Seriously? OMG! WTF?

CBS and Fox opened the week on another shared leadership note, with repeats on the Eye net finishing first overall in the overnights and total viewers, and week two of original Fox dramas Prison Break and Vanished No. 1 among key adults 18-49. The positive news for Vanished remained solid retention (in the overnights and total viewers) out of sleeper Prison Break. Comparatively, and based on the final nationals, Prison Break opened season two with 9.37 million viewers and a 3.7/12 among adults 18-49 on Monday, Aug. 21. Lead-out Vanished kicked-off with 8.65 million viewers and a 3.0/ 8 among adults 18-49. Based on last night’s similar results, Fox should be satisfied. (Keep in mind, of course, that the competition was predominantly repeats). The only thing that could be concerning, however, was a decline in the second half of Vanished of 430,000 viewers (8.75 to 8.32 million) and 9 percent among adults 18-49 (3.2/ 8 to 2.9/ 7) at 9:30 p.m.

Marc Berman 

I am starting to get used to this show now. But what bothers me (and with Gale Harold being an Atlanta native) is there is nothing geographically correct about Vanished’s Atlanta. There are no tunnels in the city, Buckhead has mansions but not like the type the Senator has, the only underground city is under water and the FBI building is in downtown Atlanta where there are no brownstones. Also what kills me is Rebecca Gayheart looks like no reporter at CNN that I have ever seen and she pronounces the cities wrong. Maybe it is just me, but I try to keep it somewhat real.

The show:Vanished
The premiere: Aug. 21, 9 p.m. ET/PT, Fox
The concept: A U.S. senator’s wife (Joanne Kelly) disappears. The mystery deepens as FBI agents investigate her kidnapping.
The challenge: Attracting viewers in a large competitive field.
Vanished taps into numerous serialized elements: the clock-ticking rescue effort of a 24, the turbulent character drama of Prison Break and a shadowy mystery à la Lost.
TV GAMBLES ON MORE SERIALS: Can viewers handle more?
The urgent abduction case is assigned to a brilliant but brittle FBI agent (Gale Harold) and his partner (Ming-Na). Early clues lead to more puzzles, along with a testy standoff between the senator (John Allen Nelson) and the agent. Beyond personality conflicts, there’s personal baggage. The agent, for example, has a young daughter and is still troubled after a kidnapped boy died before his eyes. "That’s going to stick in his heart and mind and eventually cloud his perspective," Harold says.The investigation quickly taps into odd elements, such as a murder victim tattooed after death, that will lead the investigators toward a century-old conspiracy mystery. "It’s a conspiracy based in real historical events," says executive producer Josh Berman. "If viewers type (clues) into a search engine on the Internet, they will get some answers."Mimi Leder (ER, Deep Impact), an executive producer and director, says: "Some people will respond to the character-driven stuff, some will respond to the thriller aspect and some will only watch for the conspiracy. I like a combination of all three, and hopefully we’ll hit that."Scheduling, however, may give Vanished its most potent early distinction.It will have the comfort of Monday night (after Prison Break), a time when Fox has become known for serialized thrillers.

USA Today
The pilot did not grab me, but I wish Gale Harold would "grab me"! LOL! Anyone who watched Queer As Folk understands his hotness, so I hope now a new audience will see what we saw on QAF. Message to Fox topless scenes with him are very important for ratings!

Monday, Aug. 21
8:00 p.m. Prison Break (season premiere)
9:00 p.m. Vanished (premiere)

Wednesday, Aug. 30
8:00 p.m. Bones (season premiere)
9:00 p.m. Justice (premiere)

Thursday, Aug. 31
8:00 p.m. Duets (series premiere, two hours)

Tuesday, Sept. 5
8:00 p.m. Standoff (premiere)
9:00 p.m. House (season premiere)

Thursday, Sept. 7
8:00 p.m. ‘Til Death (premiere)
8:30 p.m. Happy Hour (premiere)

Friday, Sept. 8
8:00 p.m. Nanny 911 (season premiere)
9:00 p.m. Duets Results Show (premiere)

Saturday, Sept. 9
8:00 p.m. Cops (season premiere)
9:00 p.m. America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back (season premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 10
8:00 p.m. The Simpsons (season premiere)
8:30 p.m. American Dad (season premiere)
9:00 p.m. Family Guy (season premiere)
9:30 p.m. The War at Home (season premiere)

Friday, Oct. 6
9:00 p.m. Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (season premiere)

Programming Insider

Gale Harold is back on TV and I am happy girl! The show stinks, but he is in it so I will be watching. I hope we get a lot of topless scenes of him like we did on QAF. I mean don’t FBI Agents go around topless?  

Fox’s new hostage-negotiator drama "Standoff" will debut September 5 in the coveted spot behind the network’s top drama, "House." For the first four weeks of its run, before Fox’s Tuesday lineup goes on hiatus to make room for postseason baseball coverage, "Standoff" will swap time slots with "House," airing at 9 p.m. instead of the previously announced 8 p.m. berth. Fox has been double-pumping repeats of "House" at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesdays this summer."We think that no matter if ‘House’ is on at 8 or 9 p.m., the audience will be there for the show," said Preston Beckman, Fox’s executive vp strategic program planning. "We love the ‘Standoff’ pilot, and we think this is going to be a great night of television."Given the fact that neither "Standoff" nor "House" are heavily serialized, Beckman doesn’t expect any detrimental effect on the shows from the pre-emption.

Hollywood Reporter 

This is the second the show that the networks have moved back to their original timeslots. Smart moves!

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