'Survivor' losing edge over 'Friends'
The drop doesn’t even amount to a full rating point, but it could be huge. Last night CBS’s "Survivor 2" declined in household rating 5 percent and adult 18-49 rating 4 percent from the week before. That’s the first time ever that the show has slipped in ratings during the course of a season. "Survivor 2" still won its hour, beating NBC’s "Friends" by 4 household shares and one-half of a rating point among adults 18-49. But while "Survivor 2" was sliding, the full hour of "Friends" and "Friends" outtakes improved on last week’s "Saturday Night Live" filler by 9 percent in households and 5 percent in adults 18-49. NBC also increased its rating from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., something that rarely happens even without "Survivor 2" as competition. At 9 p.m., "Survivor’s" drop didn’t hurt lead-out "C.S.I." too much, which won in households. The crime drama improved its household share by one point but declined two-tenths of a rating point in adults 18-49. NBC’s "Will and Grace" and "Just Shoot Me" won the 9 p.m. hour in adults 18-49, but "Just Shoot Me" fell to third place in households at 9:30 p.m., behind "C.S.I." and ABC’s "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Thursday night were: NBC 14.7/23 and 11.5, CBS 12.3/19 and 7.6, ABC 8.3/13 and 3.8, and Fox 3.8/6 and 2.3. Meanwhile, Barbara should’ve worn bikini on Wednesday night. Fox’s broadcast of Streisand’s "final" concert earned half the household audience and a quarter of the adult 18-49 audience of regularly scheduled "Temptation Island." Fox managed to edge CBS for third for the night in both demographics, as CBS’s mini-series "Haven" lost 33 percent of its household rating from Sunday night. On ABC, "Drew Carey" beat NBC’s "The West Wing" in adults 18-49, with a sweeps stunt that killed off the title character and reincarnating him as the baby of his nemesis. The high rating for "Drew" isn’t the result of its lead-in either, a rock star edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," since NBC’s "Ed" beat "Millionaire" among adults 18-49. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Wednesday night were: NBC 11.5/19 and 6.9, ABC 9.3/15 and 5.7, Fox 6.0/10 and 2.7, and CBS 5.9/10 and 2.5.

Iceman Blaine plots next stunt: Skyscraper dangle 
After sitting through his interminable Times Square ice vigil, there may be some people who wish magician David Blaine would just jump off a skyscraper. Well, he will. For his next stunt, the New York-centric illusionist will ask policemen to handcuff him and firemen to tie him up; then he will fall from the top of an as-yet-unspecified building in midtown Manhattan, remaining suspended in the air as he frees himself from his restraints. The stunt, which will conclude with Blaine scaling the rope to the rooftop, is a modified re-creation of one performed by Harry Houdini 85 years ago, Blaine told "20/20" in an interview that will air tonight. His last trick, in which he had himself encased in a block of ice for two and a half days, was documented in an ABC special.

CBS taking applications for 'Survivor 3'  
Mitchell’s tiki torch has hardly even cooled, but thousands of "Survivor" fans are looking past next week’s tribal council all the way to this fall, when CBS will roll out "Survivor 3." The network is accepting applications for the third installment of the reality series, though producer Mark Burnett reportedly has yet to settle on a location. He’s currently scouting sites in Africa, Peru, the Amazon River basin and Asia. Almost 50,000 people vied for spots on "Survivor: The Australian Outback," versus about 6,000 who tried out for the first show, which was set on an island off the coast of Borneo. Around 800 semifinalists will be culled from the current crop of applicants; four dozen will get a chance to audition for the producers in Los Angeles. Applications are available on CBS’s web site.

XFL cheerleader: Ugh, they treat us like strippers
Newsflash: The XFL only values its cheerleaders for their bodies. That’s one of the revelations from an interview XFL pompom girl Bonnie-Jill Laflin did with Mystique Magazine, a men’s web site. "I decided to do the XFL because for me it was great exposure, and I hoped it would help with my sports broadcasting career," said Laflin, who got more than a little exposure in her nude layout, which can be seen on Mystique-Magazine.com. "But what they have shown so far on national TV is girls looking like strippers, and it looks like we may not get all the breaks we thought we would get." Laflin, who has worked the sidelines as a cheerleader for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers, says the environment at XFL contests is considerably less professional. "Tons of people were arrested, beer was being thrown, and people were throwing dollar bills at our platforms where we were dancing, like in strip clubs."

'Baywatch' stud loses legal battle with Playgirl
 Former "Baywatch" actor Jose Solano Jr. has lost his suit against Playgirl magazine, according to a report by the Associated Press. The first Hispanic actor on the soon-to-conclude program claimed photographs of him in the January 1999 issue tainted his image and hurt his standing within the entertainment industry. The pictures, which Playgirl reportedly acquired from a stock photo dealer, showed Solano in swimming trunks on the cover and in a head-and-shoulders shot inside the magazine, which elsewhere featured spreads of nude men. The judge found in favor of Playgirl, reasoning that Solano's status as a public figure invalidates his claim of privacy invasion. 

No joke: Australian man marries his TV
In what was reportedly a touching ceremony, Mitch Hallen, 42, recently wed his 42-inch Sony set in his living room in Melbourne, Australia. A dozen friends attended the wedding, which was presided over by a priest. Hallen, who has been divorced twice, chose his TV over women because of the "countless hours of pleasure without fussing, fighting or backchat" it gives him. "So I feel I'm better off marrying it rather than another damn woman. One day it just came to me in a thunderbolt - my telly's the best companion I've ever had. This is one wife who won't nag me," he said, according to published reports. During the ceremony, Hallen promised to "love, honor and obey" his TV. During the ring exchange, he placed one on top of the set and one on his finger. Hallen's friends say they saw it coming; Hallen watches up to 10 hours of TV a day. "It was crazy but very emotional. Mitch loves that TV and will never be torn from it," one attendee was quoted as saying.  

Oklahoma's Tim McVeigh wants TV execution
 The man convicted in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building wants his execution televised. Right-wing militia member Timothy McVeigh says he wants everyone who was affected by the terrorist act to be able to watch justice carried out. Government policy forbids an execution to be broadcast, but the government is reportedly considering carrying the event on a closed circuit to Oklahoma viewers, as was done for McVeigh’s trial in Denver, Colo. McVeigh has been sentenced to die on May 16 in Terre Haute, Ind., for his role in the bombing, which killed 168 people.

'Daily Show's' Stewart will host Grammys
Expect a heady mix of neuroses and sarcasm at this year’s Grammys. Jon Stewart, the wise-cracking comic and host of Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show," has been named host of this year's music awards extravaganza. Whoopi Goldberg was originally expected to host but reportedly backed out owing to health problems. "Jon's razor-sharp wit, comedic spontaneity and connection to the contemporary music audience will provide a perfect fit with our dynamic, talented and amazingly eclectic Grammy talent lineup," said Recording Academy President/CEO Michael Greene in a statement. Talk show host Rosie O’Donnell emceed the show last year. The 43rd annual awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 21 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.


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