LOST QUESTIONS

In last May's stunning season finale, "Lost" fans were shocked to see Jack, Kate and Sawyer captured by The Others led by the man known as Henry Gale. The mysterious people set Michael and his son Walt free.

Locke found out that pushing the button did have some purpose as failing to do so led to the hatch exploding into smithereens possibly killing all inside. And the audience saw that there was outside world after all as Desmond's girlfriend Penny was trying to locate the island.

After two years on air it is now clear that the Lost puzzle is endless and the answers are irrelevant as they lead to additional questions and more mystery. Then again, if the storytellers answered all questions, the show would undoubtedly come to an end.

So, what are some of the main burning questions that the fans are asking now?

WHO ARE THE OTHERS?
Henry Gale says they are "the good guys". What does that mean? Who are the bad guys then?

WHAT IS DHARMA INITIATIVE/HANSO ORGANIZATION?
Penny's father, Charles Widmore, may be the man behind the entire project on the mysterious island. When and why was it conceived? What went wrong? How are The Others a part of it all?

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT JACK, KATE AND SAWYER?
Why did The Others want "the loving threesome"? Weren't there more exceptional people among the survivors?

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HATCH?
The hatch door landed on the beach. Are the people inside gone for good? There are reports that say that Locke and Sayid will team up with other survivors to save Desmond and Eko.

WHY WAS LOCKE IN A WHEELCHAIR?
Was Locke handicapped by the victims of his father's crime seeking revenge? And how did the island cure him?

WHO IS LIBBY?
Michael may have shot the mysterious woman, but she will be back in flashbacks this season as we try to find out why she gave Desmond her late husband's sailboat, what she was doing at Hurley's clinic and what her connection to Hanso Organization or Dharma Initiative may have been.

WHO IS THE FATHER OF SUN'S UNBORN BABY?
How did Sun get pregnant if her husband is sterile and she claims she had never been unfaithful to him? ABC has indicated there may be trouble in paradise for Jin and Sun.

WHAT DID THE OTHERS TRY TO DO TO CLAIRE'S BABY?
Ethan paid with his life when he tried to recapture Claire and her baby. Why did The Others want to get hold of them so desperately?

WHY WAS CHARLIE IN SUCH BLISS IN THE SEASON ENDING SEQUENCE FOLLOWING THE HATCH DESTRUCTION?
Is he using again?

GO PANTHERS!

On Tuesday October 3, NBC will premiere a truly remarkable character-driven family-friendly series "Friday Night Lights", a small screen adaptation of the 2004 movie starring Kyle Chandler as a football couch who moves to a small town in Texas that depends on him to take their college team to victory as the game symbolizes their very existence.

It is difficult to say whether this beautifully filmed and poignant show with engrossing acting performances will break "the sports TV series curse" and win the ratings game. Nevertheless, NBC deserves praise for bringing this outstanding hour of scripted drama to American television.

"Friday Night Lights" premieres Tuesday night at 8/7c on NBC.

UH-OH! SOMEONE TO KICK THE BUCKET
ON "PRISON BREAK" AGAIN

Kudos to actor Robert Knepper for yet another delightfully disgusting performance this week as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell on FOX's Monday night drama "Prison Break".

The playful sleaziness of his mating game with his aging yet slutty hostess... The heartbreaking humiliation in his eyes upon his painful realization the lady he was after had her eyes set on Lincoln all that time... And the bestial glare in his eyes as he reached for her throat and showered her with names - the man deserves an Emmy.

As evident in this telling FOX promotional image for next Monday's episode entitled "Buried" the Fox River gang is about to get caught red-handed. The White House turns against Sara Tancredi's father and The Company goes after her. And yes, Tweener spills the beens and someone gets popped in a sensational climax.

DR. McSTEAMY SIZZLES UP "GREY'S ANATOMY"

Eric Dane is back on "Grey's Anatomy" as McDreamy's nemesis Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan and the fans across the country have cheered in approval. That's after their jaws dropped in shock.

In a sizzling closing scene of this week's episode, Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) makes a decision to break up with his estranged wife Addison (Kate Walsh) for good and visits her to deliver the news. It appears however she has already moved on as McDreamy's former best friend and Addison's not-so-former lover McSteamy walks out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

Eric Dane will now be joining the cast of "Grey's Anatomy" as a series regular.

LOST EPISODE SWITCH

ABC has announced that the "Lost" episode originally scheduled for October 11 ("Further Instructions") will now air a week later on October 18.

The Locke-centric episode was rumoured to have an airport dream sequence with Hurley as a flight attendant, Desmond a pilot and Charlie and Claire a married couple. Ian Somerhalder also makes a special appearance as Boone.

ABC will now air the episode "The Glass Balerina" on October 11 in which Sayid's plan to locate Jack places Sun and Jin's lives in grave danger.

Meanwhile, the network is promoting the first five minutes of the season premiere as "breathless".

SASSY LONGORIA CALLS IT QUITS?

The reports are coming in that Eva Longoria, the sexy star of "Desperate Housewives", may have broken up with her long-time beau NBA star player Tony Parker.

On screen, in an upcoming episode, Gabrielle Solis (Eva) will be going back into sheets with her former lover, gardener John Rowland (Jesse Metcalfe), who is coming back to Wisteria Lane.

In a new twist, John is the one with all the bling-bling as he seduces Gabrielle while cheating on his new girlfriend.

ROUND 2: GRISSOM PUNCHES McDREAMY BACK
Ratings for Thursday, September 29, 2006

The juiciest battle for prime-time supremacy continued last night as old fox CBS reclaimed its Thursday night crown. McDreamy and the gang did score 16.1/24 in the overnights (vs. CSI's 15.3/22). However, the forensic investigators were stronger in total viewers (23.49 mil vs. Grey's 23.31 mil) and CBS was the most watched network of the night.

Elsewhere, the premiere of "Ugly Betty" was anything but ugly at 8pm scoring 16,09 mil viewers and causing a huge dent in the ratings for NBC's comedies. ER and Shark battled neck to neck at 10pm, but JJ Ambrams' new show "Six Degrees" dipped in comparison to pilot numbers and continued to lose steam as over 3 million viewers reached for remote by 10:30.

STEPHEN KING A FAN OF "LOST"

Stephen King has told USA Today that he is a fan of ABC's hit series "Lost" and he praised executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof for their great storytelling and the ability to write strong character-driven scripts.

The third season of "Lost" premieres next Wednesday (9/8c) and according to Michael Emerson who plays the creepy leader of "Others", or the man known to viewers as Henry Gale, the drama will geographically and spiritually move to a new direction.

The season which is said to be packed with action and romance will also take a closer look at the mysterious "Others", giving more insight into their origin and perception, explaining why their bizarre leader thinks "they are the good guys".

ABC RELEASES NEW
"DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES"
PROMO IMAGES

One month ago, ABC released the first promotional images for the third season of "Desperate Housewives" including the excellent laundromat poster featuring all leading ladies from Wisteria Lane.

Now, the kids and the men of "Desperate Housewives" are the focus of the latest much darker campaign. ABC.com has posted a video-report about the photo-shoot.

Joining the kids and the men is Wisteria Lane's new resident hunk Josh Henderson who plays Edie's nephew Austin, as well as Dougray Scott who plays Susan's new romantic interest Ian. Although Cody Kasch (Zach) may reappear at some point, he is no longer the series regular.

"JERICHO" GROWS,
"KIDNAPPED" IS TOAST
Ratings for Wednesday,
September 27, 2006

The CBS post-apocalyptic drama "Jericho" surprised TV ratings analysts today as despite mixed critical reviews it actually managed to grow in its second week by over 6%. New series normally drop following the initial sampling by about 10-15%.

Also worth noting was the improvement for the last episode of FOX's "Justice" before the play-offs hiatus. The network shelved the new drama one week earlier cancelling next week's episode due to its lackluster performance thus far, but now it seems it may still live.

That can't be said of NBC's new Dana Delany drama "Kidnapped". The series was the lowest rated new show during The Premiere Week and now it sank even further scoring mere 6,31 mil viewers, which is about 20% less than last week. May "Kidnapped" get cancelled even earlier than "Happy Hour"?

The most watched program of the evening was once again CBS's 9pm drama "Criminal Minds" with over 16 mil viewers. An all-new "Lost" may put a dent into those figures next week. CSI: NY did equally well at 10pm, as did ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" earlier in the evening.

NEWTON-JOHN
A GUEST JUDGE
ON IDOL

Olivia Newton John celebrated her 58th birthday on Tuesday by joining Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson as a guest judge on the sixth season of FOX's blockbuster talent show American Idol.

The pop singer famous for her role alongside John Travolta in the movie "Grease" said to reporters she did not enjoy rejecting aspiring singers. Newton John helped the judges pick talent in the third round of Los Angeles auditions. At the end of her day as a judge, the singer was given a cake as part of a small birthday celebration.

Singer Jewel and songwriter Carole Bayer Sager are among other celebrities scheduled to appear on the show when it premieres in mid January. "American Idol" has been the #1 television program in America for two seasons in a row.

SMALLVILLE'S NEW LOVE TRIANGLE?

Crossing over from the now-defunct The WB, young Superman TV saga Smallville opens its sixth season on the The CW network tonight with a spectacular episode "Zod".

Aaron Ashmore joins the cast tonight as Jimmy Olsen, a new journalist at "The Daily Planet" who Chloe had an off-screen affair with in season 4.

Zod, who took over Lex's body in the season ending cliffhanger last May, savagely attacks Lana in tonight's episode.

Clarks is meanwhile trapped in the Phantom Zone, powerless and surrounded by Kryptonian criminals sent away by his father Jor-El, now seeking revenge.

Also, Martha becomes the central figure in Jor-El's plan to kill Zod as her plane with Lois on board crashes in the Fortress of Solitude.

And if all that is not enough, Justin Hartley (Aquaman on a CW failed pilot) will join the cast next week as Oliver Queen, a.k.a. The Green Arrow, to form what looks in this new CW promo image as a new love triangle.

It all starts tonight at 8/7c on The CW.

"STANDOFF" AND "SMITH"
ARE IN TROUBLE
Ratings for Tuesday,
September 26, 2006

The most watched program in America on Tuesday night was once again ABC's powerhouse contest "Dancing with the Stars" scoring over 17 mil viewers on average during its 90-minute broadcast. The viewership went up to almost 21 million in the final half hour.

For this reason, 11.93 million viewers that stuck with ABC at 9:30 to watch the premiere of Ted Danson's new comedy "Help Me Help You" presented only 62% of that lead-in audience, which is quite disappointing.

Over on FOX, the freshman drama "Standoff" did even worse when it lost over 6 million viewers of the 14,22 million who tuned into an all-new "House" at 8pm.

The weakest link in the CBS line-up was once again Ray Liotta's new drama "Smith" that not only lost 1,4 million viewers who tuned into last week's series premiere, but also continued to lose steam in the second half hour of Tuesday night's broadcast.

CHEVY CHASE TO PULL
A MEL GIBSON ON NBC

The Peacock network is insisting that their upcoming November 3rd episode of the long-running drama "Law & Order" has nothing to do with the drunken antics that landed the man originally known as Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson in hot water all over the world.

In the episode entitled "In Vino Veritas" or "In Wine There Is Truth", which has begun filming this week, Chevy Chase guest stars as a TV celebrity who is pulled over by the police for drunken driving. The man will be wearing blood-soaked clothes and indulging in a tirade of religious insults.

The Saturday Night Live veteran recently returned to mainstream movie-making in the Tim Allen summer-flick "Zoom" (also starring "Friends" star Courtney Cox) which bombed at the box office following disastrous critical reviews.

NBC SCORES WITH "HEROES", "RUNAWAY" PREMIERES BELOW "EVERWOOD" AVERAGE

NBC has scored almost 15 million viewers with their new fantasy series "Heroes" sending FOX's "Vanished" to the last place. The abduction drama lost yet another million viewers this week and may indeed vanish before we learn who kidnapped Sarah Collins.

Over at The CW, an almost unrecognizable artificially resurrected 11th season premiere of "7th Heaven" plunged over 20% from last year's opener on The WB. The new drama "Runaway" did even worse. It scored minuscule 2,01 mil viewers ending up at the bottom of the ratings chart. This is not a good day for Dawn Ostroff.

"Studio 60" dipped somewhat in the 10pm slot, but still managed to post respectable numbers (over 11 mil viewers). "The Class" on CBS lost some considerable steam (minus 2 million viewers), giving folks behind "How I Met Your Mother" a reason to celebrate as their sitcom actually grew on Class' poor numbers.

The most watched show on Monday night in America was the procedural drama CSI: Miami, which nabbed over 17 million viewers. CBS won the night in overall viewers, and NBC scored high in the 18-49 demo.

NOTE: Televisionista will be updated on Thursday, September 28.

HAS FOX CANCELLED
"HAPPY HOUR" AND "JUSTICE"?

Everybody is afraid of the C word, which is why they prefer the H word. FOX has officially put their freshman comedy "Happy Hour", which was blasted by TV critics all summer long as the worst crap on television, on hiatus.

The cancellation axe has not swung, but Bravo.com's users participating in the Death Watch '06 online game have decided weeks ago that the sitcom is the top contender to be the first victim of ruthless network executives. Now the website has given up on calculating odds for its survival simply tagging the comedy R.I.P.

Also in the danger zone is FOX's drama "Justice", #8 on the Bravo list. Although FOX normally pre-empts its shows during the baseball playoffs, "Justice" will be leaving the airwaves a week early (a repeat of "House" will air next week). "Happy Hour" was not that lucky. The sitcom is off the schedule effective immediately and this week's episode will be replaced by a repeat of "Till Death".

FOX insists both shows will be back for November sweeps. It is not clear for how long.

SMALLVILLE'S BIG BANG

Al Gough, the co-creator of "Smallville" has promised the biggest season premiere in "Smallville" history.

The episode "Zod"opens the sixth season of the Young Superman drama on The CW network this Thursday and according to Gough the episode will have an incredible amount of action, spectacle and humour, all packed with state-of the-art special effects and heartbreaking drama.

Also, the viewers will take a sneak peak into The Phantom Zone, see General Zod and meet Jimmy Olsen. Later this season, "Smallville" will introduce Justin Hartley as The Green Arrow as well as put the Justice League (Green Arrow, Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman) for the very first time together.

ROCK STARS DROP BY SITCOMS

Steven Tyler of "Aerosmith" makes a special appearance on tonight's "Two and a Half Men" on CBS (9/8c) as a famous neighbor causing trouble.

The Aerosmith lead singer whose brand new greatest hits CD "Devil's Got A New Disguise" is released October 17, has already been on the show in 2003, but only providing a voiceover.

Also on October 17, rock legend Mick Jagger will appear on the pilot of the new NBC sitcom "Knights of Prosperity", a show previously known as "Let's Rob Mick Jagger".

WHO'S AFRAID OF
DOCTOR McDREAMY?

Why, Gil Grissom... Of course.

The premiere week is behind and the first results are in. Although it is still early to tell which of the new shows will succeed and when the first cancellation axe will swing, it is clear that the returning series have made the greatest impact thus far.

"Grey's Anatomy" beat "CSI" in its new timeslot on Thursday night nabbing over 25 million viewers. "CSI", on the other hand is down more than 7 mil viewers over the same time last year.

"Desperate Housewives" is also down, but it is still the winner on Sunday nights (almost 24 million viewers). And ER that entered its 13th season managed to beat freshman competition winning its hour.

Well-established reality continued to perform well. "Dancing with the Stars" drew over 18 mil viewers, while "Deal Or No Deal" pulled in 15,7 million. The CW's "America's Next Top Model" improved on year-to-year basis by 10%.

As far as the new shows, CBS's "Shark" did very well (14,7 mil), NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" quite well (13,4 mil) and Kidnapped not that well at all (7,5 mil). Still, the network's Sunday Night Football continues to draw huge crowds, last week's broadcast pulled in over 20 million viewers.

Probably the poorest performing new shows are for the moment on FOX. "Standoff" premiered to over 13 million viewers, but began to lose steam quickly. Ditto for "Vanished", "Happy Hour" and new contest "Celebrity Duets".

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ADVERTISE ON TV?

The new TV season is here and so are the new advertising rates for 30-second spots on network television. So how much money do the advertisers really have to shell out to give their brands prime-time exposure?

Although the most expensive shows on FOX are for the moment The Simpsons (293,000) and House ($284,000), it is the midseason blockbusters "American Idol: Wednesday" ($620,000), "American Idol: Tuesday" ($594,000) and 24 ($364,000) that make FOX the most expensive network to advertise on. The network has sure gone a long way since it humble beginnings in 1987.

ABC's Sunday night dramedy "Desperate Housewives" has declined about 10% this year, but it has still managed to snatch the third place on the list of the most expensive shows with $394,000. "Lost" is also a solid performer for the Alphabet network ($328,000), while "Grey's Anatomy" now relocated to Thursday nights pulls in about $344,000 per spot, which is quite a good deal since it managed to pompously beat the more expensive "CSI" in the ratings last week ($347,000).

Speaking of CBS, its reality powerhouse "Survivor" still brings in $296,000 despite all controversy and some of the advertisers pulling out this year.

NBC will be earning most of their money on Sunday nights through January with the football line-up ($342,000). ER is still a cash cow pulling in $282,000, yet considerably down from their 2003 $405,000 price tag. Ditto for Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" starting next January. The contest is down about 50% to $168,000.

Networks have also been able to command higher rates for some of the new shows simply based on their strong lead-ins or overall buzz: ABC's Sunday night drama "Brothers and Sisters" ($242,000) or NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" ($210,000) come to mind, for instance. "Ugly Betty" on ABC was originally scheduled for Fridays. Now, the network has shifted the comedy to Thursday nights making its price tag of $93,000 a bargain.

The CW's most expensive show is America's Next Top Model ($135,000). Last year's buzzworthy "Everybody Hates Chris" cost $140,000 per 30 seconds on UPN. It will now go for only $82,000, a more reasonable price given the show's actual ratings.

'HOUSEWIVES' WINS THE NIGHT

"Desperate Housewives" was back for a third season Sunday night helping ABC win the night. Although the drama was off about 23% from last year's premiere, it was on a par with numbers it posted in May (almost 24 mil viewers) providing a strong lead-in for some decent sampling of the new Calista Flockhart series "Brothers and Sisters" (16,10 mil viewers), which did however lose some steam in the second half hour. CBS finished fourth as the combination of "Housewives" on ABC, football on NBC and cartoons on FOX proved too hard to beat.

Elsewhere this weekend, CBS won Friday night and its 9pm drama "Close To Home" was the most-watched program of the evening with about 12 mil viewers. Law & Order did quite well in its new timeslot. The biggest loser was FOX with its weak combo of reality shows.

College Football on ABC won Saturday night with over 7 mil viewers.

WISTERIA LANE
JUICYLICIOUS AGAIN

ABC is bringing back "Desperate Housewives" for a third season tonight ("Listen To The Rain On The Roof" at 9/8c) and the word is out that the Marc Cherry-penned dramedy is back to being funny, sexy and wicked.

Following its inaugural season when critics praised Mr. Cherry for reinventing scripted drama and coming up with a fresh and original way of storytelling , ABC's hit show was heavily criticized all second season long, both on the part of viewers and critics.

Everyone detested the new Applewhite mystery, lost interest in the old Mary-Alice plot and missed seeing the housewives hanging out together and their lives and storylines twist together. The show was accused of becoming campy soap, the genre it had successfully parodied back in the brilliant season one.

Although seeing all season two episodes back-to-back on DVD may prove the show had not gone off course as much as some claimed it had, the new episodes written by Mr. Cherry himself as well as "Frasier" and "Will and Grace" veterans, clearly show the writers had listened to all the criticism and they have come up with a new, improved and a more focused show.

The viewers will no longer have a feeling that the four leads are starring each in their own show. The new mystery will not involve any new neighbors, but rather touch upon the lives of the characters we all love and know. And there will be plenty of humor.

The only thing missing is the only thing that may never return to Wisteria Lane. Novelty. Obviously, "Desperate Housewives" will never be as fresh and revolutionary as they had once been. Still... Although they can no longer surprise you, they will sure make you smile again.

'LOST' TRAILERS PROMISE
A SENSATIONAL SEASON PREMIERE

The third season of ABC's hit mystery series "Lost" is set to premiere on Wednesday, October 4 at 9/8c. All month long the network has been building momentum towards the event that Lost fans across the country have been waiting for for over four months. The first promo in early September featured the creepy voiceover of the leader of "Others", a man known to audiences as Henrly Gale.

"Without warning they fell from the sky... They stood together, fought together, endured together... They're free from their world, free from their past... They finally have a chance to discover who they really are... And what could be more terrifying... than that?", asked Henry looking at the camera in a close-up shot standing among Jack, Kate and Sawyer in the middle of the jungle.

Additional clips and promos have revealed all three core characters being pursued and imprisoned and Jack trying to free himself from what appears to be yet-another underground hatch only to open the door and shocked, let an enormous amount of water inside his prison.

The campaign's slogan is "Plan Your Escape".

ABC is repeating the second season finale on Monday night, followed by a Lost special on Wednesday.

FOX RELEASES NEW 'O.C.' PROMO IMAGES

FOX has released new promo images for the fourth season of their hit-drama "The O.C.".

The program that has struggled to maintain audiences on Thursday nights following their red-hot first season, ended last season with a bang - one of the four central characters, Mischa Barton's Marissa was killed off in a car crash.

Now, Willa Holland who plays her younger sister Kaitlin and last year's breakout star Autumn Reeser who plays the conniving Taylor are joining the show for what could be its very last season.

In an apparent lack of confidence, FOX has ordered only 16 episodes for the upcoming fourth season and pushed back the season premiere date to Thursday, November 2 (9/8c).

HEATHER LOCKLEAR
BACK ON TELEVISION

TV superstar, Heather Locklear, who rose to fame in the early 80s on prime time hits "TJ Hooker" and "Dynasty" is coming back to television in early 2007 in "Angels Fall", the third in a series of four adaptations of Nora Roberts' best-selling romance suspense novels.

The original movie will be broadcast along with the other three back-to-back on Monday nights in February on the cable network Lifetime. Locklear will star as a chef trying to come to terms with the shooting spree in her Boston restaurant that left her as a sole survivor. She moves to Angel's Fist, Wyo. trying to put her life back together only to witness yet another murder and become the killer's next target.

The role that propelled Heather Locklear to international superstardom was playing vixen Amanda Woodward on FOX's campy soap-opera "Melrose Place" in the 1990s. Since then she has appeared in a number of high-profiled TV series ("Spin City", "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Legal").

THE CW STRUGGLES TO SUCCEED

On Wednesday night Tyra Banks and the girls of "America's Next Top Model" officially launched The CW, a new network in the US created by CBS and Warner Bros. whose former ventures The WB and UPN created enormous losses and merged to establish a new and hopefully stronger player on the TV market.

The CW will be available in 93% of the country, but in many local markets, viewers will be confused. Some of the CW affiliates today belonged to UPN in the past, some to The WB and some to neither network. That means your favorite WB show might now be seen on a former UPN affiliate. Or not. Or vice versa. Or neither.

For this reason, the new network's strategy was clear - take the most popular shows of the two now-defunct networks and create a new powerful prime time line-up filled with familiar faces, add only a couple of new shows and spend the marketing budget promoting the network, not its programming. That may have saved tens of millions of dollars.

The merger was not painless. The two networks employed about 500 people and as many as half of them lost their jobs. The new workforce, however, is an even mix of employees from both The WB and UPN. and they will be moving to CW's new headquarters in Burbank.

In the course of their 11-year existence, the two networks lost $2 billion as they battled each other for their share of the 18-34 audience that they were after with their youth-oriented programming.

The highest rated show on The WB's schedule "7th Heaven", for example, lost $16 million last season alone. But, it is the signature drama that can drive audience to the new network and with a smaller cast who agreed to pay cuts, it will be back for at least 13 new episodes this season.

The programming budget of the new network is about $500 million and the CW's sales team managed to sell 85% of the network's advertising inventory for as much as $640 million. That means the new network is on a good way to do what CBS CEO Leslie Moonves told them to do - make money.

If the network manages to eclipse the 3 million viewers that the former networks used to pull in on average they may well be on to something. For the time being, Tyra and the girls are doing just fine - the first installment of "America Next Top Model" surpassed last year's season opener on UPN by 10%.

CTV IN CANADA AIRS
WRONG "GREY'S" EPISODE

Due to what Canadian network CTV called a "satellite feed error at the source", the fans of the red-hot medical drama in Canada got to see the second episode of the third season instead of the highly anticipated season premiere episode.

CTV issued an apology to the fans of the show today blaming ABC for the mix-up. "As fans of this show ourselves, we understand fully the disappointment and frustration that this has caused", the embarrassed network said in the statement.

The error caused a lot of confusion and fury among the fans north of the border. CTV has promised to air the right episode next week. ABC will in the meantime repeat the season premiere that proved to be a ratings juggernaut. The rerun airs tonight at 8/7c on ABC.

The episode will also be available via ABC broadband video player as of midnight ET.

GREY'S BEATS CSI
Ratings for Thursday,
September 21, 2006

The battle of the broadcast networks has just gotten juicier - ABC's hot medical drama Grey's Anatomy has dethroned CSI as the highest rated show on Thursday night and it may well become the #1 show on television this season.

Although CBS still managed to be the most watched network of the night, CSI was down over 7 million viewers in comparison to its season premiere last year. Grey's Anatomy, on the other hand, grew by over 6 million viewers. As a result, Grey's Anatomy beat CSI by 3 million viewers (25,14 mil vs. 22,04 mil). The medical drama was also stronger in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo.

New dramas Shark on CBS and Six Degrees on ABC posted decent opening numbers (14,95 mil and 13,34 mil viewers, respectively), but the old favorite ER on NBC, which entered its 13th season, beat both freshman dramas with 15,58 mil viewers.

NBC's line-up of two comedies and a game show averaged about 10 mil viewers, giving the network a decent third place. FOX was almost invisible with its comedy and reality programming (Celebrity Duets at 9pm - 3,29 mil viewers). The CW aired repeats of Smallville and Supernatural finishing fifth.

GREY'S vs. CSI:
THE BATTLE IS ON!

Perhaps the most crucial battle on US network television will take place tonight as ABC crosses claws with CBS in the very first showdown between their hit dramas "Grey's Anatomy" and "C.S.I. - Crime Scene Investigation".

Since 2000, CBS has ruled the 9pm timeslot on Thursday nights, which has traditionally always been the most lucrative night of programming, as movie studios tend to pump huge chunks of their marketing budgets into advertising on the night.

NBC, whose Must-See TV line-up ruled the night for many years lost ground, when its mega-hits "Seinfeld", "Friends" and "Frasier" ended and it was unable to develop any hit replacements past short-term fixes (the first couple of seasons of "The Apprentice").

Last year, the Shonda Rhimes-penned medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" became a breakout smash-hit for ABC and the network quickly realized (following several test-reruns) that it has a true potential to compete with thus far unbreakable CSI on CBS.

While many TV ratings analysts believe Grey's Anatomy won't be able to dominate the ratings in overall viewers and households, it will undoubtedly put a dent in the CSI figures, as well as come out on top in the 18-49 demo, the one that matters to advertisers the most.

So, let the battle begin. Tune into your favorite show tonight at 9/8c!

CRIME PAYS OFF FOR CBS
Ratings for Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Wednesday night belonged to CBS whose new drama "Jericho" launched at 8pm with promising numbers (11,4 mil viewers) followed by "Criminal Minds" and "CSI:NY". Both dramas were seen by over 15 mil viewers.

"Dancing with the Stars" opened the night for ABC on a winning note (14,89 mil viewers) followed by excellent numbers for a "Grey's Anatomy" rerun (12,76 mil viewers).

NBC was the third with a disappointing performance for its reality contest "The Biggest Loser" (7,17 mil viewers) followed by poor sampling for its new drama "Kidnapped" (7,53 mil), which is very similar to what FOX's "Vanished" (also an abduction mystery) posted two nights earlier.

FOX's combo of "Bones" and "Justice" did not perform very well (6,58 and 5,66 mil respectively), but the new network The CW had plenty to smile about on its first official night of programming - "America's Next Top Model" went up over last year's UPN premiere by 10%.

DESPERATE CASTING

Oscar-nominated actress Kathleen York has landed a recurring role on "Desperate Housewives" this fall as a beautiful redheaded mystery woman, Monique. York, whose previous credits include guest starring roles on The West Wing and The O.C. was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing the song "In the Deep" from the Oscar-winning movie "Crash".

Matt Roth has also landed a recurring role on the Touchstone TV show as a new neighbor on Wisteria Lane who buys the house where Paul and Mary-Alice Young used to live. He befriends Lynette Scavo after becoming a hero in a tense situation. Roth's previous credits include "Grey's Anatomy", "Frasier" and "Melrose Place". His wife Laurie Metcalf has also been cast for a recurring role, but the two will not be sharing screen time together.

The hit dramedy returns this Sunday at 9/8c on ABC.

NBC TO CENSOR MADONNA?

Although NBC had previously agreed to go along with Madonna's wish that mock crucifixion remain a part of her upcoming November sweeps concert special, the network now says it has yet to approve the airing of the stunt.

The 48-year old entertainer was singing this summer suspended on a giant cross wearing a crown of thorns as part of her "Confessions on the Dance Floor" tour. Church leaders in Rome and Moscow had blasted the show as blasphemous.

NBC now claims it is waiting for delivery of the footage before it makes the final decision.

The network has not set the exact airdate yet.

BOONE IS BACK ON LOST

Ian Somerhalder is returning to Lost.

The actor who stars in a new mini-series "Marco Polo" in which he plays the famous explorer is scheduled to re-appear on Lost on the October 11 episode entitled "Further Instructions".

Although being killed off in late season one, Somerhalder was back on "Lost" last season in a flashback sequence about his sister Shannon (Maggie Grace).

After Shannon was killed off herself, some fans had given up on hope of seeing Somerhalder back on the show. Now it seems he may be linked to another character.

The second episode of the third season will focus on what happened to Locke, Desmond and Eko following the explosion at the hatch.

The season premiere episode which airs a week earlier focuses on the fate of Jack, Kate and Sawyer and gives the viewers more insight into the mysterious Others.

EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS

The second season premiere of Chris Rock-inspired sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris" premieres on Sunday, October 1 on The CW with a very special guest star Whoopi Goldberg as Chris' new neighbor.

Now, the word is out "Celebrity Duets" host Wayne Brady will also make an appearance later this season, on the Thanksgiving episode, playing Chris' uncle - Julius' successful brother.

The show that aired last season on UPN, will be kicking off a night of sitcom programming on The CW at an earlier time of 7/6c.

THE UNSTOPPABLE DANCE
Ratings for Tuesday,
September 19, 2006

Howie Mandel could not stop yet another winning edition of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" that made the Alphabet network the winner of the second night of the new TV season. It was the highest rated program of the evening with 18,07 mil viewers.

"Deal Or No Deal" dropped quite a bit on its second night, posting 7.1/11 with 10,69 mil viewers. Still, NBC managed to improve its performance every hour with two editions of the Law & Order franchise (11,58 and 14,37 mil viewers respectively).

The CBS line-up achieved solid, yet hardly spectacular results. The series premiere of "Smith" was seen by over 10 mil viewers.

Finally, despite a strong lead-in in "House", "Standoff" continued to drop in the ratings. The drama sank to series-low 7,91 mil viewers.

TORI SPELLING ON SMALLVILLE,
AQUAMAN RETURNS

Tori Spelling was cast on "Smallville" as Daily Planet gossip columnist who can turn herself into water. The 'villain of the week' appearance is scheduled for early January.

That same month "Smallvile" will tap into the Justice League territory bringing together Green Arrow, Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman.

Justin Hartley who played Aquaman in the pilot CW chose not to pick will star as Green Arrow on the series this fall.

Former American Idol contestant Alan Richman who played Aquaman on "Smallville" last season will be back in the role.

The CW drama opens its sixth season on September 28 at 8/7c.

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ABC TO MATT FOX:
KEEP YOUR TRUNKS ON!

The producers of ABC hit drama Lost are promising the sexiest season ever, but they banned their male stars from skinny-dipping in the Pacific.

Matthew Fox and his colleagues have spoken publicly about their love for taking clothes off and swimming nude. But the showrunners are worried that paparazzi may take some inappropriate photos that may damage the actors' image so they ordered them to keep their clothes on.

In related news, the Season 2 of "Lost" has just topped the DVD sales chart in America. Season 3 premieres on October 4 at 9/8c on ABC.



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NETWORKS GREENLIGHT PILOTS

The broadcast networks have not even premiered all of their new series this fall and they are already greenlighting pilots for the 2007-08 television season.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has two projects in development - a crime drama "Bait" at FOX as well as a new medical drama over at ABC.

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker and CBS are developing a new procedural drama "The Man" starring LL Cool J. The series will also combine elements of character-driven drama, as it focuses on the private life of a cop in a serialized format.

ABC is also developing a new contest series "The Imposter" looking for the best celebrity impersonator. The series will premiere in the summer of 2007.

Meanwhile Scrubs writers and American Pie filmmakers are bringing a new sitcom to NBC, an interracial family comedy, which is being compared to The Brady Bunch.

A GOOD DEAL FOR NBC
Ratings for Monday,
September 18, 2006

A special two-hour season opener of "Deal Or No Deal" scored big for NBC last night winning both time slots (the game show actually improved in the second hour from 8.9/14 to 10.2/15) with 15,61 mil viewers overall.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip then opened with solid 13,39 mil viewers, although behind the #1 show of the evening - CSI: Miami on CBS (17,21 mil viewers). The forensic drama did however lose over two million viewers in comparison with its 2005 season premiere.

The CBS comedy line-up was the close second posting its average levels, with the new comedy "The Class" kicking things off at 8pm with over 10 mil viewers.

Prison Break remained competitive despite stronger competition (9,43 mil), but FOX's other drama "Vanished" finished in the fourth place with 7,45 mil viewers.

Gone are the days of Monday Night Football on ABC where its reality line-up lost some considerable steam.