Top Posts + Comment and Question of the Week

The Ratings Junkie Saturday, October 31, 2015
Top Posts + Comment and Question of the Week
Top Posts of the Week

As is the norm, clicking on the article title will redirect you to the page, in case you happened to miss it or want to revisit it.
King of the Flat Screen


  1. Undateable S3E5 Review by Hunter
  2. ABC Renew/Cancel Watch: Quantico is Certain to be Treated to Another Season by theratingsjunkie
  3. The Goldbergs S3E6 Review by Aasim
  4. ABC Orders 3 More Episodes of The Muppets by Jordan
  5. Thursday Ratings (29/10): TGIT Drastically Down, Heroes Reborn Closer to the 0's, Sleepy Hollow Up by LpWave
Comment of the Week


If something is going to work in that slot, a Jennifer Lopez drama could potentially do it to a passable enough extent. Despite popular opinion, there is (objectively) some appeal associated with JLo. I think Wednesdays at 8 would have worked too, possibly better for a revamped Women Crush Wednesdays; although, either way, I don't see the show averaging much more than 1.2-1.5 if it's lucky (and good), with the lower end more likely. A decent premiere is guaranteed in my mind because of the cast, and if the promotional campaign leading up to it can turn out enough interest. But with natural ratings declines y2y and the slot it's premiering in, I'd say decent = 1.5-1.8 ish.
The problem with Thursdays is that it hasn't had a stride since it was a comedy night (but when the comedies there were actually posting respectable numbers, not the Sean Hayes and Michael J. Fox deadly duo debacle). Outside of The Blacklist, which has seen an obvious decline in its move there, what has worked recently? Allegiance, The Player, Heroes Reborn, The Slap, none of it. SoB will also go up against HTGAWM, which, to be fair, isn't as dominant as it was last season. Still hitting 2.0 for now, but there's some room there if Shades of Blue can capture a different audience.
It's also obviously going to come down to the content of the show and the early reception to determine its prospects. We don't even have a trailer yet, which is unfortunate...


Question of the Week

  1. How do you think the upcoming NBC drama Shades of Blue will fare in the Thursday 10|9c time slot?

Halloween Episode Comparison 2015

Halloween Episode Comparison 2015
Every year, many fall TV shows air Halloween-themed episodes during October. This year, I will compare the Halloween-themed episodes of each of the shows that I watch and review. Following are short, spoiler-free reviews (there will be links to the full-length reviews, which do contain spoilers) of this year's Halloween episodes of Fresh Off the Boat, Scream Queens, The Middle, Undateable and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After that will be a ranking of these shows' Halloween episodes.


Fresh Off the Boat
S2E5 "Miracle on Dead Street" (October 27)

This episode, as some of the best episodes of Fresh Off the Boat do, had storylines that derived from the personalities of Jessica and Louis. It worked very well, and it was a great, really funny episode. (Read my full-length review here)

Scream Queens
S1E4 "Haunted House" (October 6)

In the first of three Halloween episodes, things got scarier on Scream Queens. It had a hilarious beginning, and got scary later on. Overall, it was a good episode. (Read my full-length review here)

S1E5 "Pumpkin Patch" (October 13)

In the second Halloween episode, viewers had a lot of fun. The episode was both very fun and very exciting. It was a great episode, the best one yet. (Read my full-length review here)

S1E6 "Seven Minutes in Hell" (October 20)

In the third and final Halloween episode, scariness was promised. It was delivered, and, though a couple of cast members were absent, and some others had very little screen time, it was still a very good episode. (Read my full-length review here)

The Middle
S7E6 "Halloween VI: Tick Tock Death" (October 28)

This is probably The Middle's best Halloween episode ever. Brick dressed up as Rod Serling, and throughout the episode, he narrated three Twilight Zone-like stories. It was very funny, especially the hilarious Brick. (Read my full-length review here)

Undateable
S3E5 "Halloween Walks Into a Bar" (October 30)

This episode of Undateable was sadly not one of the show's best. It was a pretty good episode, but there were a couple of slip ups (more so in the West Coast Version) and the type of jokes that I'm really getting tired of, joking about the actors' real lives, or the fact that they are on a stage, or that they are performing a live show (more so in the East Coast Version). It was still funny though, and the costumes were great. (Read my full-length review here)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
S3E5 "Halloween, Part III" (October 25)

This year, Brooklyn Nine-Nine kept up a tradition of a contest between Jake and Holt. This contest was a little bit different, as instead of Jake trying to steal something from Holt, they are both trying to steal the same thing, but it was still great. (Read my full-length review here)


Now that you have read my short reviews, it's time for me to rank the shows based on their Halloween episodes.

1. The Middle
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3. Fresh Off the Boat
4. Scream Queens
5. Undateable


Obviously, this five shows are not the only ones that aired Halloween episodes this October. What other Halloween episodes did you watch this year, and how good were they? Also, what did you think of these Halloween episodes? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Undateable S3E5 Review (UPDATED)

Undateable S3E5 Review (UPDATED)


King of the Flat Screen
Undateable has not aired in the fall before, so this will be its first Halloween episode. What they do on the show to celebrate Halloween should be interesting, especially with the live format. Read my review to see what I thought!

(Note: The review will be for the west coast version, but I will update the review on Saturday with any notes from the east coast version in parentheses)


S3E5 "Halloween Walks into a Bar"

The group is getting ready for Halloween as the episode begins. Danny thinks that Justin is being too romantic, which is then proven when he makes Candace pay the "hug toll" when leaving. Then there was a hilarious joke about how Danny's penis jumped off and ran away, and Shelley said his wanted to leave, but it was afraid it would have to pay the hug toll. At the bar, everyone is dressed up in costumes, except Leslie, though Candace thinks she is dressed up as a lesbian librarian. Danny enters in a centaur costume. Justin comes in as a bear and he says that Candace is going to be Goldilocks. The others tell Justin he is being too romantic. They have some trouble with their lines however, especially Bianca Kajlich, though they cover it up by saying that Leslie is drunk. (In the east coast version, they didn't mess up their lines, and the scene went much more smoothly.) Danny puts the bear head on Justin and calls Candace back into the room, and he gets her to admit that she doesn't like how romantic Justin is being. (In the east coast version, Danny's "truth amulet" breaks, but Candace covers for it saying "oh, it looks like I broke it".) After she leaves, Danny the centaur and Justin the bear get into a fight.

The next act starts with Danny talking about how great of a birth control he would be, which was really strange but sort of funny. The group all talks to Justin, and Shelley says that Danny's body is an 8, and his reaction is great. (In the east coast version, Shelley tells Danny, or more accurately Chris D'Elia, that Martha Stewart was funnier than him at the Justin Bieber roast. I don't really like it when the show makes too many jokes about the actors.) Justin reveals that he is in love with Candace, but he is upset that she doesn't like him the way that he is, and when she enters he exits. Justin is in the apartment alone when the doorbell rings. It's the others, and Shelley says "trick or treat", but is upset that Justin only has apples and toothbrushes. The others all go into the room, and they turn Justin into a superhero. He looked pretty funny. Justin asks the others why they want his relationship to work out, and Danny is going to answer, but Shelley must say the thing that his body won't let him say, Justin the best out of all of them.

Meghan Trainor, who is the musical guest this week, made an appearance, then she exited and the others said "is there a door over there?" because she exited toward the audience. Justin and Candace finally talked, and after she told him things that bugged her about him and he took it well, and she then said that she loves him. (In the east coast version, about how Justin saw a light, and Danny says it's just the audience. The amount of these kind of jokes it getting kind of annoying.) Danny wonders when he will find a girl, then a female centaur is seen across the bar, so he goes over to her and they...do whatever centaurs do. It was weird, but also really funny.


While this was not the strongest episode of Undateable this season, it was still fairly enjoyable. It was a pretty good episode.

What did you think of "Halloween Walks into a Bar"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

CBS Renew/Cancel Watch: 'Supergirl' is Likely to be Spared



Welcome to the CBS Renew/Cancel Watch of the fall Halloween season! All scripted, primetime shows are included in the prediction table below once they have premiered for the season. An analysis of any new prediction changes follows. My current predictions are as of October 31, 2015. The network will be looking to spare fresh blood by season's end, as well as looking to axe down any cobwebs that offer no signs of life. Which shows will be axed by May, and which shows will be spared?



Supergirl: CBS's foray into the TV superhero arena, which has awarded much success for recent shows like Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and even Netflix's Daredevil, has paid off in flying colors. Well, at least for a premiere's sake. Supergirl flew very high with a gigantic 3.1 rating this week, tying the season's highest-rated series premiere with NBC's tattooed Blindspot. With such a high premiere rating, the show has some room to fall before it's in any danger. We'll see how things even out in the coming weeks as the show hopes to find its footing early on. I currently predict Supergirl as "Likely to be Spared."





ABC Renew/Cancel Watch: Quantico is Certain to be Treated to Another Season

The Ratings Junkie Friday, October 30, 2015
ABC Renew/Cancel Watch: Quantico is Certain to be Treated to Another Season
Certain to be Tricked to a CancellationLikely to be Tricked to a CancellationWatchingLikely to be Treated to Another SeasonCertain to be Treated to Another Season
Blood & OilCastleNashvilleLast Man StandingGrey’s Anatomy

The MuppetsFresh Off the BoatDr. KenScandal




The Middle




The Goldbergs




Modern Family




Blackish




Once Upon a Time




Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D




How to Get Away with Murder




Quantico

Changes from Last Week

Unlike some previous weeks, I only made one change this week:
  • Quantico upgraded from "Likely to be Renewed" to "Certain to be Treated to Another Season" (Halloween talk for "Certain to be Renewed"
Why Is Quantico "Certain to be Treated to Another Season", And What Took Me So Long To Put It There?

First off, Happy Halloween! However you celebrate it, if at all, The TV Ratings Guide loves doing themed segments, so I hope you all like the one-week-only change of chart colors and titles.
On to Quantico. I was weary of Quantico's success at first. Even though it premiered in a historically
tough time slot, premiering under a 2.0 can still be worrisome considering the drops shows usually have. It seems to have settled into mid 1s for the fall, and will most likely dip lower in the spring, but guess what? It's ABC's #2 10pm show, only behind How to Get Away with Murder. The latter, while also recently upgraded, has declined A LOT this season, to the point where it isn't too far ahead of Quantico. In fact, a case may even be made that Quantico was STRONGER than How to Get Away with Murder this past week given the time slot. A side note: How to Get Away with Murder is the #1 show amongst W18-49, where the W stands for Witches.

Realistically, ABC probably doesn't have anything that would do better in the time slot. ABC didn't find--and probably didn't expect to find--the next Grey's Anatomy, but they also didn't find the next Betrayal, and undeniably Quantico is doing better in that troubled spot than Nashville would have done. 

I may have to reevaluate this prediction, but for now: Quantico fans have nothing to worry about.

Thursday Ratings (29/10): TGIT Drastically Down, Heroes Reborn Closer to the 0's, Sleepy Hollow Up


Time
Show Name
Network
A 18-49 Rating
Last Week’s 18-49
8
NFL Thursday
CBS
2.7
3.1
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
ABC
1.7
2.4 (Grey’s Anatomy)
Bones
FOX
1.2
1.2
Heroes Reborn
NBC
1.0
1.1
The Vampire Diaries
CW
0.6
0.5
8:30
NFL Football
CBS
4.1
3.7
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
ABC
1.7
2.4 (Grey’s Anatomy)
Bones
FOX
1.3
1.2
Heroes Reborn
NBC
1.0
1.1
The Vampire Diaries
CW
0.5
0.5
9
NFL Football
CBS
4.7
3.9
Scandal
ABC
2.2
2.4
The Blacklist
NBC
1.5
1.4
Sleepy Hollow
FOX
1.1
0.9
The Originals
CW
0.4
0.4
9:30
NFL Football
CBS
4.6
3.7
Scandal
ABC
2.3
2.5
The Blacklist
NBC
1.4
1.4
Sleepy Hollow
FOX
1.0
0.8
The Originals
CW
0.4
0.4
10
NFL Football
CBS
4.4
3.6
How to Get Away with Murder
ABC
1.9
2.1
The Player
NBC
0.8
0.8
10:30
NFL Football
CBS
4.2
3.6
How to Get Away with Murder
ABC
1.7
2.0
The Player
NBC
0.7
0.7

(R): Rerun
(LY): The numbers are from last year's finale
Please note that last year's numbers are taken from the whole hour statistics, not the half-hours.

CBS, of course, had a great night, airing the ratings monster that is Football. It was significantly up from last week, which may partly explain some of the drops on the other networks...

Speaking of which, it was a disastrous night on ABC. the Charlie Brown special did less than an airing of Grey's Anatomy, losing 7 tenths when compared to the medical drama. Scandal lost two tenths, becoming closer and closer to the 1's that How to Get Away with Murder finally entered after a few weeks of dropping in the ratings. The show ended the hour with a deceiving 1.7, but it's nothing to be too worried about for now.

Nothing too bad happened at NBC. Yes, Heroes Reborn was down a tenth, bringing it dangerously close to the 0's. But, both The Blacklist and The Player were pretty stable, even though the latest doesn't have much space to drop anyway...

The surprising crossover night between Bones and Sleepy Hollow over at FOX was surprisingly successfull, adding one tenth to Bones' last week ratings, and two tenths to the struggling Sleepy Hollow. It's not a hit, but it's definitely better than the normal ratings.

The CW was very stable, with the first half-hour of The Vampire Diaries up by a tenth, but everything else keeping the same rating.


What do you think of those ratings? Is your favorite show down? What did YOU watch? Tell us in the comments!