Despite all the carping, criticism and finger-pointing, CBC brass keeps saying its shows are doing just fine, thanks.
Well then, let's look at the most recent national numbers:
- October 1970 (Thursday, Nov. 16): 56,000 viewers.
- Rumours (Monday of this week): 94,000.
- The Hour (Monday of this week): 82,000.
- Intelligence (Tuesday of this week): 247,000.
- Dragon's Den finale (Wednesday of this week): 381,000.
See, still horribly low.
That hasn't stopped the Corpse from ordering a second edition of its entrepreneurial reality show Dragon's Den based on a series high of 547,000 viewers three weeks ago. That's when they called it "CBC's fastest-growing series."
There was no release a week later when it was CBC's fastest-falling series.
HEROES SOARS: How do those ratings compare to shows on other networks, you ask? Here's why Intelligence gets stomped on Tuesdays. Global owns the night, with House drawing 2.3 million viewers this past Tuesday. That Rumour wipeout on Mondays? Hey, you take on Global's Prison Break (1.7 million) and Canada's top rookie series, Heroes (1.5 million).
HEROES' NEW HIRO: George Takei, Star Trek's Capt. Sulu, will play Hiro Nakamura's father on Heroes. Look for him to beam aboard in January.
GUIDE, TV (Canadian): Passed away in its sleep this week at 53. Leaves about a dozen subscribers; back in January 1977, when this U.S. publication became Canadian owned, the circulation stood at 1,046,579 -- by far the biggest-selling weekly in Canada.
At its peak, the U.S. TV Guide was the biggest-selling magazine in the world, racking up weekly sales close to 25 million copies. Founder Walter Annenberg sold TV Guide to O.J.-yanker Rupert Murdoch in 1988 for more than $3 billion.
I worked there for about a dozen years in the '80s and '90s. I still remember getting quick callbacks from people such as Tom Selleck, Michael J. Fox and Stephen Bochco. That little red logo had clout.
What happened? As TV exploded, TV Guide shrank. Even the once mighty U.S. edition has been hammered down to 3 million copies a week.
Anyone who has struggled through its sorry listings lately could see it coming. Faced with covering 500 channels in four time zones and dozens of cable and satellite services, the listings -- always TV Guide's bread and butter -- just couldn't keep up, Heck, the way networks are yanking and re-scheduling shows these days, even on-screen listings are often inaccurate.
So like antennas, test patterns and the CBC, TV Guide is a thing of the past. Hold onto those classic copies, they're only going to go up on eBay.
SLAMMER TIME: Already bugged that Prison Break is taking a break after Monday's fall finale? Good news: The Fox/Global drama is returning earlier than first reported (or even than it did last season, when it returned in March). Fox is bringing Wentworth Miller and the gang back Jan. 29 (a recap episode airs Jan. 22). New episodes will run through April.
MORE WEB WINDOWS: Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip and cancelled CBS drama Smith are joining The O.C. as the first U.S. dramas available on CTV's broadband website. You can find The O.C. and Studio 60 episodes now at CTV.ca (click on the Broadband Network). Those four "lost" Smith episodes should show up there soon. Canadians are "geo-blocked" from accessing most U.S. network websites for broadband streaming.
MORE MARS: Veronica Mars, one of those cool little dramas you're probably missing (it airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on SUN TV), has been given a full season renewal at originating U.S. network The CW. The fledgling U.S. broadcaster has also ordered a full season of One Tree Hill.
30 ROCK ON: Good news for Tina Fey -- NBC has ordered three more 30 Rock scripts. Still, they haven't given the green light to produce any episodes past the original 13-episode order. It's almost as if they've seen the series. Last week's super-sized episode drew only 5.2 million viewers.
CITY GOES ELECTRIC: Remember Electric Circus? The retro dance show returns for a special one time only holiday edition, airing Dec. 30 at 9 p.m. on MuchMusic. If you're 18-26 and wanna make the scene, glitter up and get your booty down to the CHUM/City building at 299 Queen St. West tomorrow between 1 and 4 p.m. for an open audition for dancers. Check out casting@muchmusic.com for more information.
