TV This Week
   
Homepage

For 'October Road,'
it's bumpier ahead


Returning son saga finishes up its second season

Mar 10, 2008
Share |

“October Road” wraps up its second season in much the same way it ended its first, on the bubble for renewal. But this year prospects don’t look as good for the relationship-focused drama.

Since returning in the Monday 10 p.m. timeslot in November, “Road” has averaged a mere 2.1 adults 18-49 rating, off 52 percent from last year, when it averaged a 4.4 in the plum post-“Grey’s Anatomy” slot Thursdays at 10.

No one expected the show to match that rating, but “Road” certainly didn’t distinguish itself. It barely improved on lead-in “Notes from the Underbelly,” a likely goner after averaging a 2.0 rating. “Road” averaged a 2.0 for its penultimate episode, after hitting a series-low 1.6 in its previous outing.

“Road,” about a man named Nick who returns to his hometown after leaving abruptly years before, may have been hurt by the fact that it returned at midseason instead of rolling out last September. The show had its first-season finale last April, and the roughly seven-month gap between seasons one and two, along with the show’s timeslot change, may have lost some viewers.

Still, “Road” never showed any ratings momentum. It premiered with a 2.1 in November despite airing the same night as the finale of ABC’s smash “Dancing with the Stars.”

On tonight’s two-hour finale, which starts at 9 p.m., “Stars” season two finalist Stacy Keibler guest stars as Eddie’s ex-girlfriend, whose sudden appearance drives a wedge between Eddie and current love Janet. Meanwhile, Nick tries to decide between taking a great new job in a new town and staying behind with his ill father.

 

A look at this week’s top TV draws

MONDAY, MARCH 10

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 p.m.

ESPN

“College Basketball” (S)

Championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association, won last year by Virginia Commonwealth.

8 p.m.

Fox

“Canterbury’s Law” (D)

Series premiere. Julianna Margulies stars as a lawyer who sometimes takes the law into her own hands.

8 p.m.

ABC

“The Bachelor: Where are they Now?” (R, A)

A look back at past seasons of “The Bachelor,” and an update on previous contestants.

9 p.m.

CW

“The Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious” (R)

The ladies receive makeovers, then attend a red carpet event.

9 p.m.

VH1

“Flavor of Love” (R)

The girls write bedtime stories and read them to children.

9 p.m.

ABC

“October Road” (D)

Season finale. Eddie’s ex shows up, causing problems in his current relationship.

10 p.m.

NBC

“Medium” (D)

First of a two-parter has Joe’s mother share a secret with Allison.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 a.m.

NBC

“Today” (N)

The cast of “The Real Housewives of New York City” guests.

7 p.m.

ESPN

“College Basketball” (S)

The Summit League championship, won the last two years by Oral Roberts.

8 p.m.

Fox

“American Idol” (R)

The finals are here, and the remaining 12 perform.

8 p.m.

NBC

“The Biggest Loser” (R)

Two eliminated contestants who’ve lost the most weight since being bounced return to the competition.

8 p.m.

CW

“Beauty and the Geek” (R)

Season premiere. This season a team of geeks will compete against a team of beauties.

9 p.m.

History Channel

“The Universe” (N)

A look at the feasibility of colonizing Mars.

10 p.m.

Oxygen

“Bad Girls Club” (R)

Jennavecia deals with the fallout after quitting her job and Cordelia tries to cut down on drinking.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 p.m.

ESPN

“College Basketball” (S)

The big boys get their Championship Week underway as the Big East kicks off its tourney with first-round action.

8 p.m.

Fox

“The Moment of Truth” (G)

The No. 1 new show this season moves to a new timeslot, an hour earlier than its old one. Can it still see an “Idol” effect?

8 p.m.

CW

“America’s Next Top Model” (R)

Season eight winner Jaslene Gonzalez judges a runway competition.

9 p.m.

Fox

“American Idol” (R)

One of the 12 finalists is eliminated.

9 p.m.

ABC

“Supernanny” (R)

A couple’s at-home business suffers because of their three rowdy kids.

10 p.m.

NBC

“Law & Order” (D)

Paging Michael Vick: The murder of a woman is somehow connected to a dog fighting ring.

10 p.m.

Bravo

“Top Chef” (R)

Season premiere. The new season’s 16 contestants are introduced and compete in Chicago.

THURSDAY, MARCH 13

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 p.m.

ESPN2

“College Basketball” (S)

The ACC kicks off its tourney tonight with first-round action.

8 p.m.

CBS

“Survivor” (R)

While one contestant tries to recover from an injury, another goes down in pain.

8 p.m.

CW

“Smallville” (D)

A roadie for the band OneRepublic chews kryptonite gum and develops super powers.

9 p.m.

ABC

“Lost” (D)

Desmond and Sayid meet the captain of the freighter.

9 p.m.

truTV

“Smoking Gun Presents: World’s Dumbest Criminals” (R)

First of a two-part look at wannabe criminals who just aren’t that smart.

10 p.m.

ABC

“Eli Stone” (D)

Taylor tries to make it work with Eli by arranging a real-life George Michael performance.

10 p.m.

MTV

“Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” (R)

The final four groups perform to the tunes of Broadway musicals.

FRIDAY, MARCH 14

Time

Network

Program

Description

8 p.m.

Fox

“The Return of Jezebel James” (C)

Series premiere. Parker Posey stars as a single children’s book editor who wants kids.

8 p.m.

ESPN Classic

“Boxing” (S)

A re-airing of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s first pro fight from 1996.

9 p.m.

Lifetime

“Your Mama Don’t Dance” (R)

The first mother-son team is bounced, leaving eight teams to perform.

9:30 p.m.

HBO

“In Treatment” (D)

Paul tries to deal with the fact that Kate and Rosie have been keeping secrets from him.

10 p.m.

History Channel

“Battle 360” (N)

The Enterprise suffers damage in the 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal.

10 p.m.

Univision

“Nuestra Belleza Latina” (R)

Can the reality show/beauty competition continue to bring in viewers?

SATURDAY, MARCH 15

Time

Network

Program

Description

11:30 a.m.

CBS

“College Basketball” (S)

Championship game of Conference USA, won a year ago by Memphis.

2:30 p.m.

NBC

“PGA Golf” (S)

Third-round coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, live from Orlando.

6 p.m.

ABC

“College Basketball” (S)

The Pac-10 title game, which Oregon won last year.

8 p.m.

Fox

“Cops” (R)

Cops in Kansas City try to track down an elderly parolee on the run.

9 p.m.

ESPN

“College Basketball” (S)

The Big East championship game, live from Madison Square Garden. Georgetown took the title last year.

11:30 p.m.

NBC

“Saturday Night Live” (C)

Jonah Hill hosts, Janet Jackson performs. Keep your clothes on, Janet.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16

Time

Network

Program

Description

1 p.m.

CBS

“College Basketball” (S)

The SEC tourney title game, which Florida won last year. Probably not this time, however.

2:30 p.m.

NBC

“PGA Golf” (S)

The final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which Vijay Singh won last year.

3:30 p.m.

CBS

“College Basketball” (S)

The Big Ten title game from Indianapolis, won a year ago by Ohio State.

6 p.m.

CBS

“NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show” (S)

Fill out your brackets: The 65-team field is revealed.

8 p.m.

ABC

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (R)

Ty helps a family who turned their garage into a teen community center.

9:30 p.m.

Fox

“Unhitched” (C)

Gator and Freddy hang out with nannies and Kate sees her ex at a child’s birthday party.

10 p.m.

FX

“Dirt” (D)

Don digs up some dirt on a politician who used to be an actress.

A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.

 

***
 
 
Subscribe to Media Life
Latest headlines
This season's big winners and losers
Game on: NBC's wall-to-wall Olympics
CNN sinks to 20-year low in primetime
Is Kim dating Kanye? Did Kourtney pop?
'Reel Crime/Real Story,' artful recollections
Tell us, what shows look promising for fall?
May sweeps' high note: The 'Idol' finale
'House' surges to three-month high in finale

Jack Bamberger becomes president of digital at MEC
Matt MacDonald and Ryan Kutscher become co-CCOs at JWT
Tom Eslinger and Claudine Cheever rise at Saatchi & Saatchi
Qian Qian becomes VP and creative director at Deutsch N.Y.
The word: Cheryl Cole may join 'American Idol'
TV remote control inventor Eugene Polley dies at 96
Doug Frantz becomes national security editor at The Washington Post
Raza Jaffrey and Jaime Cepero leaving NBC's 'Smash'
 
 
 
 


Diego Vasquez is a staff writer for Media Life.




© 2012 Media Life Privacy Statement