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With 'House' finale,
victory lap of sorts

Fox drama's season-ender ought to do even better

By Diego Vasquez
May 29, 2007

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Usually you’d expect one of the top dramas on television to air its finale during the regular season. But hoping to draw big numbers for the premiere of its summer reality show “On the Lot,” Fox bumped its top scripted show, “House,” out of its usual Tuesday 9 p.m. timeslot last week to give “Lot” the night’s valuable “American Idol” lead-in.

Though “Lot” had a disappointing debut, the strategy didn’t hurt Fox. The network won its third straight May sweeps six days ago, and the “House” finale airs tonight at 9 p.m.

It will be interesting to see how many people tune in for the belated finale. Over the last few months, “House” has been nearly as big a draw as “American Idol.” Several times the show held more than 90 percent of its lead-in, a first for any show behind “Idol.”

“House” was the No. 2 scripted show among adults 18-49 this season, right behind “Grey’s Anatomy,” and No. 4 show overall with an average 8.0 rating.

Tonight’s finale, in which House treats an ailing Cuban woman, will air against minimal competition. The broadcast networks have all but checked out for the summer, with reality fare filling the schedules until fall.

Last year NBC also waited until the regular season was over to air finales for its then-building game show “Deal or No Deal” and “The Apprentice,” and both did quite well. This year ABC also held over one of its finales, “Boston Legal,” which airs tonight at 10 p.m.

The strategy makes sense as a way to draw viewers in during the slow summer months and then pump newly premiering reality shows, especially if the rating points aren’t needed during sweeps. Fox was fine without “House,” and ABC would get little benefit from the low-rated “Boston Legal.”

If these shows continue to do well with delayed finales, we may see more of this in the coming years.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, MAY 29
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	"Major League Baseball" (S)	Bonds and the Giants take on the Mets in New York.
8 p.m.	Fox	"On the Lot" (R)	Three contestants are bounced after viewers and judges have their say.
9 p.m.	Discovery	"Deadliest Catch" (R)	Bad luck puts the crew of The Northwestern behind by about a week.
9 p.m.	Fox	"House" (D)	Season finale. House treats a Cuban woman whose medical records were lost when she fled her country.
9 p.m.	History Channel	"The Universe" (N)	Series premiere. A look at the birth and history of the sun.
10 p.m.	ABC	"Boston Legal" (D)	Season finale. Alan and Denny try to find a defense for a pair of brothers accused of killing their father.
10 p.m.	CBS	"Flashpoint: Kimberly Dozier and the Army's Fourth ID" (N)	A Katie Couric report on a bombing in Iraq that killed two CBS staffers.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	Get your ballet on: Mikhail Baryshnikov guests.
7 p.m.	ESPN2	"Major League Baseball" (S)	The up-and-coming Indians take on the hot Red Sox.
8 p.m.	ABC	"Next Big Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?" (R, G)	Series premiere. Someone will seriously win $100,000 for acting like somebody else.
8 p.m.	Fox	"So You Think You Can Dance" (R)	Auditions from Chicago and Los Angeles.
9 p.m.	HBO	"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (M)	We think this should've been called "I Know What You Did Two Summers Ago."
10 p.m.	ABC	"Traveler" (D)	Jay and Tyler find a place to hide out, but then realize they're still not safe.
10 p.m.	MTV	"Reunited: The Real World Las Vegas" (R)	Series premiere. The Vegas cast moves back into The Palms.
THURSDAY, MAY 31
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	"Today" (N)	"American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks performs.
8 p.m.	CBS	"Pirate Master" (R)	Series premiere. Only in the summer will you find programming where someone can win $1 million for acting like a pirate.
8 p.m.	Fox	"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (G)	Game show did well during the season, we'll see how it holds up this summer.
9 p.m.	BBC America	"Innocent" (D)	The crew tries to figure if a murder victim actually committed suicide.
9 p.m.	Sundance	"John Safran vs. God" (N)	Safran takes his shtick to Japan to examine Buddhism.
9 p.m.	USA	"Starter Wife" (D)	Series premiere. Debra Messing plays a woman trying to get things together when her Hollywood marriage ends.
10 p.m.	History Channel	"History Rocks" (N)	Conclusion of the show that looks at rock bands from the 1970s.
FRIDAY, JUNE 1
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	"Good Morning America" (N)	Former "Idol" contestant Daughtry performs.
8 p.m.	Fox	"TV's Funniest Moments" (A)	A look at 30 memorable clips from the past 60 years of TV.
8 p.m.	CMT	"Born Country" (R)	The title to this episode should say it all: "Karaoke Moms."
8 p.m.	Discovery	"Edge of Existence" (N)	Series premiere. Examining primitive people in the face of a modern world.
9 p.m.	VH1	"40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs" (A)	A countdown of the best songs you've ever heard in an elevator.
9 p.m.	WE	"Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter" (R)	Sabree misses her curfew, then goes against her punishment.
SATURDAY, JUNE 2
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	NBC	"Tennis" (S)	Early round action from the French Open.
3 p.m.	CBS	"PGA Golf" (S)	Third round of the Memorial Tournament from Dublin, Ohio.
3:30 p.m.	Fox	"Major League Baseball" (S)	Either Cards-Astros or--you guessed it--Yankees-Red Sox.
8 p.m.	NBC	"NHL Hockey" (S)	Game three of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Ducks and Senators.
8 p.m.	Fox	"Cops" (R)	A cop in Vegas is forced to chase down a suspect on foot.
10 p.m.	MTV	"X Effect" (R)	A show focusing on ex-boyfriends and girlfriends.
SUNDAY, JUNE 3
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	NBC	"Tennis" (S)	More early round play from the French Open.
2:30 p.m.	CBS	"PGA Golf" (S)	Final round of the Memorial Tournament, won last year by Carl Pettersson.
8 p.m.	ABC	"NBA Basketball" (S)	Still to be determined, but should be a Finals game.
8 p.m.	MTV	"MTV Movie Awards" (A)	The 16th annual event, this time airing live, hosted by Sarah Silverman.
9 p.m.	HBO	"The Sopranos" (D)	The show's penultimate episode has Tony testing loyalty within his crew.
10 p.m.	BBC America	"Real Queens of England" (A)	Less Victoria and Elizabeth and more, say, Elton John.
10 p.m.	HBO	"Entourage" (C)	Season finale. Vince's director choice for "Medellin" doesn't match with the movie's financial backer.
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.