Fox zooms ahead Tuesday on supersized 'Idol'
   It was another scorching victory by Fox Tuesday night, with the network bettering the combined ratings of all five other networks thanks to a two-hour edition of “American Idol.” Fox averaged an 11.3 adults 18-49 rating and 29 share to finish first. ABC and NBC tied for second at 2.7/7. CBS was fourth at 2.4/6, UPN fifth with a 1.9/5 and the WB a distant sixth with a 0.8/2 according to Nielsen overnights.
   “Idol” peaked with an 11.9 at 9 p.m., quadrupling nearest competitor “According to Jim,” a rerun, on ABC. At 9:30 “Idol” dipped slightly to an 11.6, perhaps because viewers switched over to the second half of the season finale of “America’s Next Top Model.” That show rose by a third in its final half-hour to a 3.4 rating, taking second place in the time slot. For the night “Model” averaged a 2.8 rating and 6 million viewers.
   At 10 p.m. NBC’s 4.2 for its “Law & Order: SVU” rerun bettered new episodes of ABC’s “NYPD Blue” (3.5) and “48 Hours” (2.8). At 8 p.m. “Idol” averaged a 10.9 against almost all reruns. CBS’s “Navy NCIS” was second at a 2.5. NBC’s originals of “Whoopi” and “Happy Family” averaged a mere 1.6. Among households Fox led with a 15.5/24. CBS was second at 6.3/10, NBC third at 5.4/9, ABC fourth at 4.9/8, UPN fifth at 3.0/5 and the WB fifth at 1.6/2.

'CSI: Miami' pushes CBS past NBC Monday
CBS barely edged NBC for first place among adults 18-49 Monday, averaging a 5.8 rating and 15 share to NBC’s 5.7/15, according to Nielsen overnights. Fox finished well behind in third at 2.6/7, followed by ABC at 2.3/6, UPN at 1.4/4 and the WB at 0.9/2.
   CBS had the night’s highest-rated show with “CSI: Miami,” which averaged a 7.3 rating at 10 p.m. NBC’s “Average Joe: Adam Returns” averaged a 4.5, well ahead of a 2.5 for ABC’s “20/20” special. At 9 p.m. it was CBS and NBC again neck and neck, with CBS’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” leading “Las Vegas” 6.4 to 6.0. Leadership switched at 9:30, when “Two and a Half Men” fell behind “Vegas’” 6.0 by 0.1. Fox reruns of “That ‘70s Show” averaged a 2.7.
   At 8 p.m. NBC’s “Fear Factor” averaged a 6.8, well ahead of the average 3.9 for “Yes, Dear” and “Still Standing” on CBS. The Monday debut of Fox’s displaced Sunday comedy “Bernie Mac” averaged a 2.8, but “Cracking Up” lost one-fourth of that audience at 8:30 p.m. UPN’s 8:30 “Eve” repeat averaged a network-best 1.6 while the two-hour original movie “NTSB: Crash of Flight 323” on ABC averaged a 2.3. Among households CBS led with a 10.8/17, followed by NBC at 8.0/13, ABC at 5.7/9, Fox at 3.8/6, UPN at 2.3/4 and the WB at 1.9/3.

Discovery upfront: More 'Chopper' & poker
The Discovery Networks held its annual upfront presentation at the American Museum of Natural History last night. Series in development at the Discovery Channel include “N.O.W. (No Opportunity Wasted),” in which host Paul Keoghan helps regular people turn their wishes into reality, and “Top 20 All-Americans,” which will determine the top contributors to American society. Returning Discovery Channel series include “American Chopper,” “Mythbusters,” “Monster Garage,” “Unsolved History” and “Monster House.” The Learning Channel (TLC) will feature new series “Plastic Surgery,” which chronicles the day-to-day happenings inside a plastic surgeon’s office, and returning series “Trading Spaces” (complete with new designers), “What Not To Wear” and “For Better or For Worse.” Animal Planet will release a host of new shows, including “Animal House,” in which animals truly do take over; “Growing Up,” which follows little critters as they, well, grow bigger; “Animal Cops: San Francisco” and “Ultimate Zoo,” which travels around the world looking for amazing zoos. Discovery Health will usher in several new series, including “Plastic Surgery—Head to Toe” and “The Story of Us.” Finally, Travel Channel will give birth to “Road Trip” and “Travel Gear,” which takes a close look at new gadgets and gizmos available to bring on a trip, as well as more poker shows.

Philly a go after MTV cuddles with Teamsters 

MTV’s relationship with the city of brotherly love is on again. Producers of the network’s “Real World” have reached an agreement with Philadelphia union leaders one week after plans for the show were scuttled. The Bunim-Murray Productions team had refused to use the Teamsters in its production, and union picketing (complete with an inflatable rat) and feuding soon drove the show out of town. But yesterday mayor John F. Street engineered some type of truce, presumably throwing some work at the unions, to bring the show back, though details were not released. Young people protested the union protest right back after MTV pulled out. Lots of Generation X-ers turned out for a We Want Our MTV rally last week, and polls showed that city residents felt the Bunim-Murray exit sullied the city’s reputation. Only 5 percent of those surveyed sided with the unions. The shoot will last until June, and the 15th season of the show will debut in September.

Cable blockers pop up for worried parents
The latest and probably most welcome recent twist in the crackdown on media indecency came yesterday, when most of the cable industry announced it will provide all customers with the option to block unwanted channels free of charge. Digital cable subscribers already had this option via their set-top boxes, but until now analog cable watchers were out of luck – unless they were willing to pay extra for a box or other filters. The reason for the change? According to Robert Sachs, president and chief executive of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, “No one wants policymakers to have to choose between protecting children or preserving the First Amendment.” Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable provider, had revealed plans to allow analog users to block channels as of March 2. Now it will be joined by companies representing approximately 85 percent of all subscribers. The cable industry has made it clear that it does not wish to mandate the option, but rather that individual companies should be able to decide how to package their programming based on market factors.

On ESPN's 'Dream Job,' viewers decide
The two-hour finale of ESPN’s reality series Dream Job will air Sunday at 9 p.m. and for the first time give the audience the chance to choose the winner, who will begin working as a sportscaster on “SportsCenter” at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. the very next day. Viewers will vote on the remaining two contenders via ESPN.com or text messaging. After the winner is announced, he or she will move directly to the set of SportsCenter and answer sports trivia questions, with each correct answer garnering a higher salary. In other programming news, Lifetime has purchased the cable television syndication rights to “Frasier.” The sitcom will begin airing in March 2006, following other off-net series “Will & Grace” (September 2005). Court TV has ordered 15 additional episodes of “Psychic Detectives” and 23 episodes of “Masterminds.” MTV announced its intention to air a fourth season of the weekly series “Made,” with the season premiere on April 7 at 10 p.m. Beginning next month Oxygen will feature Australian serial series “Neighbors.” The network has acquired 65 episodes, which will air two a day from 1 to 2 p.m. beginning April 19. Following in the recent spate of plastic surgery-related reality series, E! is set for a June debut of “Dr. 90210,” which chronicles the day-to-day life of a plastic surgeon in the Beverly Hills area. E! has also ordered 13 episodes of new series “Scream,” in which players attempt to reenact well-known movie stunts. “Scream” will also begin airing in June.