ABC/CRAIG SJODIN LApocalypse, schmapocalypse. 2012 started right for Once Upon a Time and Revenge.
Then again, maybe the Mayans were onto something because the year started out wrong for Parenthood and Pan Am.
A TV ratings scorecard of key midseason returns and premieres:
WINNERS
• Once Upon a Time: Happily ever after, indeed. On Sunday, the show grew by more than 1 million Storybrook watchers from its last all-new episode in mid-December.
• Modern Family: Welcome back, Dunphys and Pritchetts. A huge 5.6 rating among 18-to-49-year-olds.
• 2 Broke Girls: Nearly equaled Monday comedy king Two and a Half Men in the demo.
• Revenge: Yup, folks are still hooked. With about 8 million viewers, the Hamptons saga had its most-watched episode since November.
• Grey's Anatomy: The bad news about Scott Foley's character was good news for the veteran series, which hit season highs.
• Saturday Night Live: Chalk one up for synergy. When a mega-watched NFL playoff game led into the sports-centric, Charles Barkley-hosted SNL, the comedy show notched its biggest overnight performance in a year.
LOSERS
• The Bachelor: Its season premiere won its time slot among young women, which was good, but registered overall record-low ratings for an opener, which was bad.
• The Biggest Loser: The fall-season finale was skinny; the spring-season premiere was skinnier.
• Parenthood: This bubble show, down about 1 million viewers from its 2011 sign-off in November, could've used a bigger boost from The Biggest Loser.
• Body of Proof: If Parenthood was down, its 10 p.m. Tuesday rival was out, falling to a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demo.
• Pan Am: 4 million viewers, and a 1.3 demo rating—that's not flying under the radar, that's disappearing from it.
• The Firm: The only thing sadder on Sunday than Pan Am was the launch of Josh Lucas' new series, which averaged a 1.4 demo rating (and 6.3 million viewers overall) despite heavy promotion during the aforementioned mega-watched NFL playoff game.
"TERRIBLE," BUT NOT TERRIBLE (BUT NOT GOOD, EITHER)
• Work It: For a show called "awful," "embarrassing" and "terrible" (in the same review, no less), the sitcom didn't entirely strike out (except with critics and GLAAD and…). With some 6 million viewers, it was about as big, or small, as Man Up!, which preceded it in ABC's Tuesday lineup.