American Idol lorded over everything as is typical, but Grey's Anatomy led the pack of scripted shows among adults 18-49. A bit of scripted domination with scripted shows taking fifteen out of the twenty top spots. In the battle between the J.J. Abrams Lost and the J.J. Abrams Fringe, Lost came out a couple of spots ahead among 18-49 year olds. And though CBS may skew old, it had the most show in the 18-49 top twenty with nine. FOX and ABC had four each. NBC had three, and none were in the top ten.
In overall viewing, NCIS was the top scripted show and the fourth most watched show overall behind American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. But while NCIS was fourth overall, it was only 19th among 18-49 year olds. I'm enjoying catching up on old episodes on USA Network though.
Michael J. Fox's return to broadcast in a special on the powers of optimism landed in the top 20 most-watched shows overall at exactly number 20. It did not place in the top 25 among adults 18-49.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows Among 18-49 year olds for the week ending May 10, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | 18-49 Rating | 18-49 Viewers (000) |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 8.3 | 10,967 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 8.3 | 10,967 | |
| 3 | GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 5.4 | 7,087 | |
| 4 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 5.0 | 6,553 | |
| 5 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 4.8 | 6,394 | |
| 6 | HOUSE | FOX | 4.6 | 6,019 | |
| 7 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 4.1 | 5,469 | |
| 8 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | CBS | 4.1 | 5,464 | |
| 9 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 4.0 | 5,287 | |
| 10 | LOST | ABC | 4.0 | 5,280 | |
| 11 | OFFICE | NBC | 3.9 | 5,184 | |
| 12 | FRINGE | FOX | 3.8 | 5,075 | |
| 13 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 3.8 | 5,064 | |
| 14 | Law And Order:SVU | NBC | 3.7 | 4,842 | |
| 15 | Mentalist, THE | CBS | 3.6 | 4,786 | |
| 16 | Biggest Loser 7 | NBC | 3.6 | 4,743 | |
| 17 | HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER | CBS | 3.6 | 4,742 | |
| 18 | CSI | CBS | 3.6 | 4,724 | |
| 19 | NCIS | CBS | 3.4 | 4,546 | |
| 20 | Big Bang Theory, THE | CBS | 3.4 | 4,483 |
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Nielsen Top Twenty Shows (total viewing) for the week ending May 10, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | # Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) |
| 1 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 23,574 | 13.7 | 21 | |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 23,414 | 13.4 | 21 | |
| 3 | DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 20,278 | 12.6 | 19 | |
| 4 | NCIS | CBS | 16,723 | 10.4 | 17 | |
| 5 | Mentalist, THE | CBS | 16,678 | 10.4 | 16 | |
| 6 | GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 15,546 | 10.3 | 16 | |
| 7 | CSI | CBS | 14,912 | 9.2 | 15 | |
| 8 | DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 14,556 | 9.4 | 14 | |
| 9 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 14,169 | 8.6 | 13 | |
| 10 | CRIMINAL MINDS | CBS | 14,128 | 8.9 | 14 | |
| 11 | CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 13,718 | 8.7 | 14 | |
| 12 | CSI: NY | CBS | 13,397 | 8.5 | 14 | |
| 13 | DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 12,293 | 7.7 | 12 | |
| 14 | HOUSE | FOX | 12,047 | 7.1 | 11 | |
| 15 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 11,993 | 7.0 | 12 | |
| 16 | COLD CASE | CBS | 11,838 | 7.2 | 12 | |
| 17 | WITHOUT A TRACE | CBS | 11,831 | 7.7 | 13 | |
| 18 | RULES OF ENGAGEMENT | CBS | 11,328 | 6.9 | 10 | |
| 19 | AMAZING RACE 14 | CBS | 10,490 | 5.9 | 10 | |
| 20 | MICHAEL J FOX SP-5/7(S) | S | ABC | 10,230 | 6.8 | 12 |
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Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
All numbers are Live + SD (live, plus same day DVR viewing)
OK but how long has Grey’s and Lost been going for? Fringe’s first season finale is tonight and I’m sure Fringe will, and can, only improve in the ratings next year.
What I found interesting about the above numbers is that Fringe was higher than The Mentalist.
epic fail NBC.
I’m happy–and somewhat surprised–that a show as brilliant and gloriously complex as LOST is being well-recieved. I honestly didn’t think there was enough patience left in this A.D.D-addled society to appreciate it. It gives me a measure of hope.
Despite what the retentionistas might say, Fringe is doing good. Good enough in fact, that Fox has ordered a 2nd season.
The news is that Fringe is still beating The Mentalist in the 18-49 demo. Anyway, here is an interesting observation.
Apparently, it is now official: Fringe is a much better show than Dollhouse. Before you tear me apart, here’s why I think Fringe is better. The reason is because the mission on Fringe is more clearly defined on Fringe than Dollhouse. For example, on Dollhouse you don’t really have a side top root for. How can you really root for each character if you’re not emotionally invested in that personality? Secondly, Dollhouse is harder to sustain as a premise because there’s no real mythology to connect the stories. Or if there is one, it’s just the organization Dollhouse and isn’t as interesting as say, parallel universe on Fringe. You see, on Fringe the audience knows where this is all heading because the show has an established mythology, a war between parallel universes. Also, We know more about the characters in Fringe than in Dollhouse and as result, the audience cares about them more. For example, we know Olivia’s past with Cortexiphan and her past drug trials. Whereas, in Dollhouse we didn’t learn that much about Caroline or the others. Fringe’s stand alone episodes, however bad they compared to the mythology episodes are much more creepier than the stand alones of Dollhouse. I’m sorry, but I just think that Dollhouse’s stand alones are too much like Ghost Whisperer which is a bad show. We also know a lot about Walter’s past including his involvement with William Bell. That’s more than we know about topher, the eccentric for Dollhouse. And yes, I did change my name.
However, Fringe does to get more media coverage from what I’ve seen than a lot of CBS shows including The Mentalist. Why is that? The JJ Abrams factor. However, I will admit that House, Grey’s Anatomy and Chuck do get more coverage. CBS shows do lousy in the 18-49 demo. That’s probably why shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Chuck, House and Fringe get more coverage because prestige and 18-49 rating factor.
Haha, god NBC is bad….
GE needs to fire everybody at NBC especially Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman
Fringefan, why did you feel the need to come on here and suddenly start up with the Fringe vs. Dollhouse thing? Are you needing to make yourself feel better about Fringe for some reason?
BTW, you sound exactly like another user known as ThePattern.
Continued: Is that what you meant about you having changed your name? You were previously known as ThePattern?
I watched that Michael J Fox special and it was SO BORING. It amazes me that it actually made the top 20. Then again , if it gets his message across, than I am happy that so many people watched.
I just decided to post why I like Fringe and yep I was ThePattern.
Well, not to contribute to the “Fringe is better than Dollhouse” flame war – well, yeah, I am…
Actually Dollhouse has a mythology, it just never got a chance to dig deep into it yet. Presumably Whedon intended to do that in the season 2 he’ll never get. There are more than one Dollhouse and the corporation behind it apparently are engaged in a Big Conspiracy to do a Bad Thing. But it was Fox who suggested that to Whedon – apparently his original concept was more limited.
So in that sense, Fringe is better than Dollhouse since it’s concept is significantly broader than Dollhouse’ original concept. But both had a lot of potential.
Abrams has said there will be a huge change in Fringe in season 2. That worries me. Making huge changes in a show in season 2 frequently leads to disaster, as TSCC demonstrated. Supposedly we’ll see a hint tonight at what season 2 of Fringe will look like, with reveals about Peter, Walter and William Bell.
I know, but look at X Files and Big Love. In the case of each show, the series got only better after each season. Although, once Duchovny left, that left a huge hole in the X Files universe.
My point is each one of those shows improved greatly after the 1st season.
OK but how long has Grey’s and Lost been going for? Fringe’s first season finale is tonight and I’m sure Fringe will, and can, only improve in the ratings next year.
Im completely astounded by that comment, Im not here to bash shows, but do you really think the ratings will ‘improve’ next year? If it doesnt air behind Idol, I dont expect an upward trend in ratings, heck even if it airs out of Idol or House, I dont think it will grow. Fringe supporters really need to get over themselves, the show has a cult following, thats it.
Shows typically erode as they get older not build, unless they are given lead in support.
That’s true and I’m fine with that. Look at Alias and X Files. Both lasted several seasons with a cult feeling. Besides, cult shows tend to get a lot of press attention and attention at places like Comic-con.
Excuse me, cult following. Sorry about that, lol!
Besides, all Fox cares about is the 18-49 demo.
BREAKING NEWS: End of show. is reporting that Fox picked up the Mark Valley pilot Human Target and is considering pairing it with Dollhouse. Why Fox would consider a 2nd season of Dollhouse is beyond me at this point.
http://www.endofshow.com/2009/05/12/exclusive-fox-picks-up-human-target-considering-dollhouse-pairing/
“EXCLUSIVE: FOX picks up “Human Target”, considering Dollhouse pairing
FOX have officially picked up “Human Target”, a pilot starring Mark Valley (Fringe), to series. The drama revolves around mysterious freelancer Christopher Chance, who takes on a different identity each week to help those in need.
The big action drama has tested extremely well, and is liked by incoming executive Peter Rice. We have heard FOX are considering pairing it with “Dollhouse”, or bringing in one of their other pilots for a back to back pairing in the Fall.”