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With a monster football overrun, Fox’s animated comedies posted double-digit increases last night, while ABC’s dramas posted series lows. Rookie Once Upon A Time (3.1/7) was down 9% from last week, veteran Desperate Housewives (2.6/6) was down 13% from its last original two weeks ago, and soon-to-be-grounded freshman Pan Am (1.6/4) was down 11% from its most recent episode three weeks ago. At 7 PM, America’s Funniest Home Videos (1.4/4) was down 22% from last week.
Boosted by the NFL overrun, Fox’s The Simpsons (4.0/10, 9 million) was up a big 54% from last week to match its season high in 18-49 and draw its largest audience in almost a year. The tide lifted all ships, with struggling Allen Gregory (2.4/6) up a whopping 60% from last week; it still was the lowest-rated member of Fox’s animated block. Family Guy (3.5/8) at 9 PM was up 25% from last week and posted its highest teen rating in almost a year. The Cleveland Show (2.5/6) was up 14% from American Dad‘s delivery in the 9:30 PM slot last week and up 47% from Cleveland‘s demo rating last week at 7:30 PM.
CBS’ fast nationals may be skewed by regional NFL overruns. 60 Minutes (1.8/5) was down 51% from last week, when it followed an NFL overrun. The Amazing Race (2.7/6) was down 7%. The Good Wife (1.9/4) was flat with its most recent original two weeks ago, and CSI: Miami (2.2/5) was up 16%.
NBC once again won the night with Sunday Night Football, which posted a third consecutive week of declines. Last night’s game, in which the Saints defeated the Lions 31-17, averaged an 11.9 overnight rating/18 share, down 5% from last week and 18% from last year’s Week 13 game between the Ravens and Steelers (14.6/23).
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It’s pretty sad that the Animation Domination line-up only works because of the NFL Overrun. It would be pretty much in shambles without it.
Once Upon A Time is a mess. Four episodes in and I still don’t have a clue what’s going on (not in a good LOST way, either.)
* What does the lead want? To leave Storybrooke? A family? A do-over? What?
* How about a way for Mr. Gold & the Mayor to be self-serving and manipulative without the mustache-twirling? Like, say, BEN from LOST?
* The kid? Less is more. WAY more.
* Yes, it’s fun to match up the “real world” characters with their fairy tale equals. Jiminey Cricket, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, but I have no idea if the real world characters are self-aware, i.e. Do they know of these fairy tales? If so, wouldn’t the lead clue in at some point? If not, what’s the reason for the GIANT BOOK OF FAIRY TALES the kid hauls around with him? What are the rules of this world?
* With LOST (and I have to go here, considering the show’s pedigree) the flashbacks informed the decision making of the “present” story. In a sense, LOST was creating it’s own fairy tale moving both forwards and backwards at the same time. In Once Upon A Time, there’s an obligation to tell the fairy tale in the flashback which puts the audience WAAAAY ahead of the characters (deadly to a drama) so as we’re spending three or four scenes waiting for them to get to the crux.
My $.02.
I’d say your 2¢ is worth more like a million bucks.
I’ll add that Mr. Gold verges on the edge of anti-Semitism by virtue of the name & his big nose. His modern character should have had a non Jewish name instead of Gold.
This show should have been given a definite end date that’s no more than two years.
And last night’s ep with the guy getting lost & the mayor giving him the wrong directions was ridiculous.
A fascinating idea that’s being done in by bad writing & plotting.
All questions were answered in the pilot. Obviously the episode you missed.
…but I will agree the kid gets on my nerves. Less is definitely more with him.
Yo Teach, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Whew! I thought I was the only one who saw how bad this show really is.
The morons over on the imdb board are all crazy about OUAT but I can’t stand it. They don’t see the awful writing and poor execution and that it’s basically just another fairytale cash grab for Disney.
Nice to know I’m not alone.
The networks have nobody to blame but themselves when it comes to shows like Desperate Housewives dropping in the ratings. After all, they took that show off for three weeks, brought it back for one episode and now it’s off again for another month. How many people even knew it was on last night? They’re constantly preempting that show for various awards shows as well. Also, why do the networks bother to take the shows off air for a month over Christmas these days when almost everyone has a DVR to tape the shows if they do go on vacation? The longer the shows are off the air the more likely that the audience will find something else to do (and not go back).
I agree Dorothy.. the strangest scheduling I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame because I think this season of DH is the best it’s ever been. Everyone’s actually acting consistently in character (i.e. not differently from week to week depending on what “B” or “C” story they’re in) and actions are having real consequences from week to week (rather than the usual way Cherry writes where something happens and they’ve forgotten about it the next week).
True, I’m bored by Vanessa Williams’ character (I think she’s above acting like an undersexed teenager throwing herself at men left and right) and it seems like the whole show is painting itself into a corner that it can’t get out of (this show has a history of not knowing how to satisfactorily resolve stories they launch)… but it’s keeping me coming back watching live.. and that’s rare. And, there are no banked DH eps – unlike Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story, Glee, Hawaii 50 and Parks and Rec.
Well stated and now ABC is taking Pan Am off the air and killing whatever little momentum they still have for this show, for the next month’s time, not airing a new episode until 1/8/2012 and I cannot see this show coming back after it finishes its 14 episode run. Damn shame but bad acting, unstable storylines and lack of focus and cohesion are just some of the factors that doomed this show after the pilot aired a few months back. Doesn’t help they delayed this show for two weeks, inserted an episode and now delaying it a month, airing the last five episodes and possible CXLing it for good. Thankg goodness DH will be done and over with.
Once Upon a time is the best show this season. The reason why I turn my tv on on Sunday’s. The show already got a full season pick up. Football is gonna be over soon. ( hooray ) and I am sure the show will kick some behind. For Fox I don’t really care for their toons.
Um…best new show this season would have to go to HOMELAND.
I like OUAT for what it is…but it can’t compete with Patinkin, Danes, and Damian Lewis. Apples and Oranges as far as shows go, but since we’re calling “Best New Show This Season”…
HOMELAND.
Absolutely agree, and fortunately for Homeland it’s on a channel that can deliver the audience for it. Terriers was a show of very different tone but similar quality that died of loneliness on FX.
Reports of ratings always spark discussions about the quality of this or that show, and whether it ‘deserves’ its numbers.
Why is The Good Wife dropping in the ratings? Isn’t a Sunday, 9pm slot supposed to be one of the most watched hours on television? Did people not follow it to Sunday?
I will admit, it’s not as good this season. I guess having Alicia and Will together isn’t as excited as once thought. Although I am loving the Eli/Kalinda interaction.
One big reason TGW is dropping because it’s way over-plotted and over-complicated. It’s that rare show that has an overrun of interesting characters and plotlines, but for some reason, the writers feel that every single episode has to juggle four equally-complex storylines. Hell, I’ve been watching this show from the beginning, and even I have a hard time keeping track of what’s going on. And it was a mistake to have Alicia get involved with Will while still married to Peter. She’s supposed to be the show’s struggling-to-be-moral core, but she’s coming off as cynical and “using” as most of the characters.
Since the first episode, my TV has taken to turning itself off when “Allen Gregory” comes on.
Smart TV.
Headline should be “PAN AM crashes and burns.” Good premise, horrible execution. Series should be grounded for good.
ONCE is shabbily plotted but well-cast and directed and performed. Kill off the kid and keep him dead and the thing will have higher, more real stakes and be relieved of its weakest on-camera link.
My friends hope that ABC keeps Pan Am for another season.
We truly enjoy getting together and sharing our memories
of traveling on Pan Am. It has the potential to be a big
hit for a long time now that the characters have grown on
many of us.
Anne, I just cannot see this happening unless a miracle can be intertwined into this program and starts to produce good solid storylines, a solid plot to follow and removing Christine Ricci from the show. Stick to the story about the airline and not this garbage they have been airing as of late. Like a bad episode of Moonlighting.
I believe it was at this site that someone announced a few weeks ago that the Desperate Housewives airing was the last one for the fall. I never thought of checking to see that a new one was being aired last night.
I echo Yo, Teachs critique of OUAT-I tried to watch it, those first four eps, but I lost interest midway in the second. Whats the point of it, and the show? DH did have a good ep last night, but it was on for like 10 eps straight, took 2 weeks off, and now off for another month-WTF? Give us a real ass-kicking one NEXT week, THEN take a few weeks off-throw us a friggin bone, ABC! And for Animation Domination to still be able to kick serious ass besides the NFL, well, that tells you all you need to know about Sunday night programming. Maybe the rest of it is too heavy-we want light comedies or action, not soap operas and reality shows!
The ‘did you turn in to see it’ age is already over. Ratings are irrelevant. What matters is how many people –
1. DVR’d a show
2. Accessed it via the net
3. Will eventually watch it on a Netflix like aggregator
I love Pan Am and OUAT! I hope ABC will continue to give Pan Am a chance, but I concur that these long scheduling gaps will not help it build an audience. Beautiful production, great characters you actually care about- it a fun world to spend Sunday night in!
I love Pan Am!!! Hope they can get it together and hopefully get a better TV viewing night. The characters are loveable and the setting gives room for expansion. A++ show if they can hold on long enough.