How did Kate Gosselin help make history? Why might the reality mom be history on Dancing With the Stars? And did Justin Bieber jinx Jay Leno?
The answers—and more questions about Chuck and Sarah Palin—in the latest edition of the TV ratings quiz:
1. If the answer is not—we repeat, not—American Idol, what was TV's most-watched show last week? The Gosselin and friends-powered DWTS. According to ABC, the victory marks the first time in nearly five years that Idol has bowed down to anything, save for a show that aired right after the Super Bowl. Demographically, Idol remained No. 1, with its Tuesday and Wednesday shows both topping the Monday installment of DWTS.
2. Why might Gosselin's Dancing days be numbered? And, sorry, "because she cannot dance" is not an acceptable answer (even if it is true). Last night, for the first time, ABC's strategy of saving Gosselin for last or next-to-last did not work like black magic. Viewership dipped from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Even the 8:30 p.m. half-hour outdrew Gosselin's hardly passable Paso Doble at 9:30 p.m.
3. Why might Gosselin's Dancing days not be numbered? DWTS went up against the men's college basketball championship last night, meaning people might not have been rejecting Gosselin, but tuning in the close game.
4. Why was Bieber bad luck for Leno? On the night last week that Bieber was The Tonight Show''s musical act, David Letterman's Late Show scored a rare tie with Leno in the overnight ratings. Of course, it also might be that Chuck's Zachary Levi (the main Leno guest) was no match for Clash of the Titan's Sam Worthington (the main Letterman guest).
5. What's the good news-bad news for Chuck? The good news: Last night's episode tied the 8 p.m. 24 in the 18-49 demo. The bad news: Both shows ran way behind DWTS and CBS' comedy reruns, and, oh, yeah, 24's already been canceled.
6. Are things looking bubbly or flat for bubble show V? Bubbly. Among those all-important adults 18-49, last week's return episode finished in the Top 20 in the latest weekly Nielsen rankings. Overall, it rated 7 million viewers.
7. Who's feeling prematurely nostalgic for Lost? Quite a few folks. Last week's episode was the outgoing series' most-watched episode this season opposite Idol, ABC said. Overall, its 10.1 million viewers was good enough for a 15th-place finish.
8. Name one good reason Who Do You Think You Are? got renewed, and/or, name one good reason Ghost Whisperer has not been renewed (yet?). Last week, the family-tree series beat an all-new Ghost Whisperer among the demographically desirable. That's the first such loss for the endangered Jennifer Love Hewitt drama since November 2006, NBC said.
9. Sarah Palin: Hit or miss? Sorry, LL Cool J, but the premiere of Palin's Fox News series, Real American Stories, drew 2.1 million, a better-than-average prime-time performance for the cable network.
Here's a look at the top 10 broadcast network shows for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen Media Research:
- Dancing With the Stars (Monday), 23 million
- American Idol (Tuesday), 21.8 million
- American Idol (Wednesday), 20.5 million
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (West Virginia vs. Duke), 15.8 million
- Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), 14.3 million
- The Mentalist, 14.1 million
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (Saturday postgame), 14 million
- Castle, 13.4 million
- CSI, 13.3 million
- Undercover Boss, 13.2 million
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Chuck's still hanging in there at Watch With Kristin's Save One Show campaign. Vote for you favorite bubble show now.