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Dog Days: How Many of Last Week's Top 50 TV Shows Did You Watch?

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under TV Reviews | Comments (51)

wipeoufsafgt.jpg

One.

That’s how many of the 50 top-rated programs I watched last week. “Suits,” the new legal show on USA that ranked 10th among cable shows. It’s not that I don’t watch television in the summer. I watched the amazing finale of “Luther,” the phenomenal season two finale of “Men of a Certain Age,” “Wilfred,” “Louis,” “Weeds,” the dreadful “The Big C,” the still cute, “Love Bites,” and “Torchwood: Miracle Day.” The lowest rated of the top 25 cable programs last week was 3.78 million viewers; the lowest rated of the network programs last week was 1.9 million. That means that more people are watching telenovas on Univision than “Louis.”

Make of that what you will. The Spanish-speaking population in the United States is growing.

The disheartening news is that three of the top four rated shows on network television last week were editions of “America’s Got Talent.” The heartening news is that less than 2 percent of the American population actually watched those shows. It is at least arguable that people who watched network television last week were the ones out of touch with mainstream America, most of whom are now watching movies and television shows on Netflix, HBO (and HBO to Go), DVD and in movie theaters. Some are even reading books. In fact, if you want to see the silver lining, more people are probably reading George R.R. Martin’s “A Dance with Dragons” this week than watching “Wipeout.”

“Wipeout” is a terrible, terrible show, and whoever is responsible for putting it on the air should have it inscribed into his tombstone.

I dropped “Falling Skies” after three episodes; I couldn’t deal with the cheese, and while I have nothing against the guilty USA Network programs, I can only do one at a time. It’s “Suits” for now, because I have double guilty nether-wood for legal shows and it fills the void vacated by Sarah Shahi’s “Barely Legal.” I also gave “Necessary Roughness” a shot. I won’t give it another. “True Blood,” meanwhile, is that one Zeitgestian show that I managed to let go. I can accept a TV blind-spot.

What about you folks? Which of last week’s Top 50 shows did you watch? It looks like it was an awful lot of USA Network and Nancy Grace/Casey Anthony business. I also highlighted the Univision shows in bold. I had no idea, y’all. I have 200 channels, but I’m not sure I even have that one.


Network

1. America’s Got Talent (Tuesday)
2. Primetime Special Edition (Casey Anthony)
3. America’s Got Talent (Wednesday)
4. America’s Got Talent (Special Day)
5. Big Brother (Thursday)
6. Big Brother (Sunday)
7. So You Think You Can Dance (Wednesday)
8. Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Special
9. MasterChef (Tuesday)
10. Wipeout (Thursday)
11. Copa America 2011
12. Love in the Wild
13. 110 Ways to Leave a Game Show
14. Big Bang Theory (Rerun)
15. Family Guy (Rerun)
16. Expedition Impossible
17. So You Think You Can Dance (Thursday)
18. Simpsons (Rerun)
19. Wipeout (Tuesday)
20. Triunfo Del Amor
21. Copa America
22. Dateline (Friday)
23. Cleveland (Rerun)
24. Kitchen Nightmares
25. Triunfo Del Amor

Cable

1. Grow Up Timmy (Nickelodeon)
2. True Blood (HBO)
3. Morning Express (Headline News)
4. Royal Pains (USA)
5. Spring Cup Racing (USA)
6. Burn Notice (USA)
7. Headline News Local Edition
8. Covert Affairs (USA)
9. Grow Up Timmy (Movie), Nickelodeon
10. Suits (USA)
11. Spongebob The Movie (Nick)
12. Headline News
13. Morning Express (Headline News)
14. Necessary Roughness (USA)
15. NASCAR (TNT)
16. Swamp People (History)
17. White Collar (USA)
18. Headline News
19. Spongebob Squarepants (Nick)
20. Headline News
21. Falling Skies (TNT)
22. Women’s World Cup Soccer (ESPN)
23. Headline News
24. Spongebob Squarepants (Nick)
25. Spongebob Squarepants (Nick)


(Source: TVByTheNumbers)









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Comments

C'mon now! A face plant into the Big Balls is ALWAYS funny.

Posted by: logan at July 12, 2011 3:23 PM

I watched True Blood. I ALWAYS watch True Blood, no matter how insane it gets. It's like a great big hug from a sloppy drunk friend.

Wipeout is like MXC lite. I caught it once and was entertained.

Posted by: TylerDFC at July 12, 2011 3:24 PM

I saw none of them. But "Swamp People" on the History Network sounds fucking awesome.

Posted by: superasente at July 12, 2011 3:24 PM

Come on, Wipeout (UK version anyway) is fantastic as a Saturday night drinking game. Simply drink every time someone falls in the water/gets hurt etc!

Posted by: OL at July 12, 2011 3:24 PM

Hey Swamp People has some of the finest gator shootin I've ever seen.

Posted by: logan at July 12, 2011 3:26 PM

I watched two... but both of them were So You Think You Can Dance.

Posted by: Todd at July 12, 2011 3:29 PM

I saw nine of them. Who needs a freaking life?????

Posted by: tracey8051 at July 12, 2011 3:29 PM

But Wipeout is keeping Jonn "Skunk Boy" Henson employed! That's good, right?

The only show from that list that I watched was my beloved So You Think You Can Dance.

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at July 12, 2011 3:30 PM

Sigh... "John," not "Jonn."

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at July 12, 2011 3:31 PM

Zero, but I recorded "True Blood" and will watch it at some point this week, I think.

I usually watch very little TV during the summer. Sometimes I will go days or weeks without really turning it on. It's a nice break.

Between May "sweeps" and NHL playoffs, I watch a TON of TV in April and May. Once college football, the NFL (hopefully) and regular network programming all start firing back up in September, I will, again, watch a TON of TV. So end of June, July and the beginning of August is some nice down time.

As for tonight and most nights for the foreseeable future, I will be doing this:

[R]eading George R.R. Martin’s “A Dance with Dragons”.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at July 12, 2011 3:34 PM

Zero. And we watch an astounding amount of TV.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 12, 2011 3:35 PM

Oh, John Henson wha' Happened? you were on The Soup then this crap. Meanwhile McCale gets Community.

Posted by: Mrcreosote at July 12, 2011 3:36 PM

Yep, saw absolutely none of those. Second ForbiddenDonut on what I will be doing tonight :)

Posted by: Laura at July 12, 2011 3:38 PM

I'm with Todd - both episodes of SYTYCD. The rest is all Tour de France. I'm obsessed.

Posted by: Captain Tuttle at July 12, 2011 3:38 PM

Just happen upon the occasional Wipeout, other than that, using the time to catch up on my Netflix queue.

Posted by: Rob at July 12, 2011 3:38 PM

Two and Two, so four. I am an unabashed Big Brother fan, so that accounts for half of it. I struggled for many years to figure out what that means about me, but I've long since given up. I guess that's all I need to know.

Posted by: logar at July 12, 2011 3:42 PM

Falling Skies. I cannot believe Children's Hospital (or Louis for that matter) isn't on the list.

Posted by: seth at July 12, 2011 3:43 PM

LOGAR! My evil brother!

Posted by: logan at July 12, 2011 3:43 PM

Two - White Collar and True Blood. But, I was also watching Louie, Wilfred, Weeds and Love Bites. I feel like I was literally the only person watching Love Bites, so I'm glad to see that you do too, Dustin. It really is adorable and fun. I like that it changes things up every week, and every episode. If you get bored by a particular storyline, just wait five minutes and they're on to the next.

For a second I almost thought I watched a third show in that list, but then I realized that I don't actually watch Triunfo del Amor - I just feel like I do because of The Soup. Ah, Maxmillian and his meaningful glances...

Posted by: Nicole at July 12, 2011 3:44 PM

@seth - I forgot to mention Childrens Hospital! That show is phenomenal. And while we're naming good shows on tv right now, is anyone watching Angry Boys, Chris Lilley's new show? I've been watching it online, so I'm not sure when/where it's airing, but it's genius. Even better than Summer Heights High I reckon.

Of course, Curb just came back and soon BREAKING BAD will dominate my brain again.

Posted by: Nicole at July 12, 2011 3:47 PM

So You Think You Can Dance. My husband watches Falling Skies.

Posted by: M at July 12, 2011 3:48 PM

For me it was just True Blood and the women's World Cup game (assuming that's the US-Brazil game from Sunday). I'm a little disturbed. Do I even qualify as a couch potato anymore?

Maybe I should try to get a gig writing for Nickelodeon. It looks like there could be some money in it.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at July 12, 2011 3:50 PM

Wutts a "tee-vee?"

Posted by: Swamp Person at July 12, 2011 3:56 PM

SYTYCD and Big Brother (the wife LOVES it). Otherwise, I record Wipeout for my four year old and have been catching the Women's World Cup where possible. I'm a sucker for international competitions, especially ones where it doesn't come around every year and the US is competitive.

Posted by: Kballs at July 12, 2011 4:09 PM

The Spanish-speaking population in the United States is growing.

Orale cabron!

Posted by: Fredo at July 12, 2011 4:10 PM

I have 3! Well, two are So You Think You Can Dance. So, really only 2. And of course, no matter how fairy awful, I still watch True Blood.

Posted by: griffimx at July 12, 2011 4:12 PM

I watched "Burn Notice." I watched maybe 10 min. of that lawyer show, "Suits." Meh on that one.

That's it, from that list.

Posted by: Slash at July 12, 2011 4:13 PM

BTW, I got "Burn Notice" on DVR. Haven't caught up yet.

As for the rest, "Copa America" is the only thing I've been catching, but that's because that's a summer soccer tournament (taking the place of the World Cup this year for me). The reason for the high ratings is because the Mexican National Team is taking part in it -- Copa America is the South American soccer tourney but they can send out invites. Add perenennial powers Brazil and Argentina and it's easy to see why it's getting such ratings in the States.

That and there's nothing else on at that time!

Posted by: Fredo at July 12, 2011 4:15 PM

That's a lot of Spongebob.

(The only TV I watched last week was Luther and Star Trek TNG on Netflix Instant Play)

Posted by: fracas at July 12, 2011 4:27 PM

I watched So You Think You Can Dance, but only the Wednesday Edition. And I don't have cable, but I still caught True Blood, butI guess doesn't count.

Triunfo del Amor sucks. It's neither campy nor hilarious nor good enough of a novela to bother with.

OL: Don't you wind up either dead or with alcohol poisoning by the end of the night?

Posted by: Figgy at July 12, 2011 4:33 PM

Wow... none of them.

Posted by: MM at July 12, 2011 4:37 PM

Thanks for the update.
I see there's no need for me to hurry getting satellite, cable or an antenna for my TV (currently dedicated to DVDs and video games).

Posted by: Pat C. at July 12, 2011 4:51 PM

Four. The only one I'm willing to admit to is True Blood.

Posted by: Jerry at July 12, 2011 4:54 PM

WC, baby.

Posted by: James S at July 12, 2011 5:17 PM

Not a damn one. The only new TV shows I watched last week were Louis, Wilfred, Torchwood:Miracle Day and Mythbusters.

Posted by: Groundloop at July 12, 2011 5:19 PM

Zero. Though last night I did watch about 10 minutes of MasterChef, so next week, it'll be some tiny fraction above zero.

I'm torn. I have to teach tonight, so I won't have time to run out and pick up Dance with Dragons, but I could get it on my Nook. At what point does immediate gratification outweigh the need to own a hard copy of this book?

Posted by: Wednesday at July 12, 2011 5:28 PM

I'm torn. I have to teach tonight, so I won't have time to run out and pick up Dance with Dragons, but I could get it on my Nook. At what point does immediate gratification outweigh the need to own a hard copy of this book?

If it matters, my successful author friend says she makes more on the ebooks.

Posted by: James S at July 12, 2011 5:51 PM

Summer's here! BIG BROTHER, BITCHES!

Posted by: dagnabbit at July 12, 2011 6:07 PM

I watched none of those. I was busy watching my DVD of Breaking Bad season 3. Even Ms. Paultera had to watch True Blood on her laptop.

Posted by: Paultera at July 12, 2011 6:19 PM

I didn't watch any of those shows last week. However, Swamp People is rather entertaining. Swamp People fans might also like the show Billy the Exterminator (who got his start as a guest on Dirty Jobs).

Posted by: Stinky at July 12, 2011 6:22 PM

network: 0
cable: 7

But I'll be reading a certain book for the next few nights.

Posted by: Miss Heather at July 12, 2011 7:13 PM

I haven't watched any of those, and I watch TV quite a bit in the summer.

Posted by: Snuggiepants at July 12, 2011 7:13 PM

None. I am in the UK on vacation right now, so have not been watching any TV.

But I do have SYTYCD, Covert Affairs, and White Collar waiting for me when I get home.

Posted by: DominaNefret at July 12, 2011 8:02 PM

For a second I almost thought I watched a third show in that list, but then I realized that I don't actually watch Triunfo del Amor - I just feel like I do because of The Soup. Ah, Maxmillian and his meaningful glances...

Posted by: Nicole at July 12, 2011 3:44 PM

Even though I watch far too much TV, my only exposure to any of those shows was via The Soup and Joel McHale's snarky commentary.

Posted by: Uriah Creep at July 12, 2011 9:32 PM

One.
True Blood and that was on the DVR.

Posted by: Jules at July 12, 2011 10:12 PM

Wow, One actually.
I like the cheese of Falling Skies..

Posted by: Magiel at July 13, 2011 6:24 AM

The first 2 episodes of Love In The Wild were great! Excellent editing to keep up the drama, involvement with the characters, and some just fantastic lines that came out of the character’s themselves!

Cheers, Tee

Tee is senior editor of Love In the Wild Fans Magazine www.LoveInTheWildFansMag.com and Costa Rica Magazine www.CostaRicaCLOSEUP.com.

Posted by: Tee at July 13, 2011 11:25 AM

Grow up

Posted by: Dustin Rowlest at July 13, 2011 1:17 PM

get over yourself

Posted by: Dustin Rowlest at July 13, 2011 1:19 PM

None

I try to watch True Blood, but I can't get into it.

I watched Louis and Wilfred

I did see part of...Wipeout is it? All it did was make me miss MXC

Posted by: Protoguy at July 13, 2011 5:32 PM

How is the view from your hipster high horse?

Posted by: Mike Jones at July 14, 2011 12:11 AM