Viewers Vote "Commander in Chief"

[Forever Xena]

Viewers Vote "Commander in Chief"

by Marcus Errico
Sep 28, 2005, 2:55 PM PT



The electorate might not be ready for a female President, but TV viewers sure are.

Tuesday's premiere of Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis as the titular White House honcho, scored the night's highest poll numbers, averaging 16.4 million viewers in the 9 p.m. hour, per Nielsen Media Research. ABC spinmeisters say those numbers make Commander in Chief the most watched drama series debut on a Tuesday night in five years. It also helped ABC win a very competitive contest.

The night, particularly the 9-10 p.m. bloc, is shaping up to be a key ratings battleground. While Commander in Chief outpointed everyone in terms of sheer number of viewers, Fox's House, which finished second with 13.4 million viewers, triumphed in the key 18-49 demo.

Meanwhile, viewership for NBC's critically praised sitcom My Name Is Earl was down by 4 million from its debut last week, with 11.7 million tuning in for the second episode. Still, the show is shaping up to be a winner for NBC, especially in the 18-49 demo. For the hour, the My Name Is Earl/The Office tandem finished in a dead heat with Commander in Chief and the first hour of CBS's two-hour season premiere of The Amazing Race: Family Edition in the 18-49 demo.

The latter, pitting families of four in a dash around the globe, averaged 10.6 million viewers over its two hours. It ran third in both the 9-10 and 10-11 hours.

Winning the 10-11 p.m. period was NBC's Law & Order: SVU--the strongest performer in the network's L&O franchise so far this young season--with 15.3 million viewers. That was enough to hold off the second-season premiere of ABC's Boston Legal, which drew 12.4 million

And about the best news for UPN's new Sex, Lies and Secrets is that Fox has already canceled Head Cases, meaning the Denise Richards-fronted soap, which attracted just 1.4 million in its debut Tuesday, won't be the first casualty of the season.

[Lesa]

...the most watched drama series debut on a Tuesday night in five years.

Yes!! ;D

I haven't seen this yet because I had to work, but thanks to my new VCR, I will be taping the encore tomorrow night if I don't screw it up.

[katina2nd]

le said:

...the most watched drama series debut on a Tuesday night in five years.

Yes!! ;D

I haven't seen this yet because I had to work, but thanks to my new VCR, I will be taping the encore tomorrow night if I don't screw it up.

Nothing more annoying then thinking you've taped something only to find you had it on the wrong channel and ended up with a load of rubbish you didn't want to see.

[Lesa]

Yeah, and it can be even easier to mess up when the VCR is new and you've never used it before. But I programmed it earlier today just to make sure I was doing it right and it started right on schedule, so as long as I don't forget to hit that last button, I think it will be ok... that is, if the reception is as good as it was today when I tested it.

[katina2nd]

Got great faith in you Gig, if you can handle all the technical stuff on here, reckon you could set a vcr with your eyes closed.
Just don't forget to make sure it's set to the right channel, I've done that a couple of times, and to put it mildly, it's very frustrating.

[Joxcenia]

I also hate if I've set the right time and the show starts a minute early, or goes on an extra couple of minutes... Lost and Alias both did that last year. And my new VCR keeps losing time and starts after the show does if I don't reset it every couple of weeks.

[katina2nd]

joxcenia said:

I also hate if I've set the right time and the show starts a minute early, or goes on an extra couple of minutes... Lost and Alias both did that last year. And my new VCR keeps losing time and starts after the show does if I don't reset it every couple of weeks.

You're lucky you're not down under then Jox, it's common for shows to run late, sometimes up to ten minutes, so I always allow for an extra fifteen minutes or so at the beginning and end of a show when I record.

[Joxcenia]

Egads the horror! That would drive me nuts.

[katina2nd]

Yep, very annoying. Late at night seems the worst time, but it happens at all times though.
Luckily there's hardly anything worth watching, let alone taping, on free to air at present, and Foxtel isn't anywhere near as bad with their starting times, and for the prices they charge, they should be I guess.

[Lesa]

I like to start recording early and end it late, too.

Well, the reception didn't come in through the VCR, so I didn't get a copy of the show. I did get to see the last 5 minutes when I got home, though, and I loved her speech. Although I already knew the premise of the show from reading about it, hubby filled me in on some of the nuances, and I think the show is a real keeper.

I have to work tomorrow night, but should be home by 10:10 or 10:15 and at least catch most of the 2nd episode. At least the reception comes in through the TV at night, since I can't get it in through the VCR. I'll have to see if there's anything I can do to fix that.