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"Sopranos" Hits High Ratings Note
Tony killed Tony. Tony killed the Tonys. But he still couldn't hack Shaq.
Sunday's fifth-season closer of HBO's The Sopranos, featuring Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) expending a bullet in the head of cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi), was watched by a mob of about 11 million, per Nielsen Media Research.
That's up from the 9.7 million the quaint family drama had been averaging in this, its penultimate season. And it's way more than the 6.6 million who watched the 58th Annual Tony Awards on CBS, featuring host Hugh Jackman kickin' it with the Rockettes. (The two shows went toe-to-tap shoe in the 9-10 p.m. hour.)
The Tonys telecast ranked a middling 43rd among broadcast shows for the week ended Sunday, and a lowly last in history. It was the least watched edition ever of the Broadway promotional tool. Not even CBS had the strength to spin the anemic numbers in its favor, preferring in its weekly ratings recap to brag about a Two and a Half Men rerun (fifth place, 13.38 million) and refraining from making even one mention of its egregiously overlooked awards show.
Tony Soprano, meanwhile, found sterner competition in the NBA Finals on ABC.
Sunday's Game 1 exercise, featuring Shaquille O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers shooting and missing and the Detroit Pistons shooting and missing a little less, averaged 15.4 million hoops fans for the night--up a whopping 60 percent from last year's series opener. (The 2003 NBA Finals starred the B-list talents of the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets.)
Proud of its top-watched telecast, a rarity for the Alphabet, ABC made sure to point out that its basketball game boxed out The Sopranos. In the 9-10 p.m. hour, ABC said, Shaq's bunch drew 2.4 million more viewers than Tony's crew.
On one hand, the comparison is unfair--The Sopranos is a pay-cable show seen only in a fraction of the nation's TV households.
On the other hand, ABC is an over-the-air broadcast network itself seen in only a fraction of the nation's TV households.
Elsewhere:
With new episodes still to offer, late-starter Crossing Jordan crossed into the Top 10 for NBC--eighth place, 11.6 million. Some 10.5 million, not including Kwame Jackson, witnessed Australian Jennifer Hawkins be awarded a crown, a bouquet of roses and control of the universe--at least until the next Donald Trump-sponsored beauty pageant on NBC.New Peacock comedy Come to Papa was feeling the summertime blahs with its so-so premiere--37th place, 6.8 million viewers.
The season finale and could-be last-ever episode of NBC's The Restaurant delivered just 4.7 million foodies (67th place).
Because it's just not right to dispose of unwanted sitcoms in a landfill, ABC began unloading the final Drew Carey shows on Wednesday night. The first two episodes finished in 48th and 58th place, respectively, averaging a dumpy 5.6 million viewers.
Opposite mostly reruns, slightly fresher network newsmags dominated the Top 20, led by CBS' 60 Minutes (11th place, 9.8 million) and followed by CBS' all-new 48 Hours Mystery (14th place, 9.2 million), Dateline NBC (15th place, 8.99 million) and CBS' 60 Minutes II (16th place, 8.96 million).
A Dateline NBC special on Ronald Reagan, airing the night of the former President's death, found 5.5 million devotees (56th place).
ABC's latest reality experiment, The Ultimate Love Test, flunked its premiere--66th place, 4.7 million.
Overall, CBS won the first full week of TV's summer season, averaging 8.2 million viewers. NBC trailed with 8 million, ABC moved up to third, with 5.8 million, Fox flailed with 4.8 million.
The WB, led by new drama Summerland (69th place, 4.6 million), topped UPN, 2.7 million to 2.6 million.
Here's a rundown of the 10 most watched shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
1. 2004 NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers versus Detroit Pistons, Game 1, ABC, 15.4 million viewers
2. CSI, CBS, 14.9 million viewers
3. CSI: Miami, CBS, 14.1 million viewers
4. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 13.4 million viewers
5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 13.38 million viewers
6. Without a Trace, CBS, 13.3 million viewers
7. Law & Order (10 p.m., Wednesday), NBC, 12.3 million viewers
8. Crossing Jordan, NBC, 11.6 million viewers
9. Miss Universe Pageant, NBC, 10.5 million viewers
10. Law & Order (9 p.m., Wednesday), NBC, 10.3 million viewers
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