FOX – After a reasonably uneventful Sunday from Animation Domination — The Simpsons (6.24m/2.7), Bob’s Burgers (4.87m/2.2), Family Guy (6.57m/3.3), Cleveland (5.43m/2.6) — things got interesting on Monday. House (10.41m/3.5) was around where you would expect, but it looks like Chicago Code (7.87m/2.1) is enjoying Charlie Sheen’s fall off the deep end. With Men forced into repeats for sweeps, Code is stabilizing at a very curious spot that puts it squarely on the bubble for renewal. If it holds there, it will be a very interesting decision in the spring.
The rest of the week was pretty much by the numbers. Glee (10.58m/4.4) was strong on Tuesday, with Raising Hope (6m/2.4) looking okay following. Traffic Light (3.99m/1.6), as expected, is looking like a one-and-done show. American Idol was strong with two hour episodes on Wednesday (22.72m/7.9) and Thursday (21.76m/7.2). Kitchen Nightmares (3.72m/1.6) was down a tad on Friday. And for Fringe (4.04m/1.5) fans looking for something positive, the show held steady this week.
ABC - Without an award show to contend with, Sunday’s offering of Extreme Makeover (9.57m/2.4), Desperate Housewives (10.58m/3.1), and Brothers & Sisters (6.77m/1.9) were all up over last week. Better, but it is worth noting that DH and B&S are both down .6 over last year at this time in the demo. Monday, The Bachelor (10.41m/3.4) continued to gain steam, and Castle (8.99m/2.6) bounced back from an off week.
Tuesday has become interesting because of V (5.14m/1.9). Those are not great numbers, but when compared with what No Ordinary Family (4.77m/1.4) and Detroit 187 (bumped from sweeps, this week for Charlie Sheen) have been doing it is at least earning a shot at another season. What happens with Body Of Proof this spring could be very telling for V‘s future. Wednesday was mostly by the book, for better or worse, with The Middle (7.96m/2.4), Better With You (5.73m/1.8), Modern Family (10.17m/4.1), and Off The Map (4.84m/1.7). The bad news was the Mr Sunshine (6.12m/2.2) result. Down another .4 in demo, we have to wonder where it stops. Thursday, Wipeout (7.12m/2.2) was up a bit, but Grey’s Anatomy (9.13m/3.4) took a hit from the extended Idol. Private Practice (6.44m/2.3) followed suit.
NBC – The week got off to an okay start thanks to SNL Backstage (6.33m/2.1). Not a great result, but not bad for a one-off special to fill time. Monday, with Chuck (5.48m/1.7), The Cape (4.15m/1.2), and Harry’s Law (8.75m/1.7) was steady with the previous week. The Cape is certainly done, but one does wonder what will happen when The Event returns next week. The new promos look much better than the original ones did, which is something.
Tuesday looked okay with Biggest Loser (7.58m/2.7) and Parenthood (5.53m/2.1). Parenthood staying in the 2s should give it a leg up when the pink slips start flying. Wednesday, Minute To Win It (3.62m/1) has hit a wall, and SVU (8.02m/2.5) remains bizarrely uneven. And Thursday, there was more of the same from Community (3.79m/1.8), Perfect Couples (2.89m/1.4), The Office (6.12m/3.2), Parks & Rec (4.59m/2.4), 30 Rock (4.5m/2.3), and Outsourced (3.27m/1.4). The week finished with Who Do You Think You Are (6.15m/1.2) on Friday.
CBS – It was an okay start to the week from Amazing Race (9.15m/2.5), Undercover Boss (10.68m/2.6), and CSI Miami (10.47m/2.2). Things looked better Monday, despite the repeat for 2 ½ Men (11.54m/3). How I Met Your Mother (9.33m/3.5), Mike & Molly (11.2m/3.2), and Hawaii Five-O (10.45m/2.8) all looked good. Mad Love (7.99m/2.8) was a little iffy though. That’s probably a little low to survive on the CBS Monday.
NCIS (21.32m/4.4) and NCIS LA (18.69m/3.9) kept rolling right along on Tuesday, and The Good Wife (11.86m/2) probably sent out a bunch of emails reminding everyone that this is the show that wins the awards for the network. There was more 10PM iffyness Wednesday, from Suspect Behavior (9.81m/2.4). That’s a pretty big week 2 drop. Earlier in the night were Survivor (10.93m/3.1) and Criminal Minds (13.15m/3.2). Nothing surprising to report on Thursday from Big Bang Theory (12.35m/3.8), CSI (12.41m/2.7) and The Mentalist (14.79m/2.8). The interesting bit came from Rules Of Engagement (9.45m/2.8). That puts it just below $#*! My Dad Says in viewers over the last couple weeks, and just above it in demo. Friday brought new episodes of The Defenders (8.72m/1.2), CSI NY (10.83m/1.7), and Blue Bloods (11.58m/1.7).
CW - Most of the week held to recent form. That included 90210 (1.52m/.7), Gossip Girl (1.57m/.8), One Tree Hill (2.01m/.9), Hellcats (1.64m/.6), Vampire Diaries (2.98m/1.3), Nikita (2.14m/.8), Smallville (2.55m/1), and Supernatural (2.17m/1). If there was a surprise for the week, it was the number for Next Top Model (2.25m/1.1). The show is starting to show its age. Not a surprise, was the poor debut for Shedding for the Wedding (1.07m/.5).
CABLE – It’s not exactly NFL numbers, but the NBA can still make some noise on cable. The 2011 All-Star Game (9.09m/4) did very well for TNT. The network also had good luck with the Saturday night skills competitions, which brought in over eight million viewers. But since I loathe the NBA, and generally operate under the illusion that it doesn’t exist in my universe, I’ll just point out that this means the league’s greatest stars are right in line with Snooki (7.7m/4).
Basic
Premium
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Feb 28, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
I chose to pretend Jersey Shore doesn’t exist in this universe.
There’s a german playing for UConn right now (Giffey) who might be the successor to Dirk in the NBA – but on the other hand there’s currently no network in Germany broadcasting the NBA. So you just have to move to Germany Brett. The NBA actually doesn’t exist here.
*POST AUTHOR*
A world with no NBA is a happy thought! :D
A world without the NHL, NFL, or NBA is a happy thought to me.
About your title… How many people do you really think that watch the trash 2.5 Men would go “This looks like a good replacement” to Chicago Code? I’m going to go with only a few and they are most likely higher than Charlie Sheen… if that’s even possible.
*POST AUTHOR*
The other way to look at it – When 35% of the #1 show on the night disappears, where are they more likely to land? Chicago Code, The Bachelor, or The Cape? I don’t think the Men repeat made the Code ratings great, but if there had been a new episode, my guess is that Code would have been down again.
Gah those NBC numbers always sadden me. I wish Community was on CBS so it’ll have a larger LIVE viewership instead of a decent Live + DVR numbers
If The Chicago Code comes back next year, I’d be happy for FOX to sacrifice Lie to Me, Human Target, and Fringe to make room for it.