Post by Jemma on Dec 7, 2008 8:45:11 GMT -5
CSI: NY: High Ratings Shouldn't Mean Complacency
Congratulations, fans, you’ve made CBS very, very happy. While other networks are having problems with their fall lineup—and are probably busy yanking off non-performers and performers alike—this network is out celebrating its ratings successes. “CBS posts its [eighth] straight weekly win,” a press release says, before it began trotting out its ratings winners for last week. Eventually, they said it: “With two nights remaining in the November sweep, CBS will place first in viewers … for the sixth straight November.”
Yes, November is that important. There’s this thing that the networks call “sweeps,” which basically is a chance for them to prove that the shows they have attract a lot of viewers. It’s also the reason why the bigger programs and the bigger guest stars appear at this time of the year. Why else, do you think, would last week’s episode of CSI: NY have Chris Daughtry on board, apart from Nelly, who was well in the middle of his story arc in the crime drama?
I’m not saying you should worry about the show’s fate. It’s safe for the foreseeable future. The big guests—plus last week’s interesting-in-theory storyline about a killer who’s killing people named Mac Taylor—was there partly so the show wouldn’t pale in comparison with what the other shows surrounding it has. Last week’s episode did fairly well in the ratings, taking in 14 million viewers on its timeslot. It’s stable, so the network doesn’t have that to worry about. It’s not in last week’s top ten programs: it settled at the still comfy #12 slot, unlike CSI at second and CSI: Miami at eighth. And the network surely is out to prove the mettle of their new programs: why else would they make a big fuss of fall freshman The Mentalist cracking the top ten?
There’s just something in me that feels CSI: NY, like perhaps other programs on television nowadays, is starting to rest on its laurels. I’m not saying the show has started to deteriorate—the show still catches me by surprise when I tune in—but at one point it’s bound to happen, and I hope the folks behind the show notice it at the first sign and combat it immediately. If there’s something worse than cancellation, it’s cancellation when the show has obviously lost its luster.
Will that happen in tonight’s episode? “The Box” sees the team make a crime scene out of a crushed car, where they must carefully remove the bones to figure out who the victim is and, most importantly, who did the crime. And, of course, there’s the personal stuff: Lindsay (Anna Belknap) telling Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) about her pregnancy, anyone? That’s tonight from 10pm on CBS.
Yes, November is that important. There’s this thing that the networks call “sweeps,” which basically is a chance for them to prove that the shows they have attract a lot of viewers. It’s also the reason why the bigger programs and the bigger guest stars appear at this time of the year. Why else, do you think, would last week’s episode of CSI: NY have Chris Daughtry on board, apart from Nelly, who was well in the middle of his story arc in the crime drama?
I’m not saying you should worry about the show’s fate. It’s safe for the foreseeable future. The big guests—plus last week’s interesting-in-theory storyline about a killer who’s killing people named Mac Taylor—was there partly so the show wouldn’t pale in comparison with what the other shows surrounding it has. Last week’s episode did fairly well in the ratings, taking in 14 million viewers on its timeslot. It’s stable, so the network doesn’t have that to worry about. It’s not in last week’s top ten programs: it settled at the still comfy #12 slot, unlike CSI at second and CSI: Miami at eighth. And the network surely is out to prove the mettle of their new programs: why else would they make a big fuss of fall freshman The Mentalist cracking the top ten?
There’s just something in me that feels CSI: NY, like perhaps other programs on television nowadays, is starting to rest on its laurels. I’m not saying the show has started to deteriorate—the show still catches me by surprise when I tune in—but at one point it’s bound to happen, and I hope the folks behind the show notice it at the first sign and combat it immediately. If there’s something worse than cancellation, it’s cancellation when the show has obviously lost its luster.
Will that happen in tonight’s episode? “The Box” sees the team make a crime scene out of a crushed car, where they must carefully remove the bones to figure out who the victim is and, most importantly, who did the crime. And, of course, there’s the personal stuff: Lindsay (Anna Belknap) telling Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) about her pregnancy, anyone? That’s tonight from 10pm on CBS.
