Philip Seymour Hoffman, now ridiculously,  shockingly dead at 46, had two films at Sundance this year, and as will always happen, the way one thinks of those movies changes in the light of this awful event. Neither film, the John LeCarre adaptation A MOST WANTED MAN or John Slattery’s feature directing debut GOD’S POCKET, […]

  A good night for some veteran shows. CBS:  UNDERCOVER BOSS started things off nicely, up 0.1 to 1.7, and the momentum continued, as HAWAII 5-0 and BLUE BLOODS both rose 0.2, to 1.7 and 1.6 respectively. ABC:  LAST MAN STANDING tied its best outing of the season,  up 0.1 to 1.5, and THE NEIGHBORS […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  The biggest change from this morning was a 0.2 drop for THE MILLERS (probably because it started at 8:31PM and had been credited with a tinge of the BIG BANG THEORY viewership).  That, along with a 0.1 bump for AMERICAN IDOL at least moved IDOL farther away from MILLERS territory.  BIG BANG […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  Both CW shows edged up 0.1 in final numbers, giving ARROW a 1.1 and THE TOMORROW PEOPLE a healthy (for it) 0.7.  SVU also climbed 0.1 to 2.0, the first time it’s hit that mark in a while. WEDNESDAY CABLE:  Although DUCK DYNASTY (A&E) took the night’s honors with 3.0 (higher than […]

  FOX has announced the Season 10 renewal of BONES, which isn’t a major surprise, considering that the show has been a reliable performer for the network wherever it’s been scheduled–most recently in the netherworld of Friday nights.  (The only thing that could have kept Bones from a renewal was the cost associated with talent […]

  Not much to say about a night mostly occupied by the State of the Union Address. CW:  As the only network TV series airing against coverage of the President’s speech, SUPERNATURAL got a 0.1 boost to 1.2, even with its season high.  THE ORIGINALS, which faced more normal competition, was down 0.1 to 1.0. […]

Tuesday fast national ratings with relevant comparisons:

  Viewers really wanted to see the Mother‘s side of the story. CBS:  The 200th episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, told from the Mother character’s point of view, leaped 0.7 to a season high 3.8, and seemed to perk up the network’s entire line-up.  (CBS is so going to miss Mother next fall.) […]