Wanda Sykes Out Late Night Boys Club

Joan Rivers has always told it like it is. When I asked her last press tour about Wanda Sykes' chances of cracking the late night boys club (The Wanda Sykes Show premieres Saturday night at 11 p.m. on Fox), Rivers said, "she's very rough. She just may do it."
Then Rivers--a late night survivor herself--really put it out there: "It's a lesbian club, too," said Rivers, who was at press tour to promote her own U.S. cable series, How'd You Get So Rich.) "You've got to be really strong," she continued. "Think about it--Ellen (DeGeneres), Rosie (O'Donnell)--you've got to be strong."
Rivers went on to suggest, "I could be a little that way myself."
While Sykes is probably cool with Rivers' endorsement, she told critics at her own press tour session last summer that she really prefers to think that being a good talk show host has nothing to do with gender, race or sexual orientation. "I don't know," says Sykes, who caught the late night bug several years ago working as a writer on HBO's The Chris Rock Show. "I'm a woman with a point of view, and I tend to say things that we think, but we don't say out loud. So maybe I don't think it's inappropriate. Maybe it's just honest, authentic."
Fox must think it has a hit on its hands. You don't send bobble heads out to critics unless you have high hopes, right? For more on Sykes, read my Starweek magazine cover story in Saturday's Toronto Star.

Border No Better Despite Press Push

The Border got very little bump this week from all that press about James McGowan's Afghanistan episode, drawing 443,000 viewers across the country according to BBM Canada overnight estimates. This is roughly the number of people who live in Brampton, Ont.
The big draws as always on Thursday night were Survivor Samoa on Global (3,048,000) and Grey's Anatomy on CTV (2,909,000).
CTV had a big night all around, with The Mentalist (2,198,000) and CSI (2,108,000) followed by their PPM friendly Evening supper hour newscast (1,651,000) and the CTV National News at 11 with Lloyd (1,308,000). The Vampire Diaries even cracked the million mark Thursday night, drawing 1,074,000, a shade higher than Global National at 5:30 (1,072,000).
The Border, as usual, suffered from a weak lead-in (Doc Zone, which got 367,000 Berlin Wall buffs) and being opposite that crushing Grey's Anatomy number.
It all added to another dismal outing for the new CBC National, which stood at 540,000 at 10 and 417,000 at 10:25. Other shows that did better than The National Thursday night: Jeopardy! and its teen tourney (1,021,000), The Office on Global (955,000), A channel's Fringe (740,000) and Private Practice (688,000), YTV's SpongeBob (656,000) and Family's Suite Life (611,000), Coronation Street (622,000), TSN's Montreal/Boston hockey coverage and YTV's iCarly (both 608,000), CTV's Dr. Phil (565,000), and Global's Entertainment Tonight (545,000).
Beating the second half of The National was History's Ice Road Truckers (429,000).

Dragon's on Fire as Series tops 1.8 million

Those Dragons continue to roar. The CBC venture capital series Dragon's Den (featuring Robert Herjavec, right) drew 1,820,000 Wednesday night, with about half that in the valued 25-54-year-old range. Look at how these Dragons have roared after six episodes this season (all figures BBM Canada overnight estimates):
Sept. 30 1,320,000
Oct. 7 1,479,000
Oct. 14 1,678,000
Oct. 21 1,717,000
Oct. 28 1,709,000
Nov. 4 1,820,000
Smart move, CBC, doubling up on this series and shooting season's four and five at the same time. Take it to the bank--it's only a matter of time before this sucker cracks the 2 million viewer mark.
Global's Bones still managed to edge Dragon's in the 8 p.m. slot, scoring 1,992,000 2+ and 905,000 25-54.
CTV had the night's two top ratings grabbers, Criminal Minds (2,762,000) followed by CSI: NY (2,388,000). The CTV local supper hour Evening News rang up 1,776,000 viewers while Global National at 5:30 did 1,193,000, edging CTV's National News (1,162,000).
That Yankee World Series win connected with 853,000 Sportsnet viewers. The Tudors reigned in 765,000 at 9 on CBC.
That massive Dragon's Den start to the night may have helped CBC's The National to their biggest audience since before last week's re-boot, with a standing count of 759,000. The bad news was that, at 10:25, it sat right down again to 438,000. That's a big bail out. Blame Yankee fans who switched to see Mariano Rivera pitch the last few outs?
OTHER WEDNESDAY NUMBERS: Citytv's high score was Cougar Town at 576,000. Family's high was Suite Life at 568,000, followed by YTV's SpongeBob at 561,000. TSN scored 508,000 with Calgary/Dallas hockey. History steered 407,000 toward Ice Road Truckers. Eastwick scared up 268,000 over at A. YTV original 'tween sketch series That's So Weird drew a respectable 165,000. Strombo's The Hour sank to 96,000.

This Week's Podcast: The Naked Truth

Scott pushes the "Save Local TV"/"Stop The TV Tax" button on this week's installment of TV Talk on the radio with CHML's Scott Thompson. By the end of my rant on these shameless fraud campaigns, I start sounding like Don Cherry after somebody picks on Dougie or Bobby. You can listen in here.
There are also some tales from St. John's and more on that upcoming Newfoundland-based CBC series The Republic of Doyle. It stars Allan Hawco (ZOS: Zone of Separation) and begins in January. And Scott wants to know if I'm turned on by Marge Simpson on the cover of the current issue of Playboy. Hell yes! There's also some talk about who was the hotter Flintstones MiLF, Betty or Wilma. Scott confesses to a fantasy involving the two of them together. Radio at its finest.

McGowan Reason to Watch Border Road Show

Thursday’s episode of The Border finds Maj. Mike Kessler (James McGowan) in deep trouble. The head of the Canadian border security unit heads on a hastily-arranged mission to Afghanistan and winds up getting kidnapped by the Taliban. He’s bloodied and seriously wounded and things don’t look good. (See the above photo, where he's being shown the recent PPM numbers.)
Now, have to admit, I’ve skipped a few episodes of this CBC series. Now in its third season, the hour long drama seems to have doubled its core cast, with well known Canadian actors like Tonya Lee Williams and Julie Stewart popping up in extraneous roles. And wasn’t this show supposed to be about domestic terrorism and homeland security? When did it go all International 24 on us?
The hour seems over-directed, with constantly moving, hand held cameras offering the same kind of forced tension as you find on those “Stop the TV Tax” ads. Something big is happening. We get it.
Calming everything down is McGowan’s understated performance. The hour is his showcase and he makes the most of it by lowering his voice, restricting his movements and keeping any temptation to act big in check. His quiet command allows us to believe this guy is battle tested and a savvy leader.
Also shining is Catherine Disher who, as Maggie Norton, assumes the role of second in command back home in Toronto while Kessler is held prisoner. Disher has always had a light tough and a knack for hitting the comedy mark but she is just as believable as a capable and caring squad boss, dishing orders and breaking down weasels under her command.
The scenes of war torn Afghanistan were shot north of Toronto in Caledon at the old Maple Leaf gravel pits. Kudos to the design department for pulling this off. You’d never know that it all took place within a slap shot of Eddie Shack’s donut shop.
Still, despite a good grip on realism from the actors and designers, and without totally spoiling tonight’s episode for anybody here, I only ever saw this story ending one way. It seemed as if the show went to a lot of trouble to put Kessler in a tight corner simply to show how the squad would work together to pluck him out of it. Some of that is intriguing, some of it is annoying and complicated, some of it downright cliched. Having seen this about a million times before on television, I wasn’t as involved in the action as I could or should have been.
If you’re growing impatient waiting for Jack Bauer to come back and save the free world, however, check out The Border tonight at 9 p.m. on CBC. The series could use a special episode boost, with ratings slipping below the half million mark in recent weeks.

Visitors Welcomed at CTV

V stood for victory Tuesday night as CTV rode the Vancouver lensed sci-fi remake to the top of the ratings. The ABC series beamed aboard 2,157,000 viewers, the biggest opening of any new show so far this season (topping CBC's Battle of the Blades 1.99 million opener). And while Global's reliable NCIS still won the night overall with 2,193,000 viewers, V drew more younger viewers, winning 1,133,000 to 905,000 in the 25-54-year-old demo. (All figures BBM Canada overnight estimates.)
The series also opened strong in the U.S., with around 14 million tuning in on ABC and winning its timeslot among 18-49-year-olds.
Other Tuesday winners: Dancing with the Stars results on CTV (1,843,000), The CTV Evening News (1,777,000) and NCIS: Los Angeles on Global (1,655,000). CTV's still potent Law & Order: SVU did 1,598,000. The CTV National News was up to 1,367,000. Global's Good Wife earned 1,279,000, followed by Global National at 5:30 with 1,236,000. CBC's top show on the night was Jeopardy!, with the Teen Tourney pulling in 1,021,000.
Tuesday's Rick Mercer Report made 927,000. Citytv's biggest draw was The Biggest Loser at 744,000. TSN was in the game with a Rangers at Vancouver tilt (686,000).
Down the list, 22 Minutes clocked 596,000. The National stood at 556,000 at 10 and 452,000 at 10:25.
Way down, below Etalk (522,000), Dr. Phil (494,000), Regis & Kelly (457,000) and SpongeBob on YTV (451,000) was Being Erica at 447,000.

A Week in, CBC's Big News Stand Falls Flat

A ratings race is a marathon, not a sprint, so a slow start doesn't mean a poor finish. But after all that money spent on all those ads, CBC sure can't be too happy with their new news numbers so far.
Monday's audience for The National at 10 was 482,000 viewers across Canada, dropping to 417,000 at 10:25. This is exactly where the news was mired a month ago before the splashy re-launch, and about a quarter million viewers less than tuned in one week ago for the first look at the new set and format. (All numbers BBM Canada overnight estimates.)
So it opened solid, if now big, and has dropped. Not good.
Especially when you consider that the competition is a little lighter last week and this week. Thanks to the down week heading into sweeps plus the World Series, many of the powerful U.S. blockbusters on the private Canadian broadcasters have been in reruns. Global's No. 1 show, House, for example, was a rerun Monday night (still fetching 1,410,000), as was rising newcomer Lie to Me (895,000). While these shows don't air opposite CBC news at 10, they generally provide some momentum and lift to Heroes, last night down to 568,000 viewers.
Now look at how CTV's local Evening newscast did Monday night: 1,940,000 "commercial" viewers, probably over 2 million once the CTV Totals are calculated. Global National at 5:30 drew 1,291,000.
CTV had its usual big Monday night: CSI: Miami did 2,307,000, Dancing with the Stars 2,141,000. There were a few big sports draws on last night, including Monday Night Football on TSN (676,000) and World Series baseball on Sportsnet (608,000).
Fact is, every single weeknight at 10, CBC faces killer competition opposite the private networks and even on specialty channels. No new set, bigger bench, zippier graphics or see-through desk will ever change that. Pamela Anderson could do the news naked on a fake seal skin rug and, after the first few nights, you'd still be looking at 600,000 viewers a night, tops.
It has to be sinking in that the problem is the timeslot. The only fair fight would be Lloyd and Peter, head-to-head, 11 p.m.
Look at how Jay Leno has slid at 10. Citytv was down to 225,000 Leno viewers Monday night with just 96,000 in the 25-54-year-old demo. Viewers want and expect to see dramas at 10. Step outside that box at your peril.
OTHER MONDAY NIGHT NUMBERS: CBC's Battle of the Blades results show (1,143,000). A channel's Two and a Half Men (975,000). Little Mosque on the Prairie (543,000). Discovery's Canada's Worst Driver (479,000). Just Four Laughs (451,000), The Hour You'll Never Get Back (139,000).
Other shows that did better than The National Monday night: SpongeBob SquarePants (YTV, 650,000), ETalk (CTV, 590,000), Fairly Odd Parents (YTV, 545,000), iCarly (YTV, 502,000), Suite Life (Family, 500,000).