Fey also needs to lose that mouth open shocked look bit that she has apparently trademarked.

As for the announced goodbye for Eli Stone, ABC is pulling another Men In Trees. ABC’s programming people are a group of sightless coin tosser’s who seem to have no ability to sense the pulse of American viewing. Eli Stone’s heart, references to God, doing the right thing…..too much for the Ultra-libs of Disney-ABC.

McPherson deserves pretty much all the credit for ABC’s complete lack of half-hour sitcom hits. More than one person has told me that he’s pretty much ruined all of them with his “important” notes — which he gives at the very last minute and which conflict with all the other notes the execs below him have already given. The “In the Motherhood” webisodes were some of the funniest things I’ve ever seen (and I’m saying this as a bachelor, a dude, and a guy who can’t stand kids). By the time he’s done, expect every last funny thing about them to be meticulously stripped away and for the whole thing to stink worse than a load of dirty diapers.

I hope that, during the hiatus, the CW airs selected repeats from the most recent 10 episodes, plus a couple of key episodes from past series that support the current story arc – wonder if they might do that? (Although DVDs can help any potential viewers, who’ve heard by word of mouth about the show, to catch up.)

Fin- for that wonderful comment about Kath and Kim’s ratings. That one ( Kath & Kim’s rating do not reflect the show. They’re not shit enough.)is a classic! LOL.

and to Tom (thetruthhurts: stephen mcpherson’s percentage is really really bad. he was not the one in charge when all the hits came along. that was susan lyne i believe. she was responsible for housewives, lost, grey’s (developed by her and held till mis-season). (he did program grey’s after housewives which i give him credit for) even bachelor, extreme makeover, boston legal… and 20/20 and funniest videos have been around forever… all not his. everything else is. and everything else is pretty weak sans dancing, brothers and sisters and ugly betty. after 4 years he has very little to show for himself in terms of hits. unless i’m missing something. i actually like his attempts and shows that are different but nothing clicks.) Those are interesting facts that I did not know. McPherson probably fears that his biggest error was in signing so many Greg Berlanti dramas. None of them are that engaging to the average tv viewer. Truth be told, his shows are more likely to induce sleep. I think McPherson needs to plead with Mark Gordon and Jerry Bruckheimer productions for more shows. LOL. Peace!

“I’m hearing that NBC execs are seriously considering a 16th season, though they’ve touted this year as the final curtain for quite some time now. Insiders tell me the Peacock net is hoping to keep County General open for business, as ER continues to win its time slot each week. Word is, the suits and creatives are meeting in an effort to work something out.”

Sam, Ugly Betty doesn’t have Grey’s as its lead in… It doesn’t have anything as a lead in. The fact that it can get the same amount of viewers as Life on Mars while not having any support from a show that airs before it is impressive. Or rather, it makes Life on Mars look quite unimpressive, seeing as how Grey’s is such a powerhouse. Ugly Betty also almost always comes in 2nd in its timeslot and frequently comes in first in the 18-34 demo. Life on Mars can’t do as well in comparison. Anyways.

FOX just needs a hug. The fact that a repeat of Kitchen Nightmares almost gets the same amount of viewers as a new episode is just… not good.

Maybe not for an entire season, but James Hibbert is reporting NBC may ask Warner Brothers for three more episodes this season, to bring the total order to 22 episodes: http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/10/nbc-considering.html

And I’m praying Robert is correct about “when there’s a will (and the numbers)…”

I agree, it’s up to the viewer to decide what they they think is good or bad. What do people mean by ‘better’? It’s tough to define. But honestly, I mean, there’s a reason why 30 Rock AND Office win most of the various television comedy awards out there, right? They’re miles ahead of the competition.

Is it okay that I love both, but prefer The Office? I think so. That show’s just grown on me more. And I like their style better.

I don’t think we’ll ever know why 30 rock doesn’t do that well in the ratings. I do have a theory that the show doesn’t have an emotional connection with viewers which nearly all successful shows do. But hey, as long as my fav comedies are on the air, I’m gonna keep watching.

Speaking as a fan of both, I didn’t think NBC’s OFFICE would even be half as good as BBC’s OFFICE. But they somehow made it their own. Stayed true to its British roots, yet changed it enough to give it a sense of familiarity to Americans who are accustomed to the traditional sitcom. I’m glad they made it different.

Sure, people may say it’s not as good as the UK version, and I would tend to agree, but it actually does some things better than its predecessor. One thing I always wonder is, “How would people judge the US version if the UK version didn’t exist?” Many, many people probably can’t answer that.

As for Kath and Kim, NBC needs to find a better show to put in that slot.

We each think we’re right, but neither one of us can prove our cases

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/index.html

I am really happy for him. So exciting when a good TV show gets a movie deal.

The Office is still struggling in the plot area; last night’s episode was mediocre at best. Kath and Kim is so desperately horrible that I cannot see it ever improving or becoming a sleeper hit for NBC.

I agree. There is no way that Lost will have as many viewers as GA does, but I also think that LoM will hold alot more of Lost audience than it does of GA.

Robert,

Thanks for the link to the final #’s.

I think it comes down to whether or not 30 ROCK can sustain OFFICE’s audience the rest of the season. It shouldn’t be too difficult, considering both shows have a similar audience. I thought it always lagged coming after EARL. With all the buzz around 30 ROCK this year, if it doesn’t get the ratings it should the rest of the season, I’m not sure if it ever will. Damn, it’s good this show is on train-wrecked NBC. Or else, who knows its fate would have been.

As for guest stars on 30 Rock, they are just doing whatever necessary to get viewers. HIMYM did it last season by stunt-casting Britney Spears and the show’s ratings has improve a lot since–especially this season.