TV Top Ten - Week of October 13, 2008

published: 2008-10-23 01:44:11

Monday Night Football has dominated the cable television market since the regular season started, but last week's tense competition between the Red Sox and the Rays in the American League pennant race snuck in and drew the biggest audience.

Games four and seven of the series bookended the cable top ten with games five and six earning increasingly larger audiences as the match up progressed. This week MNF will have to get used to being nudged out as the World Series turns all eyes and dials to ESPN in Philadephia and Tampa Bay.

Dancing With The Stars played second fiddle to CSI again last week. With the impending departure of the William Petersen from his lead role as Grissom the crime investigation show is enjoying an extra boost. They'll have to enjoy it while they can. Like so many dramas before, there's a good chance the show will slip out of the top running when the major characters start sliding from the line-up.

The Mentalist returned from its Presidential Debate induced hiatus with only a slight dip in viewership. It's still too early to tell if audiences enjoy the writing or if they're just disarmed by Simon Baker's dashing smile. Maybe they've just discovered a great new drinking game. Everytime Baker's accent slips back to his Aussie roots, take a drink. Anytime he's not wearing a vest, take two.

NBC continued its no-show status in the top ten. The much hyped Crusoe floundered in its less-than-coveted Friday night spot, failing to make even the lowest spot in the top ten. If you missed it, you didn't miss much. Think Pirates of the Carribean with less special effects and a Friday that spends more time running across the screen than Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 3.