CSI Files
Captain
<I>CSI</I> isn't the most watched this year.<p><I>CSI: Crime Scene Investigation</I> has enjoyed being the number one scripted show for the past several years. This year, however, <I>CSI</I> must hand its crown over to <I>Desperate Housewives</I>. <I>Housewives</I> finishes out the 2007-2008 season with an average of 18.2 million viewers. <I>CSI</I> can only boast 16.89 million.<p>While 16.89 million is enough to help <I>CSI</I> scrape past <I>House</I> for the second place spot, the forensic drama has never done worse. The first season of the show pulled in an average of 17.8 million. <I>CSI</I>'s best season was 2002-2003--it came out on top with 26.2 million viewers and beat every other show on TV, scripted or not.<p>At the beginning of the season, <I>CSI</I> was on top in scripted TV. The writers' strike, however, took away 21\% of the viewers. <I>Desperate Housewives</I> only lost 7\% of the viewers after the strike started. <I>Housewives</I> came out on top because it actually managed to gain viewers year to year, pulling in a million more people this season.<p>Overall, <I>Housewives</I> comes in sixth place behind such unscripted fare as <I>Dancing with the Stars</I> and <I>American Idol</I>. When looking at just season finales, <I>CSI</I> came in fourth with 18.1 million viewers, beating <I>Housewives</I> with 16.8 million (a sixth place finish). In the 18-49 demographic for scripted shows, however, <I>CSI</I> finished behind <I>Housewives</I>, <I>Grey's Anatomy</I>, <I>House</I> and <I>Two and a Half Men</I>.<p>The original article is from <A class="link" HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20080520/en_tv_eo/11da311b675d_4b50_a1cc_44264256717e">Yahoo News</a>.<center></center>