Dennis Rodman Trainwreck Draws Crowd

Retired hoopster causes a scene on Celebrity Apprentice; show's ratings rebound to estimated 8.5 million viewers

By Joal Ryan Mar 30, 2009 5:05 PMTags

You might not ever want to stay at a hotel run by Dennis Rodman, but you apparently don't mind watching one being run down him.

The retired hoopster's last, vodka-fueled stand on last night's The Celebrity Apprentice scored 8.5 million gawkers, per preliminary Nielsen estimates. That's the show's biggest audience since its premiere.

Elsewhere:

Saturday's Kids' Choice Awards scored with pint-sized power-brokers, scoring a record 7.7 milion overall viewers.

Compared to last week, Family Guy (8.2 million) and The Simpsons (6.6 million) were up.

Friday Night Lights (4 million) keeps generating renewal buzz, and its Friday-night counterparts Dollhouse (3.9 million) and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (3.8 million) have to wonder what makes FNL's low ratings so special.

Aided by college basketball, 60 Minutes scored a weekend-best 14 million.

Desperate Housewives basically had the weekend off (ABC aired a rerun); Brothers and Sisters and Ghost Whisperer totally had the weekend off.