NBC) The Vampire Diaries (The CW) |
13.2 9.8 8.3 5.1 4.3 |
| 8:30 p.m. | Parks and Recreation (NBC) | 4.7 |
| 9:00 p.m. | CSI (CBS) Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) The Office (NBC) Fringe (Fox) Supernatural (The CW) |
16.9 14.4 7.8 5.9 2.8 |
| 9:30 p.m. | 30 Rock (NBC) | 5.8 |
| 10:00 p.m. | The Mentalist (CBS) Private Practice (ABC) The Jay Leno Show (NBC) |
15.6 10.2 4.6 |
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GET FRINGE OFF OF THURSDAY!!!!
We need it to survive, and it’s in the wrong place to make it.
100% Agree. Move Fringe please?
It needs to be back on Tuesday night so it can dominate again!!! Still watch it though.
not fair to put fringe on thursdays when it’s getting killed….they should have kept it on tues and paired dollhouse with it….sigh…stupid old fox
I agree! Fringe deserves better!!!
And yay for Bones! Awesome ratings for my #1 show! My numero uno!
Completely and totally agree!!!
I agree! Fringe has to survive! It is so good. I have to record Grey’s and CSI, so I can watch Fringe, which is my favorite. My fave used to be Grey’s at this hour until they moved Fringe to Thursday night. That is how much I love it!
P.S. I tape 30 Rock too! It is pretty clever and Alec Baldwin is great!
That just does not look good for Flashforward. I was hoping the audience for that show was going to stabilize. This is a little bit of an uptick for Fringe, isn’t it? Weren’t they at a 5 last week? Please correct me if I’m wrong. If I lose both Fringe and Flashforward I will cry tears … tiny, tiny tears.
tvbythenumbersdotcom showed that Fringe was back to where it was before last week’s drop.
Geez, I wonder do the CBS execs sleep on beds stuffed with hundred dollar bills? They’re doing numbers like soduku!
Agreed. Someone please take Leno off the air and return SVU to its original time slot @ 10 so I can watch Modern Family without feeling like I betrayed SVU.
I enjoyed the pilot to FlashForward but I am not addicted to the show the way I thought I would be.
Same here. I was expecting a show that makes me feel like I need to come back – the only person I care about is Demetri at this point, so I just read recaps to see what happened to him.
ITA. I wish ABC had insisted/allowed this to be a limited run series, i.e. one season only. When a series is based on a mystery, and writers don’t know the end date, they are forced to meander to postpone solving the riddle (and we all know how that hurt Lost). I’m invested in a couple of FF s/ls, but can already feel my interest waning as the show’s pace creeps along.
Why doesn’t any one realy talk about how 30 rock sees a 2 million viewer drop after the office. Who knows funny better the public or critics?
The critics. The public thinks Two and a Half Men is funny. It’s not.
Amen to that!
So all those people watching it must be wrong then. I dont think its funny either but obviously a lot of people like it.
My question was legitimate. I agree Two and a half men is a waste of time. I just feel that since I have tried soooooo many times to give 30 rock a chance and have never found a way for it to work someone should at least acknowledge the fact that, were it not for Jay Leno’s terrible 80’s comedy time machine that airs at 10, 30 rock would be nbc’s weak link on thursdays.
I enjoy Two and a Half Men and the whole CBS line-up Monday nights!
I feel like such a space alien when it comes to Two and Half Men because every time I turn around, someone else is saying how funny it is, how hilarious it is – and when I watch it, I don’t laugh at all. I don’t get it.
Worst show on television
Mike, 30 Rock is simply not for everyone. I’ve realized that since it first premiered. I happen to think it’s one of the funniest shows on TV. But I know that not everyone will agree with me, and that’s fine.
But 30 Rock is one of the most critically acclaimed shows on TV and it has a small but loyal following. Even though NBC has made a ton of mistakes over the years, I still have a lot of respect for NBC for being so supportive of it. ABC surely wouldn’t have done the same with it. Plus, I wouldn’t really consider it the weak spot of NBC Thursdays. 30 Rock has higher ratings than both Community and Parks and Recreation.
And yes, Tow and a Half Men is awful. I don’t understand what people find so funny about it. Hands down, the worst comedy on TV right now.
LOl! too true
I agree with you 350% Two in Half Men it’s not funny very boring. Sorry fan of the show.
I love 30 Rock but acknowledge it’s not for everyone. I remember loving Seinfeld and colleagues ate work thought I was CRAZY because they preferred shows that I considered quite low-brow. The masses are asses, and low-brow is very popular, thus shows like Seinfeld, 30 Rock are lost on some people.
Agreed. The humor can be so subtle, I think a lot of people miss it.
Yeah, it’s a real tragedy that Seinfeld never found a mass audience.
Clearly the critics. Why are you even asking this? Big Momma’s House 2 opened at the top of the box office when it came out.
I really don’t get all the people who still watch Survivor
you just go to the two blogs here and you will get your answer. Survivor is great Thursday night tv!
completely agree
I love Bones, Vampire Diaries, FlashForward, Fringe, and Supernatural. My DVR works overtime on Thursday’s. I have to watch Diaries in my bedroom. To where Tues. and Wed. need some help.
LOL…those are exactly the same shows I watch on Thursdays. I’m DVRing like crazy on Thursdays. Fringe is awesome!
My viewing list is pretty similar too. Bones, Fringe, Supernatural…Community, The Office.
Too many shows on Thursday…its a shame, means I can’t give interesting shows like Flash Forward a try.
It sucks to see Flashforward dropping. It is just beginning to find its footing. Last week’s epsiode, “The Gift”, was one of the best and most heartbreaking episodes of television I’ve seen this year.
I agree that FlashForward seems to be improving. I really hope that it can at least get one full season, but I don’t see much promise after that.
I am starting to wish Flash was a 30 min show now. What does that mean?
the critics think 3o rock is funny, it’s not!
Other than on assorted forums I haver never talked to anyone who actually watches 30 Rock, The Office and similar clones. They are not funny. Yet if you put ten people in a room, 9 of them will know various episodes of Two & a half men word for word, will watch endless re-runs and wait every Monday for the new episodes. Big Bang Theory doesn’t have quite the same following, but it’s gaining. Are people actually that snobby about their comedic tastes that they pretend to watch shows that aren’t funny???
Wow you are in the wrong rooms. But to be perfectly honest with you I don’t really hang out with any boby who can quote whole episodes of television shows. We are too busy talking about things that happen in our lives.
I personally would rather discuss my friends or my own original thoughts.
I watch 30 Rock and think it’s very funny. I watch the Office and it used to be funny. We all just have a different sense of humor – I don’t find Two & A Half Men funny at all, and find Big Bang Theory only occasionally funny. It just means we think differently – not that anyone is trying to be a snob.
Wow, my entire office watches The Office. I also watch HIMYM, BBT and Modern Family and I can’t seem to find anyone else who does.
Everyone I know watches those shows. And while I may be younger (21), my parents and the parents of my roommates all watch. And I live in Minnesota so I’m not an East Coast type either. I don’t know anyone who watches Two and a Half Men or NCIS. Quoting Charlie Sheen word for word? I’d much rather be labeled a snob than exist in a world where that is normal. And no, I’m not pretending to like them either. Enjoy mediocrity I guess?
Maybe it’s a Canadian thing then….
In general, Canadians prefer to watch funny comedies. As a Canadian, I know many people who love “The Office,” but I don’t know anyone who watches “Two and a Half Men.” Not that I have anything against “Two and a Half Men” viewers, I just haven’t met any. Maybe you’re hanging around in the wrong rooms?
Lets not make this a nationality thing…”Canadians prefer to watch funny comedies”. Can we prove that?
I know a few people who watch Two and a Half Men, though more watch The Office.
Comedy is different for each person.
30 is somewhat funny, if Tracy Morgan isn’t on. That guy acts and sounds like he is reading the phone book everytime he opens his mouth.
I agree. Sometimes he is a bit over the top and the humor wears thin quickly. I think that weird vocal delivery he has is on purpose, but I don’t appreciate it either. It gets good critic ratings because it is a well written show – very clever writing on Tina Fey’s part.
“Fringe” really needs a different night. It would do much better on Tuesday or even at 7:00 on Wednesday. Pairing it with “Bones” wasn’t a wise move. They have different audiences (except for misfits like me who watch all kinds of stuff) and are not really complimentary like Monday’s “House” and “Lie To Me” are.
I probably would watch 30 Rock except it is on opposite Grey’s. I don’t get into The Office much.
Thursday figures aren’t what they seem. There is so much on, that most people are recording some shows, while watching others live. Or watching the shows later on-line or On Demand. I wish there was a way these figures were included.
Fox should really pull a coup & put move HOUSE or BONES to Fridays since they seem to be their strongest shows & then be able to move FRINGE to Mondays or something when HOUSE airs . IF they succeed in keeping their audiences it will be seen as innovative & daring, and making a hit on Fridays again. i mean FOX has been running HOUSE re runs on Fridays anyways…why not just try the program out there and see what happens. Everyone claims its such a strong show…why not put their money where their mouths are? By doing so, they’d help out FRINGE & maybe give themselves a new hit night…but no one wnats to take that risk…look how Fox languished DOLLHOUSE. the eces at Fox see Friday night as a graveyard and would NEVER think of putting HOUSE on there. But I almost bet, they’ll consider putting FRINGE there once DOLLHOUSE’s eps run out in Dec. and then they’ll kill FRINGE too….so sad…why can’t people take chances anymore. FRINGE is obv. Dying on Thursdays and needs to be moved…Unless the Fox eces wnat it to go…
don’t even think of moving my House or Bones to the graveyard that is Friday. (I did shed a tear for the demise of Dollhouse — but not as much as Sara Connor Chronical last year. That was such a good show). I didn’t watch Fringe last year, but totally digging it this year. This is definitely the type of show the network needs to nuture — smart, funny, well written and acted. But, given history, they will probably cancel it.
WHAT? Bones or House on Friday? It would kill the two strongest show of FOX
Phil, don’t give Fox any ideas.
Fox won’t move BONES now that it’s proving that it can play on the biggest night on television; Thursday night. It’s what is keeping FOX in the fight on the night. They finally have a show that is proving that it can make it on a busy night. Fringe probably will be moved if not outright cancelled. Although I am sure it’s doing better than whatever was on last year in the time period. But it does drag down the promising start to the night Bones gives them…
Why is Supernatural tanking so hard this year?!
Probably because it is up against all the popular shows on thursday nights. Same problem as Fringe basically.
The night is part of it, but it was on this night last year with better numbers. Part of it is creative issues…I’ve gotten a general impression from different forums that people feel the show has been weaker so far this season, and I agree. Some of the eps have been forgettable.
its uncanny how david boranez and taylor latuner from new moon look alike like father /son david and taylor latuner can bone me up in a hot 3 some any day
I think FlashForward is one of the best shows on the air right now. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be another Pushing Daisies. But I will say this–ABC has the best shows.
ugh – Castle is the only show on ABC that I watch at the moment. FlashForward would be on the list on different nights and The Unusuals was cancelled. It’s all CBS and Fox for me (NBC Chuck, ABC, CW Vampire Diaries -one show each)
I LOVED the Unusuals. I felt like I was the only one watching it though.
The Unusuals was awesome! Probably the only cop show that I was really into.
Correction: ABC CANCELS the best shows (like Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Life on Mars etc), which is why I never invested in Flash Forward because I dont trust ABC to keep it on the air (and probably others didnt either, ensuring it’s eventual demise).
they got me with Eli Stone and, now, Eastwick. i hope to never invest in an ABC drama again.
I love Fringe to death but moving it to tuesday would be even worse. It would be going up against the #1 television show on the air right now, NCIS. Wednesday would be a better fit for Fringe. I just hope those at Fox figure it out before it is too late.
I think Fringe and NCIS have very different types of watchers.
SYTYCD is tanking in the fall. I think there will be room for Fringe again. However, as a fan of it, I don’t really like it after Idol. Last year it went away for weeks when Idol has more contestants. And that show can’t stay in its time slot either which makes DVRing a nightmare.
Fox would never move Fringe to Wednesday nights. Once Idol starts up in the winter it’s going to be Glee’s lead-in. Fringe works best on Tuesday nights. While NCIS is the highest rated show right now, it’s only one show as opposed to, like, 10 that people watch on the overcrowded Thurday night timeslot.
GO BONES!!! Last night’s episode was awesome and totally deserved the ratings bump! The one show I wish was on every single night!!!!
Then check TNT, it practically is.
I can’t believe there are people on here who are defending Two and a Half Men over 30 Rock as the better comedy. Don’t get me wrong, I like Two and a Half Men also, but 30 Rock is infinitely more clever and intelligent.
I also think that DVRs have completely altered these numbers – I LOVE Flash Forward, but watch Survivor live – in fact, it’s the ONLY show I watch live since I just play catch up for the rest of the night and FF through commercials. Nielson is an outdated system that simply is no longer effective.
Networks only care about live ratings because of advertising. When people use the DVR, networks assume they dont watch commercials so the networks dont care. Unfortunately Nielson works for what the networks truly want.
ABC should move FlashForward to 10PM on Tuesday or Wednesday nights.
I’m really losing interest in Flash Forward. The first few weeks it was a can’t miss show for me and now I can just take it or leave it.
Haven’t watched this weeks yet it is still on my dvr but I am starting to have the same feeling….
I have the last two episodes on my DVR. Not sure when I’m going to watch them…
I love the plot of Flashforward, but that suicide last week really turned me off. Sorry, but I don’t like to see kids or teens being exposed to that. I found it unsettling myself. They sometimes overdue the angst between the couple that saw her with another man and him drinking again. A little of that drawn out tension can go a long way! We get it but it is repeated every week and does not further the plot when it drags out those scenes.
can’t they move flashforward to a 10p slot somewhere? can’t they move fringe, too!? All the good shows are on the same time – it’s ridiculous!
Where could Fringe go? Fox only has 8 hours a week of available programming since Fridays and Saturdays are bad and Sundays are taken.In those 8 hours shows like House, Bones, Americon Idol, Glee, etc have set slots. Lie to me will need a new slot when 24 is back but where? Unless Fringe is moved to Tuesday after idol beginning in March when Idol is only one hour it’s probably stuck on Thursdays at 9 (8 central)
Glad to see Bones is doing great I wish they would stop the Booth/Bones will they/won’t they but people seem to be eating it up. I guess people like to watch the same stuff from week to week. It makes me sad to relize once LOST is over there is really nothing thought provoking left to watch.
Why do people state their opinions as fact. YOU may think 30 Rock sucks but it doesn’t mean that’s fact. I know plenty of people who watch the show. With certain shows on thursday, their viewership is going to fall because people will either tape it or watch it online. It doesn’t mean that any show sucks or that people aren’t watching. Certain shows just aren’t being watched live. Oh and 30 Rock will never be a blockbuster show but it has a loyal fan following and the show (along with its cast) gets a ton of nominations and awards come award season. 30 Rock and The Office are the only shows NBC can guarantee will at least get a nomination every year. For that, they are going nowhere. I just hope Fringe can survive the season. With So You Think.. showing that it can’t hang in the fall, they could move Fringe back to tuesday next fall. It is not going to happen right now so I wish people would stopping saying it. Just because it’s a pipe dream. With SYTYCD and than American Idol, there is no room for Fringe on tuesdays or any other day of the week. Fringe’s only choses is for fox to move it to Friday where it will die or hope that the new show following Idol dies and they can slide back in.
Nominations doesn’t make a show good or not either the only thing that does is your opinion! In my opinion 30 Rock shouldn’t have made it past the first season but that doesn’t mean it sucks it just means it sucks to me!!!!
No, nominations don’t make something good automatically, but it blows my mind when people take universal critical acclaim as if it is nothing. Everyone is wrong but me!
I know a few people who watch 30 Rock and love it. For me, its never worked. Meanwhile, everyone I know at work quotes The Office all day long. So it really depends on the person for sure. FlashForward I like and WANT to love but there is just something disjointed about the show. Maybe its too many storylines? The editing? Definitely the writing needs help as well. Last night’s ep. with the poker game felt like that was just dropped into the middle of the show! And if Joseph Fiennes doesn’t quite playing Matthew Fox on a bad day then I am gonna scream. I am sticking with it but I am concerned about the show’s prospects. Something is just “off”.
I have the same situation here where we ALL quote the Office and know all the jokes. ITA about FlashForward, I’m not as invested in it as I thought I’d be, however I will watch to see what happens on April 29, because now we suspect you may be able to change your FlashForward.
You’re so right! Something is just “off” about FlashForward. I don’t know what the problem is but something just doesn’t seem right about it. I really want to love it, but I don’t. I have the last two episodes on my DVR but I just haven’t been enthusiastic enough to watch them.
The pilot to “FlashForward” was very disappointing, and the show kept getting worse and worse. I don’t care about any of the characters (though I definitely care about Sonya Walger as Penny on “Lost”), and they just keep throwing in plot to buttress up a story that’s lagging.
The death of television has been overstated. Looking at the 10 pm hour, Leno is getting trashed by triple the ratings on the other networks. I am glad NBC is happy with his performance and they are saving money, for despite that, NBC almost has no audience anymore. Good thing penny-pinching GE is selling NBC now that it is mired in fourth place, if they held on to it for a few more years, it may just go the way of the near useless CW.
Awwwwww! Poor ABC. What’s that I hear? You’re new hit show is failing?? How can this be? Maybe it’s because no one trusts you’ll leave it on the air?!!!
dgh- I didn’t say that awards and nominations make a show good. Those things are why the show is still on the air. People were wondering why it’s still on with the low ratings it has. That is one of the main reason. It’s one of the only reasons Arrested Development lasted threes seasons as well. I love 30 Rock but I understand why people don’t. It’s a acquired taste. But I just get annoyed at the way some people state their opinions. I’m the type that likes to differentiate what is fact and what is my opinion. Oh and to others who have given up on Flash Foward, I will say that the last two episodes of the show has sold me. I’m fully invested now. No show this season has moved me liked last weeks did.