TV ratings: 'The Mentalist,' 'Grey's Anatomy' lead Thursday

CSI is continuing its slip in the rating, with the mechinist now over rating it. Grey is holding up great in the demo as is PP and flash Forward. Quell Horreur, did NBC even have programing on, sad what is happing to that network, showing mostly reality programing and versions of law and order.

Last night's ratings prove why NBC put such faith in Jay Leno. He is rolling over the competition. I think The Mentalist on CBS has run its course, despite what the street teamers may want to tell you. It's time to dump that dead weight and move on to something more substantial that may win the timeslot.

I have been pointing out a few times that at this point, the pool of people not watching the networks at all at any given time is so huge that network competition is a secondary consideration in attracting viewers.

The Mentalist actually beat CSI in ratings and equaled it in viewers and does look like it will be Thursday's #1 show when all is said and done.

NBC's comedy lineup did as poorly as ever. Apparently, there is a limit to how many shows NBC can sustain by pure PR hype on Thursday.

Now someone explain to me again why NBC canceled Trauma but is keeping Parks and Recreations, Community and 30Rock in production...

NBC needs a complete overhaul but Jeff Zucker's team still play to pretend everything's OK and not to win. :(

At ABC, FlashForward keeps disappointing.

The Office is only shining because it is in the midst of other shows that are failing more than it is.

As for Vampire Diaries, I am afraid you are right that it is a new Buffy, but I mean it in a different way: ie. as a show that isn't getting the ratings but will be hyped as if it did.

I'm not surprised. Last night's episode is the very reason why I follow Mentalist.

Being easily manipulated by someone is nearly as worse as being lied to, and Patrick Jane is a true master of this art.

Anyone can see now that the minute he planted the bug, a few episodes before, the entire "getting caught spying" was nothing less than a farce, a long game (i.e. chess move) to get at what was between Lisbon and her ex-partner.

That's why this series is so entertaining to me, watching this character's own view of the world that flirts between concepts like 'good' and 'evil' with such ease -- all for a purpose, to avenge himself on Red Jack.

IMHO, Bruno Heller has given TV a character that will become a classic in years to come.

The ratings don't matter. It's all PR hype.

Now, I KNOW that the networks all use the same metrics to determine what shows to keep, but they are all wrong, and I am right. They may THINK that they are making money, but I know they aren't. I don't work for any network, but I know better than they do about these things.

To the "idjit" at Fox who decided it would be a good move to move Fringe to an over-crowded Thursday night - how's that working out for you!

I find it funny when someone calls someone an "idiot" but misspells idiot...Plus I think 5 million is a result of Fox not knowing for sure whether they was airing baseball or Fringe until late Wed. night. They normally average about 7-8 million which as long as its good enough ratings to get renewed thats all that matters.

Viewrs knew Bones was on. Fridge is just stupid and not smart like V and FlashForward. Should get cencelled soon. Boring show.

Once again, this is my first post of the day. :)

@Kathy: It really doesn't matter IMO where Fringe went. It was not a hit last year, and still isn't.

FOX executives felt the need to claim it was a hit and programmed it so it'd benefit from American Idol's protection, but it was clear that audiences hadn't bought into it.

Speaking of buying into it, Flash Forward is dipping (almost?) every week and is now officially yet another disappointment for ABC. Look for V to join it shortly.

As usual, there was no tie and no splitting of the results.

CBS won by a convincing margin. ABC came in second.

If, like me, you read the trade papers, you'll know that ABC is desperate to make its Fall schedule look like a winner. It's not. And journalists are not doing ABC any favors by trying to help the spin.

ABC made the right move by introducing many new shows. It needs to keep it up. It also needs to change the way it picks shows as none of their new shows have hit in spite of all the hype lathered on Modern Family and its modest ratings.

In the Crystal Ball category, score one for the Ball. ;) The Mentalist has risen to the #1 show on Thursday (although it took a bit longer than anticipated).

It will never get reported in the press, but NBC's Thursday is a veritable disaster area, with low-rated The Office leading a pack of non-performers which are helping unseat Thursday from its lofty perch as the most-watched might of television.

Anyone at NBC remember when ER, Friends and Frasier ruled the roost? It cold happen again... if someone different were picking the shows.

At CW pseudo-hit Vampire Diaries still came in 5th, but given how much worse everything else is at CE, look for the press to talk of it as if it weren't beat by the dismal Parks and Recreation (and there is a great example of poorly analyzed context).