TV Top Ten - Death to Dancing With The Stars

Thank goodness it's finally over! If you don't know what I'm talking about you're either ignorant (which is bliss) or you don't agree (which is ignorance). ABC's Dancing With The Stars finally concluded, going out with something of a ratings bang that completely dominated the competition.

Now we can relax for a couple of weeks until Fox begins spewing forth the other absurdly popular reality competition, American Idol. I saw an ad for the series last week where Simon Cowell once again exclaims that he's getting sick of doing this. So why does he keep going? One reason: the money.

And why does he get so much money? The same reason as Dancing With The Stars makes the big dough. Because people actually watch the show, which means big ratings which means big bucks from advertisers. Meanwhile far more interesting, thoughtful, and entertaining TV shows like, say...oh, I don't know...Pushing Daisies...get canned by the networks.

In case you haven't guessed by now, I'm more than a little miffed about that show, and other solid pieces of TV entertainment, getting the ax while unscripted crap (yes, I say it's crap) like Dancing and Idol regularly roll in the ratings. Granted, it takes less viewer thought and a shorter attention span to watch actors dancing than it does to watch actors actually acting, but if there's one thing we really don't need it's entertainment that actually makes us dumber.

Granted, good shows take time to catch on. Look at Law and Order. It got dismal ratings for like its first four seasons. But NBC stuck by it and now it's one of televisions longest running and most successful franchises. However, thanks to you America, networks no longer have that kind of profitable patience. Why invest for the long haul in an inspiring series that has serious potential when they can get twice as many of you to tune in to see Cloris Leachman pretending she's not too old to Samba?

I'm too torqued off to offer any more commentary on the rest of last week's top ten performing shows, broadcast or cable, and the frequency of Spongebob's name on the chart isn't helping matters. Check out the charts below for the full scoop.

RANK PROGRAM NETWORK RATING VIEWERS

BROADCAST TELEVISION

1. DANCING W/STARS RESULTS - [ABC] 12.9 20.647

2. DANCING WITH THE STARS - [ABC] 12.8 21.095

3. 60 MINUTES - [CBS] 11.4 18.642

4. NCIS - [CBS] 11.1 18.118

5. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - [ABC] 9.9 15.814

6. MENTALIST, THE - [CBS] 9.7 15.925

7. NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL - [NBC] 9.6 15.921

8. CSI: MIAMI - [CBS] 9.2 14.333

9. TWO AND A HALF MEN - [CBS] 9 14.95

10. CRIMINAL MINDS - [CBS] 8.6 14.108

CABLE TELEVISION

1. NFL REGULAR SEASON L (PACKERS/SAINTS) - [ESPN] 7.4 11.38

2. COLL FTBALL-THUR NIGHT L (TEXAS A&M/TEXAS) - [ESPN] 3 5.568

3. WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) - [USA] 2.9 5.047

4. WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) - [USA] 2.7 4.705

4. SPONGEBOB - [NICK] 2.7 4.444

4. NCIS - [USA] 2.7 4.166

4. SPONGEBOB - [NICK] 2.7 4.481

8. SUNDAY MOVIE II (HOME BY CHRISTMAS) - [LIF] 2.6 3.874

8. NCIS - [USA] 2.6 3.958

8. BRITNEY: FOR THE RECORD - [MTV] 2.6 3.765

8. SPONGEBOB - [NICK] 2.6 4.104

8. SPONGEBOB - [NICK] 2.6 4.182

8. HALLMARK MOVIE (MOONLIGHT & MISTLETOE) - [HALL] 2.6 4.02