"Dancing" Machine Still Works
The Lincoln Memorial might have more moves than Master P, but viewers didn't seem to care, as they got back in step Thursday night with Dancing with the Stars.
The second-season premiere of the ABC ballroom blitz, airing from 8-10 p.m., averaged 17.5 million viewers, per Nielsen Media Research. That's nearly triple the audience of previous time slot occupants Alias and Night Stalker. It's also an upgrade over Dancing's inaugural episode last summer.
While Dancing boosted ABC, it didn't quite undermine NBC, as that network's remade lineup performed about as well--or as poorly--as ever.
NBC saw improvement from 8-9 p.m., where the new combo of Will & Grace (8 million) and the premiering sitcom Four Kings (8.9 million) outdid the old combo of Will & Grace and Joey, which is on hiatus through the Winter Olympics. But the NBC comedies still ran third in the hour, behind Dancing with the Stars and a CSI repeat on CBS (14.6 million).
Interestingly, NBC's most highly touted move--the moving of My Name Is Earl and The Office to Thursdays--produced the least results.
Earl fared worse at 9 p.m. on Thursday (11.2 million) than it had at 9 p.m. on Tuesday (12.1 million). And while The Office benefited from its new home (8.7 million, up from 7.7 million), NBC averaged fewer viewers in the 9-10 p.m. hour (10 million) than it had with The Apprentice (11 million).
As far as the standings go, NBC was again third in the hour, behind the Dancing with the Stars premiere and a new CSI (27.2 million).
Overall, CBS won the night, averaging 20.9 million, followed by ABC (14.6 million), NBC (10.8 million) and Fox (5.1 million), which didn't do so hot with a broadcast offering of The Hot Chick.
With the premieres of Dancing with the Stars and Four Kings, Thursday represented the starting point for TV's midseason. Among the new and returning shows to be rolled out in the coming weeks:
The Book of Daniel (Friday, NBC): Minister Aidan Quinn pops pills and pains the religious right. The L Word (Sunday, Showtime): The third-season opener. Emily's Reasons Why Not (Monday, ABC): Heather Graham finally gets to star in Sex and the City. Jake in Progress (Monday, ABC): The John Stamos comedy gets a second chance. The Bachelor: Paris (Monday, ABC): The eighth edition of the dating show spreads its seed in Europe. Beauty & the Geek (Thursday, WB): With this second-season premiere, producer Ashton Kutcher renews his mission to build bridges and break down barriers. Crumbs (Thursday, ABC): Jane Curtin is a recently discharged psychiatric patient whose family surname is Crumb, because you just can't get away with Crackers anymore. 24 (Jan. 15, Fox): The fifth crisis cycle kicks off with what Fox calls a "four-hour season premiere," back-to-back nights of two-hour episodes. American Idol (Jan. 17, Fox): Now that the money truck has been backed up to Simon Cowell's house, the fifth season can begin with all stars present and accounted for. Love Monkey (Jan. 17, CBS): Apparently unfamiliar with Craigslist, Ed's Tom Cavanagh returns to prime time to find love. Skating with Celebrities (Jan. 18, Fox): The likes of Deborah Gibson and Dave Coulier (Full House) make like Dorothy Hamill. With Todd Bridges as Tonya Harding. Courting Alex (Jan. 23, CBS): Following the lead of Cavanaugh, Dharma & Greg's Jenna Elfman returns to prime time to find love. Prison Break (March, Fox): Look for Wentworth Miller to be back on the run come the winter thaw. The Sopranos (March, HBO): Tony Soprano survives to season six.
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