‘Idol' vs. ‘The Voice' is no contest
Channel surfing with the Watcher ...
Hey, the Watcher got something right! I predicted that the early-season rivalry between "American Idol" and "The Voice" would eventually settle in favor of Fox.
Monday's performance episode of "The Voice" barely cracked 10 million viewers, and the results episode fell well below that mark. "AI" was down to its season low this week as well – but still pulled in more than 16 million watchers.
The problem for "The Voice" is twofold. One, "Dancing with the Stars" has vacuumed away some of its audience. Two, the elimination rounds just don't work very well. Too much power for the judges, too few singers, too little head-to-head competition.
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It looks like "American Idol" may finally lose its six-year grip as America's favorite TV series.
Who is this newcomer that is finally powering past "Idol"? It's "NCIS," CBS's 9-year-old Tuesday staple.
The change is not due to any surge by "NCIS," which is actually down slightly from last season. It's just that "Idol" is losing viewers faster.
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Does anyone still care about "Desperate Housewives"? If so, you need to stop making Sunday night plans for a few weeks. New regular episodes will air April 29 and May 6, followed by the two-hour series finale May 13.
The Watcher predicts that the final scene will show Mary Alice waking up from her dream to find Patrick Duffy stepping out of the shower and Suzanne Pleshette next to her in bed. (I realize that Suzanne Pleshette is dead, but if Tupac can perform at Coachella ...)
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A reader asked that the Watcher put in a good word for "Duck Dynasty," A&E's new series about the Robertson family of Lousiana, a backwoods clan that made a fortune building duck calls. The Watcher will admit that the Robertson boys have the best beards on television.
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One new series I genuinely do like – at least based on the pilot – is HBO's "Girls." It takes the breezy, shoe-infested premise of "Sex & the City" and quite intentionally dumps it on its head. Imagine if that series had been created by Larry David, and you get a pretty good sense of the NYC that "Girls" inhabits.
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Speaking of Larry David and HBO: Who thought that when "Seinfeld" ended it would be Julia Louis-Dreyfus who would enjoy the richest TV afterlife? She surfaces Sunday for her third post-"Seinfeld" series, "Veep" on HBO.
In this new half-hour comedy, she plays the vice president of the United States, the highest-ranking office held by a woman on TV since Cherry Jones was president on "24."
Louis-Dreyfus previously starred in the very underappreciated "Watching Ellie" and CBS's long-running "The New Adventures of Old Christine" before this latest venture. She also had multi-episode guest stints on "Arrest Development" and, of course, "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
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You would think that after Russell Hantz's misadventures on "Survivor," people would learn that making it to the end of the game is useless if no one likes you. No votes, no $1 million.
And yet here are Troy Robertson and Greg Smith – better known to viewers as Troyzan and Tarzan – hacking off everyone else in the game. Tarzan is pretty much a lost cause, but you would think a smart player like Troyzan would know better. He can win every immunity left and still come up short in the end.
THE WATCHER'S TOP 10
What the Watcher is watching this week.
1. "Mad Men" (AMC, Sunday) – Still on top
2. "American Idol" (Fox, Wed.-Thu.) – The final six
3. "Survivor: One World" (CBS, Wednesday) – Can Troyzan last?
4. "The Amazing Race" (CBS, Sunday) – Off to India
5. "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime, Sunday) – Jackie leaves rehab
6. "Girls" (HBO, Sunday) – Funny show
7. "Veep" (HBO, Sunday) – We'll try it
8. "Fringe" (Fox, Friday) – Still the best sci-fi series
9. "The Killing" (AMC, Sunday) – Finding its way back?
10. "The Voice" (NBC, Mon.-Tue.) – Strange cuts this week
Contact the writer: Write me at ocrwatcher@gmail.com. To read more, visit pedrowatcher.ocregister.com. Follow the Watcher on Twitter @WatcherofTV and on Facebook (The Watcher).
