DeathWatch Watch

"Kidnapped" Officially Dead

November 02, 2006

NBC has pulled the Jeremy Sisto/Dana Delaney “I will find your son" drama entirely off the air.

It was launched in a much-coveted time slot (Wednesdays at 10), but despite an all-star cast, the show began to drop in the ratings almost as soon as it hit airwaves. In early October, production came to a halt and the show's future looked bleak.

NBC left “Kidnapped” on the air and planned to fulfill the original 13 episode order. The show was moved to Saturday nights, and in the ensuing weeks, as ratings plummeted, everyone packed up and left the sinking ship.

This past Saturday night the show did a paltry 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic. NBC has replaced “Kidnapped” with re-runs of “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.”

There is a glimmer of hope for fans of the show -- rumor has it that NBC is in talks to air the rest of the series on their website.

November Sweeps

November 01, 2006

Tomorrow begins the 2006 November sweeps. And we all know what that means. Break out your Nielsen boxes, your diaries, and your popcorn -- things are going to get nutty.

Here’s a quick run-down: "Sweeps" are named because Nielsen Media used to mail out "viewing diaries" to all of the Nielsen families starting from the east coast to the west coast. (In effect, "sweeping" the nation.) But in the present day, there is a whole host of ways that Nielsen collects their data. Sweeps seasons happen four times a year, and they exist primarily to collect HUGE amounts of viewing data, into a centralized analysis. Who's watching? For how long? What products do they buy? That analysis is what sets the advertising rates. And those rates mean bottom line dollars for the networks.

Okay, but what does that mean for you?

Well, that means that for the month of November, the networks trot out things like special guest stars, outrageous plot twists, and big specials. Notable sweep stunts include the episode of “Ally McBeal” with the close-up makeout of Calista Flockhart and Lucy Liu. Most huge character revelations (births, deaths, weddings) take place during Sweeps. Got a big concert you want to show in primetime? Now's your chance.

We open the floor up to you, Deathwatchers. What outrageous things would YOU like to see this November sweeps?

Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip

October 31, 2006

Rumors are flying that NBC's Aaron Sorkin drama, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, is on the verge of cancellation. Or will it be another "hiatus" fade-out? No final verdict yet, and the network did just order three more episodes. Frankly, we're not sure what to think.

Ratings have been dropping. Most significantly, "Studio 60" is losing about 50 percent of it's lead-in from "Heroes." (Down to 7.7 million viewers last week after "Heroes" had 14.3 million.)

Why the ratings slump? Critics like the quick and clever dialogue, but many outlets are saying that the comedy show "Studio 60" surrounds simply isn't funny. So is the drama being criticized because it's not a comedy? Could be....

We like that the show revived "Network"-like conversation. But at the end of the day, bringing the gravitas of "The West Wing" to late night comedy wasn't a good fit. Running a TV show, as much as TV writers and producers might like to think, isn't quite as important as running the country.

"Happy Hour" Awakes from Coma

October 30, 2006

After lingering in a coma for just over a month, Fox is returning “Happy Hour” to air this Thursday night. Deathwatchers had previously called this show the first to go, and news that it was being pulled from the schedule caused little surprise.

The show had previously been described as “The Odd Couple” meets “Two and a Half Men” meets “The Iceman Cometh.” It centers around a group of boozy twenty-somethings who hash out their problems in a bar every day at 4pm. It’s like “Cheers” with a younger cast, or “Friends” with latent alcoholism.

This has been the main critique of “Happy Hour” -- that it’s similar to just about every other show in the universe, only it has nothing new to recommend it. We have returned the show to the active Deathwatch list due to this miraculous recovery, and you can bet we’ll be watching when it returns to air this Thursday (8:30pm EST) as the lead-in to the season premiere of “The O.C.”