Friday night fights – of sorts

While Friday night television has become a former shell of itself, it still has some decent programming options – though it still have the stigma of the “Death Slot” (Hello, Hawaii Five-O!)
All ratings numbers are those for adults 18-49, unless noted otherwise.
The premiere of Fox’s Junior Masterchief won its time slot with a 1.6 rating, beating CBS’ Undercover Boss with a 1.5 rating, easily beating lackluster ABC sitcoms Last Man Standing (1.2) and The Neighbors (1.0), and CW’s Perfect Score (0.2)
Premiering after the Super Bowl several years ago, Undercover Boss has settled in to become a solid utility player for CBS on Friday night. On the other hand, you have to ask why Last Man Standing is still on the air – is it to see Tim Allen’s career continuing its spiraling decline?
Another worthwhile option in time slot – at least for Chicago viewers is Chicago Tonight: The Week In Review on WTTW, a roundtable show discussing the week’s events with Joel Weisman.
NBC repeated The Michael J. Fox Show from the night before, with both half-hours earning a 0.8.
Shark Tank – one of the best reality shows on the air right now – ruled the second hour of prime-time with a 1.9 rating, defeating recently relocated Hawaii Five-O on CBS with a 1.6. In total viewers however, McGarett & Co. easily cleared Mark Cuban & Friends, 9.59 million to 6.86 million. Meanwhile, NBC’s Dateline scored a 1.3 rating, while a repeat of Sleepy Hollow finished with a 0.9, but drew 2.67 million viewers. Despite yours truly’s objections, Sleepy Hollow is a keeper.
And lastly, the Houston Astros of network TV – America’s Next Top Model – earned just 977,000 viewers and a 0.4 rating for CW. The statement really needs no explanation.
In the final hour of primetime, CBS’ Blue Bloods cruised to victory drawing a 1.7 rating and 11.40 million viewers, easily clearing Dateline’s second hour (1.5) and ABC’s 20/20 (1.2).