Here's another bit of evidence that quality often has no bearing on ratings in network television.
The two most successful midseason replacement series this year are the dreadful comedy "3rd Rock from the Sun" and the rehash action/drama "Nash Bridges."However, remember that success is relative. And this has been a relatively unsuccessful year for midseason replacements.
Which is sort of fitting. This hasn't been a particularly successful season for the networks overall. The flops have outnumbered the hits by more than usual.
"Bridges," in particular, has yet to become a hit - it still runs a fairly distant second to "20/20" on Fridays at 9 p.m. and is only tied for 57th overall. But it's doing much better than either "American Gothic" or "Picket Fences" did earlier this season in the time slot, it's doing better than the show that precedes it on CBS ("Diagnosis Murder"), and it's consistently beating NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Streets."
So, relatively speaking, it's a success for CBS.
"3rd Rock," on the other hand, can be classified an out-and-out hit. It's currently ranked No. 15 for the season to date, and this weeks it moves up on NBC's Tuesday schedule from 7:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. to take advantage of those strong numbers.
The biggest hit of the midseason is NBC's "Boston Common" - headlined by the highly likable Anthony Clark - which benefits mightily from being placed between No. 3-rated "Friends" and No. 2 "Seinfeld" on Thursday nights. But the most impressive thing about "Boston" is that it's doing slightly better in the ratings than the show it replaced, "The Single Guy," so it's a sure bet to return.
(Reportedly, NBC has decided not to cancel "Single Guy" but will instead move it to a new night this fall - or possibly sooner. There, without the support of the two blockbusters that surrounded it, the show may suffer the fate its mediocrity deserves.)
But, crummy shows or not, both are guaranteed to return in the fall. But most of their midseason cohorts will not be with us much longer. Here's a network-by-network look at how all those replacement shows have fared:
ABC: To give you some idea of how poorly ABC is faring this season with new shows, its highest-ranking midseason entry - "Champs" at No. 23 - has already been shelved. (It was losing way too much audience from its lead-in, "Home Improvement.")
Oddly enough, the program that replaced "Champs" - "The Dana Carvey Show" - might survive, even though it's doing slightly worse in the time period. (It currently ranks 24th for the season to date.)
But "Carvey" has the advantage of being produced by Brillstein-Grey, a company that ABC has a joint venture with - so ABC has a financial interest in keeping the show alive.
ABC also has a deal with Jim Henson Productions, which may help "Muppets Tonight!" (No. 71) get another chance. (ABC has already said it will give the show an earlier time slot.)
Elsewhere on ABC, don't expect to see No. 57 "The Faculty," No. 66 "Buddies," No. 73 "High Incident," No. 81 "Before They Were Stars" or No. 81 (tie) "Aliens in the Family" on the networks's fall schedule.
(There is a slight chance, however, that ABC may hang on to "High Incident" so as to mollify DreamWorks SKG - which also produced "Champs.")
And, speaking of ratings being relative, "The Faculty" is pretty much a sure goner despite the fact that it's tied in the ratings with "Nash Bridges" for the season to date.
There's also a chance that ABC will keep No. 79 "Second Noah," which is attractive to advertisers because of its family themes. And don't be surprised to see No. 73 "World's Funniest Home Videos" return - it's cheap to produce and it's filling space opposite "Friends."
CBS: Other than "Nash Bridges," the third-rated network doesn't have a lot to be happy about this midseason.
Both No. 48 "High Society" and No. 68 "Good Company" did worse on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. than No. 37 "If Not for You," the canceled show they replaced. (And, reportedly, the time slot has been promised to Ted Danson in the fall.)
And "Good Company" is one of several shows - including No. 90 "The Louie Show," No. 92 "Matt Waters," and No. 128 "My Guys" - which were yanked off the air before all the episodes they completed were broadcast. Don't expect to see any of them return.
NBC: The top-rated network has the least reasons to make changes and the most success. As mentioned earlier, both "3rd Rock from the Sun" and "Boston Common" are sure to get renewed.
As for No. 130 "Malibu Shores," if TV were fair, it would it sink swiftly, never to return. But NBC - struggling mightily on Saturday nights - might figure it can't do any better.
Fox: Another network seeing little success. No. 129 "The Show" and No. 134 "Local Heroes are sure goners. And No. 132 "Kindred: The Embraced" is nearly certain to be sent to an early grave as well.
"Profit" isn't doing much in terms of ratings yet, but critical praise might give the show at least a slight chance of survival.
UPN: Speaking of ratings being relative, when you're a fledgling network even tiny numbers can look good.
Which explains why, for UPN, No. 144 "Moesha" is a success - and it's already been picked up for next season.
As for the rest of UPN's revamped lineup, No. 145 "The Sentinel" may be back, No. 151 "Minor Adjustments" is iffy (it loses 26 percent of "Moesha's" modest audience), and the betting is against No. 152 "Swift Justice" and No. 157 "Paranormal Borderline."
The WB: Speaking of success being relative, the WB has already renewed No. 146 "Savannah."
(And, actually, if you like prime-time soap operas, this is the best one on the air at the moment. It puts "Melrose Place" to shame.)