Michael Klick/FOXWhat do young women do on Saturday nights in winter? Who is Jack Bauer's base? And why might Brody Jenner need a new day job?
The answers—and more questions—in this week's TV ratings pop quiz:
1. So, what did demographically desirable members of the fairer sex do last weekend?
Answer: Dude, it's the playoffs, what do you think they were doing—other than watching the San Diego Chargers upset the Indianapolis Colts on NBC? The game was the week's No. 1 show (27.8 millon viewers, per Nielsen), and the highest rated telecast among adults 18-49, and, yes, women 18-34.
2. In this era of change, who still loves a waterboarding-throwback like Kiefer Sutherland's bad ol' CTU agent?
Answer: Die-hard fans of 24, of course. More specifically, the show remains a big hit among African Americans. A Sunday night Fox rebroadcast of the 24 prequel, Redemption, ranked 46th overall. In African-American households, it ranked 10th.
3. Bromance really rocked it, huh?
Answer: As long as the question was meant ironically, then, yes, the premiere episode of Brody Jenner's MTV reality series, Bromance, really rocked it. In front of 963,000.
4. What's 60 percent of The Hills?
Answer: The City. MTV's Hills spinoff averaged 1.6 million for back-to-back premiere episodes, down from the 2.6 million that The Hills' own underperforming, but still-big finale scored the previous week.
5. If Nostradamus was so pyschic, how come he didn't take the week off so as to avoid getting killed by a new iCarly?
Answer: For one thing, Nostradamus wasn't a psychic; he was an apothecary. (Think the guy who wears the white coat, and stands behind the bulletproof glass at your local Rite-Aid.) For another thing, Nostradamus didn't get killed by iCarly. Yes, the Nick comedy killed (5.9 million viewers—tops for all cable series), but the French guy did all right, too (3.6 million for the History Channel special, Nostradamus: 2012—tops for all cable shows about the imminent end of the world).
6. Who is the most important man in the world, and also it's most noted clock-wearer?
Answer: Flavor Flav, provided the world is defined as VH1. Without Flav, there would have been no Strange Love, which led to Flavor of Love, which begat I Love New York, which begat Real Chance of Love (2.9 million), which was cable's most watched reality series.
7. Why was it a good week for Desperate Housewives?
Answer: In a week dominated by football, football, football, the ABC soap was TV's No. 1 scripted show in total viewers (14.4 million) and adults 18-49.
8. Why was it not a great week for Desperate Housewives?
Answer: It very nearly shared its most-watched title with CBS' NCIS (13.4 million). Make that, a repeat of CBS' NCIS.
Other Top 10 non-football shows: new episodes of Cold Case (12.7 million) and 60 Minutes (12.3 million); repeats of Two and a Half Men (11.9 million) and CSI: Miami (11.4 million), all on CBS. ABC's Brothers & Sisters scored a Top 10 finish in the demo, as did ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's Superstars of Dance.