Season 5 Ratings

5.13 "Rush to Judgment (from PI Feedback):

CSI: NY - Viewers: 11.75 million (#1), A18-49: 3.0/ 8 (#2)

Lost - 10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 11.19 million (#2), A18-49: 5.0/12 (#1)
10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 10.98 million (#2), A18-49: 4.9/13 (#1)

Law and Order - Viewers: 8.49 million (#3) A18-49: 2.5/ 7 (#3)
So it was down yet again, below 12 million this time - and it lost the 18-49 demo to the second half of Lost's season premiere.

For reference, these are the lowest numbers this season since "Dead Inside", which had 11.62 million and 3.0/8. "Enough" also had 11.75 million, but it had a 3.3/9 in the 18-49 demo.
 
The ratings are sliding this season--the show was getting like 14-15 million viewers when the season started. All shows slip a bit as the season goes on, but losing around 3 million viewers seems like a lot to me.
 
There went the bra straps and the underwear. Maybe even the shippers are getting burnt out on the shippiness, or maybe the atrocious writing is finally catching up with them. Even the most rabid shippers have standards...
 
^I was just rereading through the thread and came across your initial prediction about that! :lol: Nicely done.

I imagine Lost had something to do with the dipping ratings for this episode, but looking at the trend, they're definitely sliding again.
 
^I was just rereading through the thread and came across your initial prediction about that! :lol: Nicely done.

I imagine Lost had something to do with the dipping ratings for this episode, but looking at the trend, they're definitely sliding again.
I honestly wish I'd been wrong about it. As much as I bitch and yowl, I like the show and want it to succeed because it boasts so many fine actors. It had so much potential, but you can only coast on promise for so long before you're expected to deliver.

Early S5 indicators seemed like the show was finally going to get it right. Alas, the decision to incorporate Anna's RL pregnancy into the show has proven an unmitigated disaster, and since they seem bent on muling through this arc instead of conceding defeat, it's only going to get uglier.
 
I honestly wish I'd been wrong about it. As much as I bitch and yowl, I like the show and want it to succeed because it boasts so many fine actors. It had so much potential, but you can only coast on promise for so long before you're expected to deliver.

I feel the same. I want it to do well and have a long run, successful run. At the same time, I watch CSI--the writing on that show is just fantastic--and know NY could do better. The characters are great--I love them more than the characters on the other shows--but they need to do more with them and play on their strengths. "Rush to Judgment" could have been a lot better than it ended up being.

Early S5 indicators seemed like the show was finally going to get it right. Alas, the decision to incorporate Anna's RL pregnancy into the show has proven an unmitigated disaster, and since they seem bent on muling through this arc instead of conceding defeat, it's only going to get uglier.

Incorporating the pregnancy was pointless. They revived a dying relationship to do so, and shoved an interesting storyline under the rug in the attempt to make everything all happy joy joy. They've essentially sacrificed the further exploration of their most interesting, complex character's flaws to do so, and that's just a shame. If Anna Belknap brought anything to show, I might understand, but she's dead weight they should have lost seasons ago--the minute it became apparent that she's a subpar actress.
 
I honestly wish I'd been wrong about it. As much as I bitch and yowl, I like the show and want it to succeed because it boasts so many fine actors. It had so much potential, but you can only coast on promise for so long before you're expected to deliver.

I feel the same. I want it to do well and have a long run, successful run. At the same time, I watch CSI--the writing on that show is just fantastic--and know NY could do better. The characters are great--I love them more than the characters on the other shows--but they need to do more with them and play on their strengths. "Rush to Judgment" could have been a lot better than it ended up being.

Early S5 indicators seemed like the show was finally going to get it right. Alas, the decision to incorporate Anna's RL pregnancy into the show has proven an unmitigated disaster, and since they seem bent on muling through this arc instead of conceding defeat, it's only going to get uglier.
Incorporating the pregnancy was pointless. They revived a dying relationship to do so, and shoved an interesting storyline under the rug in the attempt to make everything all happy joy joy. They've essentially sacrificed the further exploration of their most interesting, complex character's flaws to do so, and that's just a shame. If Anna Belknap brought anything to show, I might understand, but she's dead weight they should have lost seasons ago--the minute it became apparent that she's a subpar actress.

I was on tenterhooks for "Rush". On the one hand, I was fully prepared to be righteously indignant on my favorite character's behalf and froth at those bad old IAB agents impugning his integrity, and on the other, I was thrilled that Eddie would have something to do. I was sure he'd bring all the awesome to the yard.

It could have and should have been fabulous, but it wasn't because they didn't seem to care what happened after the setup. They were content to let Flack, easily one of the most dynamic characters, sit passively at his desk while the case went on around him. Flack became a bland prop in what should've been his story. The writers like coming up with dramatic stories, but they're exceedingly reluctant to allow those stories to reach their logical ends. If a story has consequences, they would rather not accept, then they simply pretend those consequences aren't possible in their world or change the characters to achieve the ending they prefer. They could've used the episode to truly illustrate NYPD politics and why Mac finds them so distasteful, could've shown overzealous IAB officers trying to ruin a good cop's career, if not his life, but they chose instead to show us that Flack is sampling Angell's panty manna.

Yay.

As far as Anna's continued presence on the show, I can only surmise it's yet another symptom of the PTB's profound reluctance to deal with anything that runs contrary to the reality they wish to inhabit. They've opted to ignore Anna's lack of appreciable talent because it doesn't fit with their grand plans, and so they'll stuff their fingers into their ears and hold their breaths until they get what they want or until the show receives the cancellation notice.
 
Early S5 indicators seemed like the show was finally going to get it right. Alas, the decision to incorporate Anna's RL pregnancy into the show has proven an unmitigated disaster, and since they seem bent on muling through this arc instead of conceding defeat, it's only going to get uglier.

As much as many people here don't like the pregnancy storyline (and I have to say, it's definitely not the way I wanted it to go despite having some fondness for DL) I really don't think it's been an unmitigated disaster and see little evidence that it's influenced the ratings to any detriment to the show. The low ratings seem to me to not have followed any D/L or pregnancy drama heavy shows, although do feel free to prove me wrong! I don't think I've seen any indication that the relationship stuff has affected the ratings at all, either positively or negatively and the show had already dipped significantly before the pregnancy storyline began.

Having said all that the season did start stronger than any before and it's a shame it's not continued. Personally I think the first few episodes were definitely the best but there has been a clear correlation between the drop in ratings and an increase in competition with other shows. As for 5:13 I've seen even die hard NY fans say they recorded it this week because they were already into Lost and wanted to watch the second half.
 
It could have and should have been fabulous, but it wasn't because they didn't seem to care what happened after the setup. They were content to let Flack, easily one of the most dynamic characters, sit passively at his desk while the case went on around him. Flack became a bland prop in what should've been his story. The writers like coming up with dramatic stories, but they're exceedingly reluctant to allow those stories to reach their logical ends. If a story has consequences, they would rather not accept, then they simply pretend those consequences aren't possible in their world or change the characters to achieve the ending they prefer. They could've used the episode to truly illustrate NYPD politics and why Mac finds them so distasteful, could've shown overzealous IAB officers trying to ruin a good cop's career, if not his life, but they chose instead to show us that Flack is sampling Angell's panty manna.

I agree completely. What could have been a great episode ended up being mediocre one because they didn't have the character drive the story. I realize the CSI shows are about science and it's the star, yadda yadda yadda, but episodes like "Tanglewood," "Trapped," and even "All Access" (which I hated!) did well in the ratings and creatively (well, save for the slashfest that was AA) because the characters drove the episode. They need more of that, and that's why this ep just felt like a wasted opportunity.

Scheduling it against the Lost premiere didn't help, though.

As far as Anna's continued presence on the show, I can only surmise it's yet another symptom of the PTB's profound reluctance to deal with anything that runs contrary to the reality they wish to inhabit. They've opted to ignore Anna's lack of appreciable talent because it doesn't fit with their grand plans, and so they'll stuff their fingers into their ears and hold their breaths until they get what they want or until the show receives the cancellation notice.

Well, I did give it some thought a while back and realized because of her two pregnancies in the space of the four years she's been on the show, they probably only had a small window in season two to fire her. :lol: Not saying or implying they wanted to fire her at any point, but legally pregnant women or women coming back from maternity leave are untouchable when it comes to employment unless you want a lawsuit. Again, not at all implying they wanted to fire her at any point, just that there's literally been no time since season two in which they legally could have. In some ways, it seems they've recognized her limitations, since she's had little to do save for being a love interest in recent seasons. Still, having her handicapping one of their most interesting characters seemed a foolish way to go.

As much as many people here don't like the pregnancy storyline (and I have to say, it's definitely not the way I wanted it to go despite having some fondness for DL) I really don't think it's been an unmitigated disaster and see little evidence that it's influenced the ratings to any detriment to the show. The low ratings seem to me to not have followed any D/L or pregnancy drama heavy shows, although do feel free to prove me wrong! I don't think I've seen any indication that the relationship stuff has affected the ratings at all, either positively or negatively and the show had already dipped significantly before the pregnancy storyline began.

I don't think it has either, on an individual episode level. I don't really know what the ratings slide can be attributed to, other than the fact that there's been increased competition in recent weeks. I've noticed Miami and to a lesser extent CSI have gone up and down a fair amount as well this season.

Having said all that the season did start stronger than any before and it's a shame it's not continued. Personally I think the first few episodes were definitely the best but there has been a clear correlation between the drop in ratings and an increase in competition with other shows. As for 5:13 I've seen even die hard NY fans say they recorded it this week because they were already into Lost and wanted to watch the second half.

Yeah, I think running this episode against Lost was a mistake, especially since it was a one-time thing for Lost to run an ep in that time slot. I did notice, though, that earlier in the season (around 506 and 507), the numbers were similarly low, so maybe Lost didn't do any more damage than previous competition has.
 
As much as many people here don't like the pregnancy storyline (and I have to say, it's definitely not the way I wanted it to go despite having some fondness for DL) I really don't think it's been an unmitigated disaster and see little evidence that it's influenced the ratings to any detriment to the show. The low ratings seem to me to not have followed any D/L or pregnancy drama heavy shows, although do feel free to prove me wrong! I don't think I've seen any indication that the relationship stuff has affected the ratings at all, either positively or negatively and the show had already dipped significantly before the pregnancy storyline began

I don't think the baby storyline has affected ratings but it shadowed (sorry i don't know if this word is correct) the first part of the season with all these arguments shipper vs antishippers.
Instead of having a season with a natural development, we had to stand characters being OOC just for the good of this storyline.
Ausiello and Co. saying " don't pay attention to the 100 th episode. You will wait for the Big Revelation in the 101th episode" THAT was out of place and obnoxious. A total lack of consideration to those fans (many of us) who definitely DO NOT "luv" DL

Debbie

Also, a dear member in the Smacked thread mentioned things seem to be better now. I do feel the same too. I think after 5.09 things are going back to "normal" but i also feel writers are trying to do the possible and the impossible to save this season from a sinking worse than Titanic's
 
I don't think the pregnancy itself is singlehandedly responsible for the ratings declining, but I think it's a symptom of a bigger problem, and that's the sometimes sub-par writing on the show and the tendency to make decisions that don't necessarily make sense as the 'best' decisions (like everything La Guera said with regard to "Rush to Judgment", and it wasn't the first episode this season that could have been done way better - "Help" is another one that immediately comes to mind).

They claim the show is more 'character driven' than the others, but they fall short on really delivering character-driven episodes.

It's all kind of...blah. NY has nothing that makes it stand out from the other CSI series (and I really don't think having the First CSI Baby is going to be it), much less the other crime dramas on television. The acting is great, and the characters are good, but if you squander that potential, it may as well not exist. I'm not sure how they could make things better, but trying to have solid writing like CSI (as Top41 said) would be a good place to start. I don't think people sit around scratching their heads and trying to understand convoluted storylines and plot holes after watching an episode of CSI.
 
I'm always moaning about the writers on this show, but I do sometimes wonder if that's justified. The storylines do seem interesting and I can see where an excellent episode could have been designed. I now wonder if it is the producers who are pulling down the quaulity. Maybe the show is filmed well and badly cut to the finished product. Don't really know anything about either process, or whose involved, to make a judgement though.

I feel sorry for Anna Bellknap though, i'm sure they only had one character development planned at the end of season 1 and tried to split it between Lindsay and Sheldon. They both like 'show and tell' and are full of facts. Between Hill's delivery of the lines and having both Danny and Don teasing Sheldon, it comes across being overexcited and excentric. Lindsay seems more overbearing and akward. I saw Anna in Medical Investigations, don't remember thinking she was great or awful, though with Neal McDonough there, I didn't pay attention to anyone else.
 
Having NO experience at all with this industry, I suppose I should watch my criticisms of the folks who work so hard to bring the show to us. That being said, I wonder how much of an effect the writers' strike has had on the quality of writing lately. I think other shows are getting out of hand too (anyone see Grey's Anatomy lately? That Izzie storyline is driving me mad!). Perhaps some of us are just missing all the hard work, or we expect too much? Or, maybe the writing is just that bad. Or maybe it's something else that is dragging down some of the quality (like some of that slo-mo action?). I do believe an invesigation should ensue in this case! LOL!
 
I feel sorry for Anna Bellknap though, i'm sure they only had one character development planned at the end of season 1 and tried to split it between Lindsay and Sheldon. They both like 'show and tell' and are full of facts. Between Hill's delivery of the lines and having both Danny and Don teasing Sheldon, it comes across being overexcited and excentric. Lindsay seems more overbearing and akward. I saw Anna in Medical Investigations, don't remember thinking she was great or awful, though with Neal McDonough there, I didn't pay attention to anyone else.

She was definitely better in MI than she ever has been on CSI: NY. I've still never seen a performance from her that's come close to blowing me away, or even saying anything more than, "She's fine." Hill doesn't have that much more to work with--less, really, in all likelihood--but he does so much more with what he's given, and adds depth to Hawkes' reaction to his job and the world around him.

Having NO experience at all with this industry, I suppose I should watch my criticisms of the folks who work so hard to bring the show to us. That being said, I wonder how much of an effect the writers' strike has had on the quality of writing lately. I think other shows are getting out of hand too (anyone see Grey's Anatomy lately? That Izzie storyline is driving me mad!). Perhaps some of us are just missing all the hard work, or we expect too much? Or, maybe the writing is just that bad. Or maybe it's something else that is dragging down some of the quality (like some of that slo-mo action?). I do believe an invesigation should ensue in this case! LOL!

The writers strike definitely had an affect, and is part of the reason shows are down all around this season. It had a greater affect on serialized shows like Grey's, though, and shows that didn't come back until the fall (ABC's line up) than it did on CBS's procedurals. Also affecting the ratings is the ability to watch shows online after they've aired. It's not as pressing to catch it live when you can watch it on your computer with fewer or no commercials.
 
FlackFan01 said:

Having NO experience at all with this industry, I suppose I should watch my criticisms of the folks who work so hard to bring the show to us.
The work that goes into making any show - be it good or craptastic - is amazing. There are always a ton of people working their butts off to create a show or a movie, whether it's a low-budget flick or a massive TV show like the CSI series. Knowing how hard everybody works to make it happen, I do appreciate and respect the ones who create any show or movie.

That said, the final product is (and should be) scrutinized. Sometimes the different portions of the show (writing, acting, directing, editing, music, etc) don't mesh together well. When you see shows that can do it right, it's hard not to expect other shows to do it just as well. There are so many series in the television landscape that working hard to create it isn't good enough to make it great - everybody works hard, but not every show can be successful.

I would be happier if they'd abandon some of the wacky science and way-too-convenient inclusions of 'cool' plot devices, as well as the 'hip' stunt casting which seems to be more about getting famous names than casting people who can actually act (although some of them have done a good job), in favor of tighter storylines and solid science. There are three CSI series and a ton of other crime dramas out there - people can find a different, possibly better series from the same genre to watch if they get tired of trying to be enthralled with the Shiny Object of the week.

And now I'm rambling. :eek:
 
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