The "Dharma & Greg" Curse?
Another successful sitcom star has tried but failed to establish a new hit show--and this time, the Seinfeld curse can't be blamed.
Jenna Elfman, who never, ever appeared alongside the likes of Jerry, George and Kramer, is the latest casualty of the 2005-06 season, having gone down with the ship known as Courting Alex.
Officially, Alex is on hiatus. CBS banished it after a 74th place finish (6 million viewers) in the latest weekly Nielsen Media Research rankings.
Out of Practice (75th place, 5.9 million), which had been paired with Alex on Wednesdays, was also pulled.
CBS will fill the 8 to 9 p.m. hour left vacant by the two advanced-degree comedies--Alex is about a lawyer played by Elfman; Out of Practice is about a family of doctors led by Henry Winkler--with The Amazing Race 9.
Race had been running on Tuesday nights--last week, it placed 43rd overall (9.2 million). With Race moving to Wednesdays effective this week, CBS crime drama reruns will flesh out Tuesday, the network said.
Courting Alex debuted on Jan. 23--it was Elfman's first series since Dharma & Greg ended in 2002. The sitcom got off to a good start but faded after CBS moved it from Monday to Wednesday. Likewise, Out of Practice, which debuted last fall, drew respectable numbers on Monday, but pulled a disappearing act on Wednesday.
Out of Practice is averaging 11.6 million for the season, better than the likes of NBC's My Name Is Earl (11.5 million) and The Office (8.2 million). Courting Alex averaged 8 million over nine telecasts, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Out of Practice got bumped from Monday to make room for King of Queens, which began the year on Wednesday. Courting Alex relinquished its post-Two and a Half Men slot to The New Adventures of Old Christine, starring Julia Louis-Drefus, who did appear alongside the likes of Jerry, George and Kramer.
So far, the Seinfeld curse has yet to strike down Old Christine, though the show did suffer its worst week last week (29th place, 12 million). Overall, the comedy is averaging 14.1 million through three telecasts in the 9:30 p.m., Monday slot.
The Seinfeld curse or bad time slots previously doomed Louis-Dreyfus' Watching Ellie, Jason Alexander's Listen Up and Bob Patterson, and Michael Richards' The Michael Richards Show.
Thomas Gibson, Elfman's former sitcom husband, meanwhile, does not appear to be succumbing to a Dharma & Greg curse as costar of the freshman CBS crime drama Criminal Minds (25th place, 12.5 million).
Elsewhere in the TV week ended Sunday:
The songs of the 21st century as rendered obsolete by the American Idol finalists apparently didn't just hurt the judges' ears. Ratings for Tuesday's competition show (first place, 31.7 million) were down 5 percent from the previous week. Idol fans, however, were as enthused as ever to see who got voted off, with the usual 27.7 million tuning in (second place) to see Lisa Tucker dismissed. CBS' CSI (third place, 25.2 million) is still TV's most watched scripted show; ABC's Grey's Anatomy (fourth place, 22.4 million) is still trumping Sunday night sister show Desperate Housewives (fifth place, 21.8 million). CBS' Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (ninth place, 16.2 million) rebounded for its best numbers in more than a month. Jack Bauer's latest bad day is his biggest ever. In its fifth year, Fox's 24 (16th place, 14.5 million) is up a whopping 33 percent over its average for the first four seasons. Fox's Prison Break (33rd, 10 million) can keep running--it's been renewed for a second season. Karma is a funny thing. Since being handed the supposed reward that is a Thursday time slot, NBC's Earl (35th place, 9.9 million) is down 5 percent in viewers. Election night tensions and a cliffhanger involving the late John Spencer's character didn't add up for NBC's The West Wing (61st place, 7.3 million), off 8 percent from its season average. Note that NBC isn't calling Teachers (65th place, 6.7 million) the new, hit comedy, but rather "the hit new comedy." ABC isn't calling Sons & Daughters (84th place, 4.9 million for its 9 p.m., Tuesday; 91st place, 4.6 million for its 9:30 p.m., Tuesday episode) anything. NBC's ER (24th place, 12.8 million) is hardly on life support, but it's getting a precautionary John Stamos infusion anyway. Perhaps instead of One Tree Hill (126th place, 2.8 million), the WB, or CW, could get better results with a Chad Michael Murray dating show. Question: If two new shows drop on a doomed network, such as the WB, do they make a sound? Answer: Um, not really. See: Survival of the Richest (137th place, 2.1 million) and The Bedford Diaries (138th place, 2 million).Overall, CBS placed four shows in the Top 10, and won the week in total viewers, averaging 12.9 million. Fox aired American Idol twice, and won the week in the 18-to-49 demo.
Fox placed second in viewers (10.4 million). In a twist, NBC (9.2 million) bypassed ABC (8.9 million) for third place. The former benefited from Deal or No Deal madness; the latter got sucked down by Tuesday and Friday nights.
Here's a look at the 10 most watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
1. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 31.7 million viewers
2. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 27.7 million viewers
3. CSI, CBS, 25.2 million viewers
4. Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 22.4 million viewers
5. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 21.8 million viewers
6. House, Fox, 21.4 million viewers
7. Without a Trace, CBS, 18.5 million viewers
8. CSI: Miami, CBS, 16.5 million viewers
9. Survivor: Panama--Exile Island, CBS, 16.25 million viewers
10. Deal or No Deal (Monday), NBC, 16.24 million viewers
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