What kind of numbers do you expect Chuck to get if they can keep it on the schedule next Monday? Or, maybe a better question, what would make NBC happy?

A fan asked about the show’s future. Josh and Chris noted how much they were promoted during the Super Bowl, and Josh said, “It’s feeling as positive as it can without saying it’s actually coming back.” Then we got into the unfortunate timing of the Obama press conference tomorrow, and the rumors that Obama may do yet another primetime address a week from Monday. “Clearly, Obama’s first plan as president was to destroy ‘Chuck,’” Josh said, before noting that he hears the President may only speak for five minutes, which would allow “Chuck” to air more or less on time.

You can read more on Alan Sepinwall’s blog:

http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2009/02/chuck-vs-comic-con.html

I believe L O S T is as you put it; so strong in quality that the lack of a lead in doesn’t hurt it. But a strong lead in, even a mediocre lead in , would at least give it an advantage against its competition.

Life On Mars following L O S T had many chances to become a good show, but it was boring and bad-weird as opposed to cool/intriguing-weird like L O S T. Thus many people, myself included, gave up on the series. Having nothing to watch Saturday night however, I watched my dvr’ed programs. I was stunned by the excellence of LOM. It may be too late to salvage the show now unfortunately, but I’m telling you the quality of last week’s writing was impeccable. It played out like a really, really good episode of CSI.

I enjoyed Fringe as well. It’s another show I dvr’ed last week that I had given up on after seeing so many boring ones. The story of the sick man on a plane that transforms into some kind of werewolf monster, killing and causing the plane to crash was well done. It had my attention all the way to the end.

Chuck

Kudos to “Big Bang” — the first genuinely funny multi-cam sitcom to come down the pike in years. And kudos to the writers for managing to have the laughs come from other things besides poop and farts (as on “Two and a Half Men”).

Speaking of farts, now maybe the old ones who vote on the joke that has become the Emmys can start giving it the recognition it deserves, instead of wasting numerous slots on dross like “Entourage” or “Pushing Daisies” that have no business being called comedies.

http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/244102981/p/5

And I have a hard time saying that Heroes beat 24, when it beats it in the demo and yet no one is watching it. The viewership is what speaks to the quality of the show, not the age demographic of its viewers.

I really think Heroes needs to go away. It’s NBC’s only big hit, and it gets fewer viewers than Medium which is really in need of promotion because it actually has the capacity to be a big hit considering its NBCs only good show … in my opinion of course. If it wasn’t for Medium, I would refuse to watch NBC. Especially after they cancelled Las Vegas — I hope they’re regretting that now. Considering that on its lowest ratings day, it had better ratings than Heroes.

I’m sorry this turned into a directionless rant by the way.

Next week’s numbers will be interesting. I’m not certain that Obama’s first press conference really did much to anyone’s numbers. It only ran 115 seconds over, I believe, and it generated ratings nearly as good, or better, than every show it replaced except House. Maybe 24 lost a handful of people that would have watched House and then just sat their like zombies and watched 24, but that seems pretty unrealistic.

If there is one thing this season and last have taught me, lead-ins are now compltely overrated and used like as crutch by every underperforming show on television. The numbers for BB vs. WW last night should show you that. Or take a look at the way Lie To Me is barely a hit even with the massive AI lead in.

Or take a look at how moving Life on Mars from a horrible lead in to a great one has made absolutely zero difference (well, some difference actually, LOM went down in the ratings).

In the Age of The Clicker, The Internet, and The Minisucle Attention Span (too short to even be called short), lead ins frequently are meaningless.

Again, look at Wed. Lost has no lead in. Lie to Me has the biggest lead in in television. Yet the ratings for both are nearly identical. You could say that Lost is just that much better of a show, or you could say that people simply watch what they want to watch regardless of what airs before or after it.

Anyone? Anyone? Anyone at all?

The show has gone from slight Real Time issues to the absurd. Last night’s episode had to be the all time leader in absurdity of what Bauer could do in not just an hour but in 42 minutes. Yes, he had 42 minutes to find the kidnappers of the First Dude. 42 minutes. In that time he had to go meet an FBI agent, figure out which SS agent was the bad one and track them down, get the info, then get to where they were holding the First Dude. In 42 minutes.

Lets not even get into the fact that the bad guy gave the President 50 minutes to have her forces “withdraw.” Do you have any idea how long that would take for it to look like they were withdrawing? A lot longer than 50 minutes.

The Jack Bauer Power Hour is about absurdity. You have to embrace the absurdity. Cuddle up to it. Otherwise you’ll just make yourself feel bad. I enjoy it because of the absurdity it just fits with it all.

24 is only losing viewers because of HEROES. HEROES wasn’t on during the first episodes.

that show is hilarious and much better than the Hyped HIMYM

Also it’s down 80% in brain cells from any other season of the show, even though most of the past seasons had very few cells to being with.

I like how last night Larry managed to hang up his phone, run down a hallway, pull all the classified phone logs on two secret service agents AND their personnel files, download everything to his PDA, and then get to the reflecting pool—all in under 120 seconds. And here I thought the shortcuts they took with geography were ludicrous.

Of course, when it comes to crazy things that render the show’s real time gimmick meaningless, the cake must be taken by the last episode ending with Jack and Company telling the president they were coming in at 2:58, and then this episode opened with them being led into the OVAL FRICKING OFFICE at 3:04.

Yeah, I know, why the hell am I still watching? Why am I not one of the 20%?

I can’t say, but it obviously speaks to a deep flaw in my character. Some part of me must just love car crashes. At least I can say that I truly am ashamed by it. Thank God I admit all of this here under a pseudonym.

Hopefully next week is the week where I do not watch. I need some self respect back.

By the way, for a show that was supposed to be touching on the idea of torture in the world today, the show seems to be spending an inordinate amount of time creating completely ridiculous scenarios that allow them to not only justify torture but also to speak to its virtues. Even Captain Kangaroo would approve Jack’s methods under the asinine situations these writers manage to invent.

And how stupid do torture critics look when they are represented by characters who get in a huff over Jack’s plan to PRETEND to torture someone when they only have 45 minutes until the First Dude is executed? This show is fair and balanced like Fox News is an arm of the DNC.

Still loving me some President Exposition, I must say. Still waiting for the first White House scene that isn’t pure exposition. I’m hoping there never is one. That would be a new record.

It’s amazing to me that 24, where maybe two new things happen each hour, needs more exposition in one episode than Lost needs in an entire season.

NBC needs to find the right situation for Chuck and Heroes.

At any rate, 24 was down slightly because it didn’t have House. So as far as I can tell 24 is at a series average ratings-wise. It’s too bad when it was at it’s very very best, in terms of ratings and emmys back during the Logan administration, we got the Palmer 2 administration and he took us down, down, down, til the flames grew higher, and it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire…the ring of fire.