DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - TV DRAMAS STRIKE OUT

The recent writers' strike may have inflicted permanent damage on scripted serialized dramatic shows as audiences lost track of story threads and abandoned them, the New York Times observed today (Thursday). The newspaper reported that such shows as ABC's Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives drew their lowest ratings ever when they returned. CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation posted its worst ratings since its fall season, and Fox's House saw its audience drop 22 percent from its average before the strike began, the Times noted. On the other hand, sitcoms returned with about the same ratings -- or even better ratings, with some producing their best numbers of the season. David Poltrack, who tracks ratings performances for CBS, explained: "Comedies don't have continuing story lines." Viewers, he noted, don't have to remember what happened in previous episodes. And another unnamed network program executive told the newspaper: "Some viewers may have used the strike as a way to get off the train of some serialized shows."

01/05/2008