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Reality shows fell by the wayside last night as scripted favorites returned to television last night. At 8 p.m., ABC’s “My Wife and Kids” won both of its half-hours among adults 18-49 and placed a close second in households to CBS’s “60 Minutes II.” NBC’s “Lost” dropped to fourth in both households and adults 18-49. At 9 p.m., viewers chose a new “Drew Carey” on ABC and a repeat of “The West Wing” on NBC over either CBS’s “The Amazing Race” or Fox’s “Love Cruise.” “Drew Carey” won the hour among adults 18-49, and “The West Wing” won in households, while “The Amazing Race” finished third in households and fourth among adults 18-49 and “Love Cruise” finished third among adults 18-49 and fourth in households. At 10 p.m., the return of NBC’s “Law and Order” earned a 22 household share and an easy win among adults 18-49. CBS’s “Wolf Lake” dropped 14 percent in household rating and 10 percent in adult 18-49 rating from its premiere last week. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Wednesday night were: NBC 9.2/15 and 4.8, ABC 7.5/12 and 4.9, CBS 6.8/11 and 3.4, and Fox 5.0/8 and 4.0. On Tuesday, not a rerun was in sight with all of the Big Four networks premiering the majority of their new Tuesday schedules. At 8 p.m., CBS’s “JAG” easily won households by six shares, while Fox’s “That '70s Show” won among adults 18-49 by a full rating point. NBC’s “Emeril” finished fourth in both audience categories but did better than “Three Sisters,” which lost 10 percent of “Emeril’s” household lead-in audience at 8:30 p.m. Fox’s “Undeclared” also dropped more than 10 percent of its lead-in audience and finished third in both households and adults 18-49. At 9 p.m., the return of NBC’s “Frasier” handily won the hour. CBS’s “The Guardian” was second in households and third among adults 18-49, ABC’s “Spin City” was second among adults 18-49 and third in households, and Fox’s “Love Cruise” placed a distant fourth in both. At 10 p.m., ABC’s new drama “Philly” posted strong numbers but couldn’t top CBS’s “Judging Amy” in households or NBC’s “Dateline” among adults 18-49. More damning for the rookie show was losing 7 percent of its household audience and 11 percent of its demographic audience as the hour went on. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Tuesday were: CBS 11.2/17 and 4.6, NBC 9.2/14 and 5.8, ABC 8.6/13 and 5.6, and Fox 5.3/8 and 4.4.
Creditors take control of Upside Media
Upside, yet another business/technology magazine rocked by the collapse of the internet economy, has surrendered to the inevitable. Among its many outstanding debts was $9 million in loans and interest from MCG Capital Corp. of Arlington, Va. The creditor foreclosed on Upside Media yesterday, taking possession of its assets and signaling its intention to continue publishing the magazine and to retain the current editorial staff. Upside, which this week shut down its daily business-news web site, has been "running on fumes," letting the bills pile up, founder David Bunnell told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We haven't paid our rent. We haven't paid our internet service provider. We only paid our phone bill on the last possible day before they turned off service." As part of the takeover, Bunnell has stepped down as CEO and now serves as editorial director, an advisory role.
'SNL' producer: No Bush impressions this week
Here's what you can expect on this week's "Saturday Night Live": Reese Witherspoon, star of "Legally Blonde" and "Election," as guest host, the musical stylings of Alicia Keys and some kind of tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. Here's what not to expect: Will Ferrell's portrayal of President George W. Bush as a tongue-tied, happy-go-lucky simpleton. "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels says the show's writers and actors are ready to go back to making funny, but the consensus is that nobody wants to see the president parodied at the moment. Michaels had to do some juggling when comedian Ben Stiller, who was scheduled to host next week's show, canceled. Actor Seann William Scott, of "American Pie" and "Dude, Where's My Car?" fame, was moved up a week to fill in, and Drew Barrymore agreed to host the show on Oct. 13.
Talk to publish Chelsea Clinton essay
You might notice a new, rather famous, byline in the November issue of Talk magazine. Editor Tina Brown has reportedly talked former first daughter Chelsea Clinton into making her print debut. The famously media-shy Clinton has agreed to write a 1,200 word piece for Talk about her experiences the morning the World Trade Center was attacked, according to a report in the New York Observer. Clinton had planned to go jogging the morning of Sept. 11 but stopped first at a coffee shop near the World Trade Center. Talk and its backer, Harvey Weinstein, have had a close relationship with the Clinton clan. The 1999 launch issue of Talk featured a sympathetic cover story based on an interview with Hillary Clinton. Last spring, Talk Miramax, the company's book division, sought the rights to publish Senator Clinton’s autobiography. The book deal went instead to Simon & Schuster, which paid $8 million for it. Since she moved out of the White House, Chelsea graduated from Stanford University. She plans to enter Oxford in the fall to study international relations.
News nets have new reporters in Afghanistan
Following last week's expulsion of the last Western journalists from Afghanistan, CNN and MSNBC again have men on the ground in the war-torn country's borders. To protect the identity of its contact, MSNBC has not released the identity of the man who is making audio reports for the network. CNN has revealed its reporter to be Kamal Hyder, a Pakistani journalist who has worked for the network in the past. He is currently stationed in eastern Afghanistan. CNN officials say they are confident that releasing their man's name won't put him in jeopardy. Another MSNBC reporter, Ashleigh Banfield, took measures to safeguard her own security this week. Working in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, she dyed her blond hair black and cut it short to appear less of a target as a Western woman in an Islamic state.
Brit 'Millionaire' cheating suspect hits back
Two weeks after being told he would not receive his £1 million check for winning the top prize on the British "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" until after an investigation ensures he did not cheat, Charles Ingram has fought back. Ingram, a major in the Royal Navy, is suing the company behind the program for his winnings, plus legal costs and interest. He says that, by Friday of last week, he asked show officials for details regarding the alleged impropriety but received none. Scotland Yard was asked to look into some suspicious coughing from the audience that might have been used to signal the correct answer to Ingram. Ingram's wife and her brother also cast doubt on his win, as both are former £32,000 winners on the show and co-authors of a book on how to win on the popular game show.
September 27, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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