Welcome to CraveOnline's Idiot Box Updates, where we run down all the latest TV news and separate the facts from the rumors and nonsense on and about the small screen.
Here's a list of the top 20 prime-time network shows by viewership numbers, compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Feb. 1-7. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "Super Bowl: Indianapolis vs. New Orleans," CBS, 106.48 million.
2. "Super Bowl Post Game," CBS, 75.47 million.
3. "Undercover Boss," CBS, 38.65 million.
4. "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 24.71 million.
5. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 21 million.
6. "NCIS," CBS, 19.23 million.
7. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 16.51 million.
8. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 16.42 million.
9. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 15.51 million.
10. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 14.75 million.
11. "The Mentalist," CBS, 14.68 million.
12. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 14.49 million.
13. "CSI: NY," CBS, 14.16 million.
14. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.44 million.
15. "House," Fox, 13.38 million.
16. "The Good Wife," CBS, 12.81 million.
17. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 12.55 million.
18. "Bones," Fox, 12.37 million.
19. "Lost," ABC, 12.09 million.
20. "The Bachelor," ABC, 11.73 million.
Rumors that "American Idol" was courting Howard Stern as Simon Cowell's replacement have given Stern plenty of material for his show, but in all reality he's not actively considering the show. However, Stern's comments about FOX's "karaoke contest" may have been a distraction from a different show, possibly in the same vein.
On Friday, Feb. 5 Stern said on his radio show, "I was approached by a major TV network to take over a TV show and leave here and do that next year - and I did turn it down. I'm not even sure if I want to be working. I'm waiting to see what happens."
Stern's carefully-worded comments suggest that he may be headed to TV after all, but maybe to another show. "America's Got Talent," perhaps? Guess we'll have to wait and see, but that's where my guess is going. For now. BABA BOOEY!
Tough-as-nails fishing boat captain Phil Harris, whose wild-water adventures off the Alaskan coast were documented on "Deadliest Catch," has died, according to family members. He was 53.
Harris suffered a stroke in late January while in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska, off-loading the fishing vessel he ran. He was taken to an Anchorage hospital for treatment, and his sons and the Discovery Channel, which aired the show, said late on Tuesday he had died.
Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman issued a statement on behalf of sons Jake and Josh Harris. It says in part, "It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad — Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end."
MTV has ordered a pair of "Jackass"-evolved extreme-stunt reality series to distract viewers from its "Jersey Shore" shitshow. In "Dudesons in America," four Finnish stuntmen and pranksters well-known in Europe will attempt to do "even stupider stunts and pranks" than they performed back home. It's no surprise that "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville is on the executive producing team.
The second series is "MTV's Parkour Challenge," which aired as a one-hour special in October. Parkour is the art of racing through a cluttered urban environment in which racers scale obstacles using nothing but their bodies.
Jay Leno slipped out the back door of "The Jay Leno Show," one of television's most colossal flops, for the last time without fanfare or sentiment on Tuesday. It was the final night of a prime-time experiment gone horribly awry, one that sabotaged Conan O'Brien's career, exposed Jay Leno as a conniving hypocrite and made NBC top brass look like autonomous idiot children.
After Leno told a few jabby jokes about "The Jay Leno Show," and Donald Trump told him "you're fired," Leno wisely made little noise about his return to the "Tonight Show" after the Olympics. The show was over almost as soon as it began, after a fruitless promotion blitz unlike anything we've ever seen.
A little history: Eager to keep both Leno and Conan O'Brien on their talent roster, NBC wiped their evening drama schedule and gave Leno a show five nights a week at 10 p.m. EST, giving O'Brien a terrible lead-in as the "Tonight" show host and crippling his ratings right off the bat. "The Jay Leno Show" was one of the biggest fails in all of television history.
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The "Heroes" season finale Monday night wasn't just terrible; viewership was utterly dismal. NBC’s superhero drama brought in 4.4 million people. By comparison, NBC considered canceling Chuck when the show was averaging 7.14 million viewers for its second season. Overall, out of the eighteen episodes aired, the "Heroes" season finale was the fourth worst in terms of ratings, the worst being the Hiro trial episode, “Pass/Fail,” which only brought in 3.93 million viewers. With any luck, we'll see NBC drop this overhyped dead weight and focus more attention on its new series, "The Cape".
After six tumultuous seasons, "American Chopper" is finally riding off into the sunset. The TLC series, popular among rednecks and men with testosterone insecurities, was based on the harshly-feuding Teutul family and their custom-built motorcycle business. TLC said Wednesday that the final episode will air Thursday (today).
The network said that "the show has always been about building one-of-a-kind bikes and the drama of running a family business. The Teutuls will always be part of the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously successful series run."
Sunday's Super Bowl TV audience set an all-time television viewing record, eclipsing the 1983 benchmark set by the comedy "M*A*S*H" to become the most watched U.S. telecast. A record 106.5 million American TV viewers watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's game, broadcast on CBS, Nielsen media and CBS said.
The figures topped the record held since 1983 by the finale of "M*A*S*H," which drew 106 million viewers. The previous record for a Super Bowl was the 98.7 million Americans who tuned in to see the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.
