Thursday’s ratings race showed established returning shows picking up where they left off – grabbing lots of viewers. Here’s a quick analysis (all times Central):
7 p.m: Four of the five shows had something to crow out, with Survivor winning in adults 18-49 and total viewers. NBC’s hour-long season premiere of My Name Is Earl also did well, particularly among men. Fox’s 5th Grader and CW’s Smallville also did respectively well, at least with staying on course with year-ago ratings levels. Ugly Betty on the other hand, dropped substantially among total viewers and adults 18-49. Freshman hangover?
8 p.m. – CBS’ CSI and ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy : CSI won in total viewers (24.85 to Grey’s 20.48), but Grey’s won in adults 18-49 (8.7 to 8.0). NBC’s The Office and Fox’s Don’t Forget the Lyrics! also did respectively well, with The Office notching a 5.1 in the 18-49’s, and improving over Earl’s lead-in.
9 p.m. CBS’ Without a Trace won in 18-49’s and total viewers, defeating ER handily. ABC’s new Big Shots (not a click to pick), did finish second, but was down substantially from its Grey’s lead-in in total viewers and in 18-49’s. Do we need to see Christopher Titus in another show after Titus? Sorry, Stacy Keach will always be your dad to me.