Final 2004-05 Network Ratings---The Top 20...and more!!!

[Sal]

It's official now. The 2004-05 season was not a great year for sitcoms and it figures to get worse this fall. This past season saw only one sitcom in the Top 10 and two in the Top 20. How did your favorites do? Here's a chart that gives you the complete picture, taken from the Hollywood Reporter's Web site:


THE TOP 20

1. American Idol (Tuesday) Fox
2. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS
3. American Idol (Wednesday) Fox
4. Desperate Housewives ABC
5. Survivor: Palau CBS
6. Survivor: Vanuatu CBS
7. CSI: Miami CBS
8. Without a Trace CBS
9. Grey's Anatomy NBC
10. Everybody Loves Raymond CBS
11. Two and a Half Men CBS
12. Monday Night Football ABC
13. The Apprentice 2 NBC
14. Lost ABC
15. Extreme Makeover: Home Ed. ABC
16. ER NBC
17. Cold Case CBS
18. The Apprentice 3 NBC
19. 60 Minutes CBS
19. Medium NBC


HOW OTHER SITCOMS DID

40. Joey NBC
44. Will & Grace NBC
44. According to Jim ABC
44. Still Standing CBS
48. The King of Queens CBS
49. The Simpsons Fox
49. Listen Up CBS
53. Yes, Dear CBS
56. Center of the Universe CBS
56. Rodney ABC
62. American Dad Fox
74. Family Guy Fox
76. Father of the Pride NBC
79. George Lopez ABC
79. My Wife and Kids ABC
85. That '70s Show Fox
88. Hope & Faith ABC
88. Scrubs NBC
90. 8 Simple Rules ABC
92. Committed NBC
94. Less Than Perfect ABC
96. Complete Savages ABC
97. Arrested Development Fox
99. Malcolm in the Middle Fox
101. Jake in Progress ABC
102. The Office NBC
104. Quintuplets Fox
110. King of the Hill Fox
110. The Bernie Mac Show Fox
111 and under: various UPN/WB series


To me, this looks like a fairly bleak picture. When "Joey", whose first season is looked at as a disappointment, gets higher ratings than any sitcom that finished out of the top 20, by barely making the top 40, then the networks should take a closer look at what is, and, more specifically, isn't working. Even more surprising is this: of the 15 shows at the bottom of this list, starting at #85, at least half of them are expected to be back this fall. Does that make any sense at all?

This brings up the obvious question: Is the sitcom dying? I would say that, at the present time, it is very sick and in great need of a boost, like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" gave to ABC in general and drama series in particular. Now it seems that there are many new dramas out there like "Medium", "House", and "Numb3rs", that are creative and well-written and are capturing a wide audience, an audience that in the past would have normally watched sitcoms. In my opinion, the sitcom genre is going through its worst period since 1983 B.C. (Before Cosby). They say trends go in cycles, and that this down time might be only temporary, but in order for the cycle to go up again there needs to be another "Cosby Show" or "Desperate Housewives" on the horizon. From what I've read of the fall 2005 schedule, it hasn't shown up yet, and that's very sad. Thank goodness for TV DVDs, or there may not be anything left to watch!

[WilCap]

Where was Alias? 24? One Tree Hill? OC

[vashti1999]

I'm surprised the Apprentice 2 and 3 did as well as they did.