It's official. The hypothesis offered by all the Season Pass contributors who gave two thumbs up to "The Big Bang Theory" has been upheld by America. Show's a hit.

It's not a "Friends" or "Everybody Loves Raymond"-size hit, at least not out of the box. But it has held up solidly in its six airings to date (last night averaging 8.9 million viewers and 3.6 rating/9 share in adults 18-49) and is ranking No. 2 in its time slot behind ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." "Big Bang" builds on its "How I Met Your Mother" lead-in -- probably not as much as CBS would like to see, but for a new show, anytime the numbers are going up rather than down, it's a victory.

Most of all, "Big Bang" is funny, with an ensemble (Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) that is getting better by the episode. Gee, maybe there's hope for the multi-camera comedy format after all. Kudos to series co-creators and showrunners Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and all the other hard-worker staffers on the Warner Bros. TV skein. Here's hoping that the course of human events and WGA-AMPTP negotiations don't conspire to shut them down any time soon.

--Cynthia Littleton

Wow. Alec Baldwin got quite the head start on his 2008 Emmy clip reel with an outrageous scene as Jack Donaghy at the end of NBC's "30 Rock" on Thursday.

Having convinced Tracy (Tracy Morgan) that he needs to see a therapist to work through issues of being abandoned by his father, Jack then gets involved in the therapist's role-playing session — and quickly takes on not only the role of Tracy's father, but Tracy's mother, Tracy himself, "the white dude that my moms left my dad for" and upstairs neighbor Mrs. Rodriguez. 

"You know, it's too bad you didn't know Howard Cosell growing up, because I had that one in my pocket the whole time," Jack concludes with triumphant pleasure.

Everyone takes a hit as far as stereotypes go, which the therapist's attempted interventions indicate that the show is fully aware of. With that caveat, enjoy the scene, which can be found 14 minutes into the episode.

— Jon Weisman

Season Pass is teaming up with one of our favorite places, the Paley Center for Media to give away tickets for the Center’s “Cane” event on Monday, Oct. 29.

You’ll attend a screening of an upcoming episode of “Cane,” about the power struggles in a Cuban-American dynasty working in the rum and sugar business. Following the episode, KCBS news anchor Laura Diaz will moderate a Q&A with the show’s stars and creative team.

The first five people to respond to this post will receive a pair of tickets to what should be a fun and informative night for any fan of the show. Just hit the comment link and tell us what you love about “Cane.” We will contact the first five commenters by email to tell you how to get your tickets. No need to leave your email in the comment; we know where to find you!

Scheduled to appear are stars Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo, Rita Moreno, Nestor Carbonell, Paola Turbay, Eddie Matos, Michael Trevino and Lina Esco and exec producers Jonathan Prince and Cynthia Cidre.

Event begins at 7 p.m. at the Paley Center at 465 N. Beverly Drive, in Beverly Hills. For information, call the Paley at 310.786.1091 or visit its website.

Keep checking back with Season Pass for future Paley Center giveaways.

— Kathy Lyford

UPDATE: We have our five winners. But please continue to add comments and you will be placed on a waiting list in case a spot opens up. Thank you for reading Season Pass. We will be offering tickets to future Paley events.

Break out the celebratory slice of pie: ABC has given "Pushing Daisies" a back-nine order.

The best-reviewed new show of the season, "Pushing Daisies" is also the fourth-highest rated frosh entry (behind only "Private Practice," "Bionic Woman" and "Samantha Who?").

The show was finally given the pickup after once again winning its Wednesday 8 p.m. hour last week among adults 18-49, 18-34 and 25-54. Show is even growing among young men: "Daisies" was up 32% week-to-week with men 18-34.

“Daisies” reps the second frosh series to get a “back nine” pickup by the Alphabet, which has also given the full-year go-ahead to “Private Practice.” Next up, expect announcements also on "Dirty Sexy Money,” “Women’s Murder Club” and “Samantha Who?”

"Daisies," from Warner Bros. TV, has averaged a 3.9 rating and 11 share among adults 18-49 after three airings, according to live-plus-same-day data. Skein has also averaged 11.1 million viewers.

Bryan Fuller created "Daisies" and exec produces, along with Barry Sonnenfeld (who helmed the pilot), Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen and Brooke Kennedy. In case you haven't checked it out yet, Lee Pace stars as piemaker Ned, who discovers he can bring the deceased back to life by touching them. He winds up one day resurrecting his childhood crush Chuck (Anna Friel), and the two launch a flirtation hampered by the fact that they can never come in physical contact.

Chi McBride, Ellen Greene, Swoosie Kurtz and Kristin Chenoweth star, with narration by Jim Dale.

The road to full-season pickup has been rather bumpy. As Season Pass noted last month, producers have stuggled to keep up with budget and time contraints while trying to maintain its unique, colorful look.

Specifically, Sonnenfeld, who also directed the first regular episode, was asked not to return to helm subsequent segs after Warner Bros. TV grew leery of cost overruns. The studio eventually reversed course, however, and asked Sonnenfeld to direct more episodes this fall.

Sonnenfeld wasn’t available again, however. But now that "Daisies" will continue through the end of the year, Sonnenfeld will likely shoot another episode later sometime in midseason.

-- Michael Schneider

The last fall skein to bow is the first to bow out. CBS' music-drama hybrid "Viva Laughlin" has been axed after just two episodes. The network moved swiftly after both outings of the series — and only one in its official timeslot — performed dismally.

There's no way to spin these numbers. "Viva Laughlin" was a non-starter for America.

Skein's first airing in its regular Sunday 8 p.m. time slot drew 7.6 million viewers and 1.2 rating/3 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, per prelim Nielsens. That was coming out of 11.1 million viewers and 2.2/6 for "60 Minutes." The worst stat was how fast the "Laughlin" numbers fell at the half-hour mark, plunging from 7.6 million viewers and 1.4/3 in the first half to 6 million and 1.0/2 in the 8:30-9 p.m. leg.

This has to be a tough one for the folks toiling over at CBS TV City, particularly CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler, who went out on a limb in championing the show. Chalk it up to an experiment that didn't work, but good for the musical theater-loving Tassler for having the courage of her convictions and having the guts to take a flier on something she believed in.

NBC's football and Fox's baseball coverage upset the usual Sunday apple cart ratings-wise, but one success story that's emerging on the night is ABC's drama "Brothers and Sisters" in its sophomore sesh. The 10 p.m. drama is holding a good chunk of its "Desperate Housewives" lead-in (last night "Brothers" averaged 11.9 million viewers and 4.8/11 to "Housewives'" 17.7 million and 7.1/16), and IMHO is a whole lot more watch-able than its flashier companion.

--Cynthia Littleton

"Women's Murder Club" lured most of its members back in the ABC drama's second outing Friday, while Fox's "The Next Great American Band" played to less than a capacity crowd in its two-hour debut.

ABC's femme gumshoe ensembler (pictured left) averaged 9.7 million viewers and 2.0 rating/6 share in the adults 18-49 demo, per prelim Nielsens. That was down about 1 million viewers and one-half of a demo point from "Murder's" strong (by Friday night standards) preem last week. Perhaps the most important sign of life for "Murder" was that it once again jumped noticeably from its 8 p.m. "20/20" (6.8 million, 1.7/6) lead-in.

"Murder" tied with CBS' 10 p.m. anchor "Numbers" (9.7 million, 2.7/9) for bragging rights as the night's most watched program, though CBS' egghead hour won by a wide margin in the demo. And CBS' frosh 9 p.m. drama "Moonlight" (7.8 million, 2.1/7) topped "Murder" by a razor-thin margin in adults 18-49 for the hour.

Fox's "The Next Great American Band" didn't throw off too many sparks, finishing out its 8-10 p.m. opener with an average of 3.6 million viewers and 1.5/5 in adults 18-49.

Inexplicably, the single-best drama on TV (IMHO, until "Lost" comes back and then it's probably a tie), NBC's "Friday Night Lights" (5.5 million, 1.9/6), continues to pull only modest numbers. But thankfully, on a night when the ratings bar is set pretty low, show's demos are respectable enough, and reviews glowing enough, to keep hope alive.

So far this season, Brad Leland (pictured right), who plays "FNL's" garrulous car dealership owner and self-appointed No. 1 high school football booster Buddy Garrity, is shining particularly bright amid the stellar constellation of thesps on this show as his character is enduring all kinds of emotional torment and mid-life crises. Can't wait for next week's installment.

--Cynthia Littleton

Don't bet the house on "Viva Laughlin" just yet.

The Thursday night preview of "Laughlin" averaged just a 2.3 rating and 6 share among adults 18-49 -- quite a steep drop-off (-65%) from its "CSI" lead-in (6.5/15). That sound you heard at 10 p.m. last night was scores of "CSI" viewers stumbling over the ottoman while frantically hunting for the remote.

In comparison, the season bow of "Without a Trace" in the 10 p.m. slot a few weeks ago pulled a strong 4.7/13 in the demo. And last year, "Shark" swam into the post-"CSI" spot with a 4.1/11.

News wasn't all bad for "Laughlin," which managed to place second in the hour (in front of "Big Shots") among total viewers (8.4 million, vs. 7.6 million).

But it's still not a good sign for the Hugh Jackman-produced hour, which is based on the hit BBC format "Viva Blackpool." "Laughlin" moves to Sunday this weekend -- and if it doesn't perform there, "The Amazing Race" is always waiting in the wings.

Critics weren't too kind on "Laughlin," but the show also wasn't helped by its marketing campaign. Promos appeared to strenuously avoid any overt depiction of the show's central gimmick: Characters singing along (and sometimes dancing) to well-known pop hits. Had those scenes been more widely promoted, perhaps there would have been more of a curiosity factor, and as a result, bigger tune-in.

Nonetheless, at least props to CBS for taking a gamble on "Viva," even if that wager ultimately didn't pay off.

-- Michael Schneider

Turns out people want to watch online videos... well, online.

"Online Nation," the CW's clip show featuring videos uploaded from viewers and downloaded from the Internet, has been declared 404.

Show had its final airing last Sunday. Repeats of freshman series "Aliens in America" will take its 7:30 p.m. slot this Sunday. Yup, a show about geeks taking the place of a show featuring videos made by geeks.

"Online Nation" reps the first official, no-asterisk-attached cancellation of the new season. Fox still insists that "Nashville" will return -- although that's about as likely as Toby Keith singing at President Hillary's inaugural ball.

So why did the CW hit "delete" on "Online Nation"? Check out this stat from Variety ratings messiah Rick Kissell:

CW finds itself down 24% year-to-year in its target demo of adults 18-34, due mostly to its woeful performance on Sunday night. The lineup of “CW Now,” “Online Nation” and “Life Is Wild” averaged a 0.2 rating in the demo this week, placing the broadcast net 27th overall in the time period. VH1, for example, delivered triple the rating of CW with repeats of one of its own shows, “America’s Next Top Model.”

Yikes. That's scarier than the "Peanut Butter Jelly" video.

-- MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Your show is based on one of the biggest movie franchises of all times. Why wouldn't you put "The Terminator" in your title?

Thankfully, what ever rights issues prevented Fox (and studio Warner Bros. TV) from putting "Terminator" alongside "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" have been resolved. The midseason show -- which takes on where "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" left off -- is now called "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."

OK, so it's a mouthful. But from a marketing standpoint, it's more than worth it.

Meanwhile, Fox also announced Wednesday that the newly retitled series will air on Mondays -- rather than Sundays at 9 p.m., as originally expected -- come Jan. 14. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" will bow at 8 p.m. that night, followed by the return of "24." Show will run there through April, when "Prison Break" returns to round out its season.

-- MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

(No kidding folks, it was one of those days around the ol' Variety newsroom and I'm only now getting the time to peek at last night's ratings.)

While "Samantha Who?" ranked low on most Season Pass-ers list of new show picks, America disagreed, or at least there was plenty of curiosity to see whatever became of Kelly Bundy. The ABC comedy starring Christina Applegate premiered very well Monday in the 9:30 p.m. slot behind a 90-minute "Dancing With the Stars."

Laffer made the most of its strong lead-in to finish out with 14.4 million viewers and 4.5 rating/10 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, coming out of 19.4 million and 4.7/12 for "Dancing," per Nielsen.

Interesting to also see in the 8 p.m. competish that NBC's "Chuck" (8.4 million, 3.3/9) and CBS' 8:30 p.m. frosh "The Big Bang Theory" (7.9 million, 3.1/8) seem to have have found a comfortable level of respectable ratings -- even against the wild card factor of Fox's primetime coverage of the American League championship series between the BoSox and Cleveland Indians (go Cleveland!). Gee, maybe there's hope for broadcast TV after all...

--Cynthia Littleton

“If we were friends with Garfield, we wouldn’t set him up with Mondays.”

That was a joke on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" this week.  And it was offered without qualification, without irony.

I kept thinking that surely it was a set-up line, that surely, on a show in which the characters are constantly testing and teasing each other's coolness, Marshall (Jason Segel) would be mocked for making an "Garfield" analogy.

Nope.  That was it. Just a bunch of cool twentysomethings in the 21st century, batting no eyes at a reference to a comic most people last enjoyed nearly 30 years ago.

This wasn't "Peanuts" or even "Family Circus." This was "Garfield," perhaps the most cachet-free, zeitgeist-immune comic one can think of. Did the "Mother" generation ever even like Garfield? I really think it was one of the oddest moments I've seen on TV so far this season.

Of course, I shouldn't get too holier-than-thou.  After all, I understood the joke …

— Jon Weisman

I went out on a limb for "Cavemen," and they cut it down on me.

Twice at Season Pass I have defended the show (albeit with faint praise), but last week's episode mocked my efforts. I was prepared to not laugh out loud, having been intrigued by an approach that emphasized dry wit over obvious humor, but the most recent airing lacked either. For the first time, I saw "Cavemen" as others have — as the worst kind of "Saturday Night Live" skit, all premise and no execution.

In particular, the descent into idiocy of the once-cunning and acerbic Nick from the unaired original pilot of "Cavemen" has torpedoed the show's promise. Now, there is no one to effectively challenge Joel's mostly conventional way of thinking.

Most people would suggest that I've given this show way, way too much thought. I don't regret giving "Cavemen" a chance, but it's no fun being wrong about a show's viability.

* * *

As for "Chuck," the NBC goof-drama that I slandered earlier this month by comparing it to "Cavemen" ... at the urging of my colleague, Josef Adalian, I gave it another chance by watching last week's third episode.  And I do agree that it showed me something. There were a few moments of delight in the show, and in general it was modestly entertaining and easy to watch. Joe, I officially recant my position that "Chuck" and "Cavemen" are equals.

Yet I still find myself escaping "Chuck" addiction. For one thing, "Chuck" continues to lag for me behind "Reaper," the CW's similarly structured fractured fairy tale about an unlikely world-saver.

I spent most of my time watching last week's "Reaper" trying to figure out why. I think part of it is has to do with the shows' villains. While the enemies on both shows fall on the cartoonish side, the ones on "Reaper" seem to have a more interesting backstory, in the tradition (though without the richness) of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

For the most part, I'm splitting hairs between the two shows. If "Reaper" didn't exist, I'd probably watch "Chuck" each week. But I don't need both — and in a world where I have unwatched shows backing up on my DVR, it's entirely possible that neither will stick with me long-term. (The only good thing about AMC's truly superior "Mad Men" ending its season this week is that it will free up another hour for me.)

— Jon Weisman

"Women's Murder Club" drew a crowd for ABC in its Friday premiere. Gumshoe drama starring Angie Harmon, Paula Newsome, Laura Harris and Aubrey Dollar (pictured left) opened to a strong (by Friday night standards) 10.8 million viewers and 2.5 rating/8 share in the adults 18-49 demo in the 9 p.m. hour, per prelim Nielsens.

"Murder Club" didn't get much help from its 8 p.m. lead-in, newsmag "20/20" (5.6 million, 1.6/6) and it appeared to out-perform Fox's coverage of the American League Championship series (reliable national ratings figs for the live sports telecast won't be available until Monday.) It also picked up about 350,000 viewers at the half-hour mark.

CBS' vampire-detective skein "Moonlight" (7.3 million, 2.0/6) felt the competition from ABC's lady sleuths as it dropped by nearly 2 million viewers in its third outing. The debut of "Murder Club" and the baseball post-season action also put a dent in the turnout for NBC's "Friday Night Lights" (5.4 million, 1.7/5) which dropped from last week's solid sophomore season preem. ("FNL's" Zach Gilford pictured right)

The momentum from "Murder Club" didn't help ABC's sophomore drama "Men in Trees" (7.05 million, 1.9/6), which slipped to third place at 10 p.m. behind CBS' "Numbers" (9.1 million, 2.5/8) and NBC's "Las Vegas" (7.13 million, 2.1/6).

--Cynthia Littleton

"Pushing Daisies" held up pretty well in its second outing Wednesday, but it's "Private Practice" that's really looking like a hit for ABC. NBC's "Bionic Woman" dipped in week three, but not precipitously.

Meanwhile, Fox's "Back to You" and CBS' "Kid Nation" had a tough time in the 8 p.m. hour. "Pushing Daisies" (10.1 million, 3.6 rating/11 share) led the hour in the adults 18-49 demo and held the majority, if not vast majority, of its premiere aud last week (13 million, 4.3/13). NBC's "Deal or No Deal" (12.5 million, 3.1/9) regained some of the aud it lost last week to "Daisies" (pictured left). Same could not be said for "Back to You" (6.5 million, 2.2/7) or "Kid Nation" (7 million, 2.0/6).

At 9 p.m., "Bionic Woman" (10.1 million, 3.8/8) improved in the demo on its "Deal" lead-in. CBS' "Criminal Minds" (14.5 million, 3.8/8) led the frame in viewers but "Practice" (12.2 million, 4.8/12) won the demo by a comfortable margin, up slightly from its second outing last week. CW's "Gossip Girl" (2.9 million, 1.7/5 in adults 18-34) got lost in the fray but no matter; the frosh sudser earned a full season pickup from CW on Wednesday. Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" (6.5 million, 3.0/8) was in its regular zone of the past few weeks.

At 10 p.m., it looks like time is running out on NBC's drama "Life" (8.1 million, 2.8/8). ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" (8.9 million, 3.4/9) is better off, but it also has a better lead-in. CBS' "CSI: NY" (13.3 million, 4.0/11) easily took the hour.

For the nightly bragging rights overall, it was ABC in 18-49 (3.9/11) and CBS in viewers (11.6 million.)

--Cynthia Littleton

So last season, the broadcast networks learned that when you bet on serialized dramas, you take a risk. If fans don't get involved in your series from the start, few will find it worth the challenge of trying to catch up -- and therefore will never tune in.

This season, the networks went a different direction. But it still might not be the right one.

Veering away from long-running story arcs, the networks pushed shows with largely self-contained episodes in 2007-08.  That makes it easier for viewers to jump onto a series based on good word-of-mouth -- but it also strongly reduces the imperative for fans to tune in every week.

So even though "Pushing Daisies" followed up its highly regarded series premiere with a fine second episode Wednesday, the rumblings on the chat boards are that it's not a show you have to watch religiously. It's entertaining -- for some, even a joy -- but not everyone has time to commit an hour to joy each week. It's like a newscast that runs only features and no hard news.

Ultimately, the key to "Pushing Daisies" sustaining viewers will be how well it can massage the one serialized element it does have: the romance between Ned (Lee Pace) and Chuck (Anna Friel), which becomes this year's version of what Jim and Pam used to be on "The Office" by virtue of its lack of consummation.  For my part, I'm very intrigued by how showrunner Bryan Fuller will sustain this tale of platonic love (note that I didn't say I was worried whether he'll be able to. I have curiousity, not insecurity.) But even this is not as big a week-to-week draw for a lot of people as the mysteries of a show like "Lost" or "Heroes," where you are just plain afraid to tune out for fear of missing a big revelation.

Nothing big is going to happen on "Pushing Daisies" for quite some time. That puts a lot of pressure to do the little things right. The lesson of the past two seasons of television is not to choose between serialized and non-serialized drama, but to create characters and situations that are compelling, regardless of the plot.

— Jon Weisman

Tuesday is proving a tough slog for the season's newcomers. ABC's "Cavemen" (pictured left) and "Carpoolers" took a tumble in their second outings. CBS' "Cane" is still slippery and CW's "Reaper" can't catch a break against the flames of Fox's "House."

After last week's respectable opening, ABC's 8-9 p.m. comedy duo dropped by about 2 million viewers apiece in week two and two 18-49 demo share points. "Cavemen" finished out at 8 p.m. with 7 million viewers and 2.5 rating/8 share in the adults 18-49 demographic (compared to last week's 9.2 million, 3.5/10), while "Carpoolers" rallied a tiny bit at 8:30 with 7.3 million and 2.8/8 (compared to its debut at 9.1 million, 3.5/9), per prelim Nielsens.

CBS' "NCIS" had no trouble taking the 8 p.m. hour in viewers (16.1 million) and 18-49 (3.4/10). Fox topped  the night overall with 9 p.m. inferno "House" (17.7 million, 7.3/18), though ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" (16 million, 4.0/10) was competitive in the hour in viewers. CW's "Reaper" (pictured right) managed 2.7 million and 1.5/4 in adults 18-34. At 10 p.m., CBS' "Cane" was on par with last week at 9.1 million and 2.3/7, but still off its lead-in from "The Unit" (11.1 million, 3.0/7).

--Cynthia Littleton

Most of my fellow Season Passers didn't care for the pilot of "Carpoolers." Five of nine SPers panned the show; three of us (including myself) offered guarded praise in the form of one thumbs up. Only Variety ratings guru Rick Kissell granted the show a full, double-thumbed vote of confidence.

After watching tonight's second episode, it must be said: Kissell was right. I really dig the "Carpoolers." So much so, I'm adding it to my Season Pass list (though my lame Time Warner Cable DVR calls it a "series recording".)

What some critics wrongfully dismissed as misogynist and dull-- the New York Times called it "'Bewitched' with tollbooths"-- is actually shaping up as the most unexpected surprise of the season. The four lead characters are all being fleshed out well, and are emerging as more than just cliches. All roles are well played by the cast, particularly the should-be-more-famous Fred Goss and the subtle Jerry Minor.

Most of all, "Carpoolers" has a loopy spirit about it that just makes it fun to watch. There's the adult son named Marmaduke. A woman who only dates married men. The guys belting out "Come On, Eileen" with abandon.

At its best, "Carpoolers" comes close to channeling the spirit of the late, great "Arrested Development" (really). Part of that stems from the fact that the pilots of both shows were directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who find a way to make even the most mundane shots interesting.

It's been a pretty pathetic season for new comedies. NBC didn't have the guts to try a single new sitcom, while CBS's "Big Bang Theory" and Fox's "Back to You" just haven't gotten me excited, despite their solid pedigrees and winning casts. CW's "Aliens in America" is very good stuff, but it's on the CW, which means I've got to try extra hard to remember it's on....and with "How I Met Your Mother" and "Chuck" airing against it, it's never gonna be my first choice for the night.

But with "Carpoolers," ABC got it right. One more episode like Tuesday's, and I might just be ready to declare it the best new comedy of the year.

--Josef Adalian

Ever since "Beverly Hills, 90210" introduced the Peach Pit After Dark, primetime sudsers have made a habit of introducing fake performance spaces into their plotlines. It's a good way to give characters a new place to hang out--- and it lets you book musical guest stars in a bid to goose the ratings. "Melrose Place" had its Upstairs Jazz Club (lame), while more recently, "The O.C."gang caught moody acts such as the Walkmen and Modest Mouse at the Bait Shop (cool).

Usually, shows wait until at least their second season before playing the nightclub card. But CBS' "Cane" — which has been a surprisingly slow starter in the ratings — isn't waiting. It's about to introduce Club Duque, the brainchild of Henry Duque (Eddie Matos).

Among the guest acts slated to perform in coming weeks: Alicia Keys, the ubiquitous Will.I.Am (pictured left), Daddy Yankee and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger. If ratings for "Cane" don't improve soon, however, you might have to catch these cameos on CBS.com....

Speaking of the Eye's website, the network has posted a tour of Club Duque here.

— Josef Adalian

Word around town is that the CW has ordered the back nine episodes of “Gossip Girl,” making the sudser the first frosh of the fall to get a full season order. The series, from creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, was one of the first shows to premiere last month and has scored solid Nielsen numbers in its three-week run.

The full story at Variety.com is here.

— Josef Adalian

How lame has "Heroes" been this season? Let us count the ways...

1. The flashbacks to 1600s Japan. In theory, showing Hiro come face to face with his historic hero (Kensei) could've been cool. But then the producers decided to make Kensei a drunken English mercenary. Whaaa? Maybe it'll turn out that Hiro is actually the real Kensei...but so far, the attempts at comedy have been clumsy. The show's best character needs to get back to the future-- now.

2. What's with all the subtitles. On "Lost," the Korean subtitles have grown less frequent as characters learn English. On "Heroes," not only is the Japanese still comin', but now there are two characters who speak Spanish. Great, more subtitles! Maybe next the cheerleader could take French classes. Anyway, what was once kinda cool is now just annoying.

3. Enough with the really bad product placement. Four words: "Oh, Dad! The Rogue?!" Right-- because a new crossover from Nissan is what every teen girl wants these days. And while we're on the promo soapbox, how 'bout you cut back on the constant on-screen promos for "Heroes" comicbooks, websites, cookbooks, plush toys.... One promo tells viewers to "discover more while you watch" by going to NBC.com. I'm sorry, NBC, but this season is confusing enough without surfing over to "Heroes" websites while I try to figure out this show. (Of course, I'm composing this blog post while watching episode three, but still....)

4. How about some new villains to go with the 50 billion new heroes? There's no Syler, no Mama Petrelli. Gimme someone to boo and hiss, please!

5. Stop telling so many stories. You need a flowchart, an atlas and a dictionary to keep up with all the plotlines, locations and languages on the show this season. Instead of throwing out so many ideas, why not focus on one or two really good ones?

"Heroes" was very much a guilty pleasure for me last season. I tolerated the less-than-amazing writing and over-the-top acting because the storylines moved quickly, the concept was cool, and it was all mindless fun. Then came the confused mess of a season finale, in which producers failed to pay off any of the major storylines-- indicating that maybe they were making things up as they went along.

I hoped this season would get off to a rousing start, returning the show to its Saturday morning serial best. Instead, I'm more confused by the show than ever, and-- most worrisome of all-- just plain bored. That's one thing I've never been with "Lost." Even when it went off on a tangent, the show's characters remained compelling, and the writing among the best on TV.

Fair warning, "Heroes": You're getting dangerously close to being dropped from my Season Pass list.

— Josef Adalian

One of the many great moments from this week's second season premiere of "30 Rock" came when Kenneth the page started humming the theme to "Seinfeld"-- while in an elevator with Jerry Seinfeld. Every facial muscle dripping with exasperation, Seinfeld offered a one-word response to Kenneth's well-intentioned homage: "Really?"

That's the same reaction I had Saturday morning when I called the ratings hotlines at a couple of the nets in order to find out how the first new episode of "Friday Night Lights" performed. It's make-or-break time for what's quite possibly TV's best show, and I wanted to know if viewers found the show on its new night.

"Due to Nielsen processing issues," the voice on Fox's hotline began....and that's all I had to hear. I've called the hotlines enough times to know that when the voice on the other end mentions "processing issues," Nielsen's screwed up-- again. Sometimes the delays are just a few hours, but often times, it can be a full day before the ratings monopoly gets its act together and issues a report.

I understand a delay when there's a big snowstorm back east or a hurricane in the south. I can even forgive Nielsen for taking an extra day during the holidays.

But lately, Nielsen seems to have "processing issues" at least a couple times a month. And it always seems to occur when there's some big series premiere or special event for which everyone's dying to hear the ratings. There's been at least one other delay since the season started two weeks ago.

For the networks who shell out millions to Nielsen every year in order to obtain quick, accurate results, it has to be maddening that the company seems to be finding it more and more difficult to make so-called "fast national" ratings live up to their name. And for producers like those on "Friday Night Lights," it must be torture waiting an extra day to see just how steep their uphill battle will be this season.

Unfortunately, Nielsen seems to be getting no better at reducing its processing issues. And the extra day the biz had to wait for the Oct. 5 ratings isn't even Nielsen's biggest bumbling act of the season.

What really has execs pulling their hair out is the fact that it's going to take Nielsen a full three weeks to hand out final DVR data (so-called "live plus seven" ratings). That's right: In an era in which box office watchers can figure out how a movie will do after just a few east coast screenings, the TV biz has to wait nearly a month to find out exactly how well its shows are performing.

Really?

UPDATE: While the nets didn't update their ratings hotlines, looks like Nielsen finally issued numbers Saturday night. The good news: "Friday Night Lights" actually won its timeslot, tying with CBS's "Moonlight." The bad news: Both shows posted a very modest 2.2/7 among adults 18-49, a sign broadcasters will continue to struggle to draw auds on Friday nights.

--Josef Adalian

Josh Schwartz's two new hours-- NBC's "Chuck" and CW's "Gossip Girl"-- have gotten off to decent starts in the Nielsen ratings.  Apple's iTunes Store is a whole other matter.

Both shows have been iTunes smashes since they debuted, with each instantly landing in the top 5 list of most downloaded episodes. And as of just before 6 p.m. PT Friday night, there was no sign they were cooling down.

The teen-friendly "Gossip Girl" is proving to be one of the popular girls, with two separate episodes holding down the No. 2 and No. 4 spots on the iTunes episodic download list. "Chuck" is no slouch, either: The Oct. 1 episode is No. 6, while the pilot is No. 9.

While Schwartz's shows are the only newcomers in the top 10, Fox frosh "Kitchen Nightmares" and "Back to You" have cracked the top 20, ranking No. 17 and 18, respectively.

Hollywood types have been following the iTunes chart closely ever since NBC starting arguing that big iTunes sales of "The Office" translated into higher ratings. Whether the same will hold true for "Chuck" and "Gossip Girl" remains to be seen, but if early DVR data trickling in is any indication, don't be surprised if both skeins are more popular than early Nielsen data would suggest.

NBC's recent decision to dis iTunes didn't impact "Chuck," since the show is produced by Warner Bros. TV (which is still playing nice with Apple). But the Peacock's pullout is having an impact on the iTunes most-downloaded chart: "The Office," normally a staple of the top 10, is MIA. Ditto "Bionic Woman," which almost certainly would have been a fave of Apple's geek-friendly aud (though maybe not after the really awful second episode).

By the way, if you were a bit bummed by the second episode of "Chuck"-- I wasn't, but I know some people were annoyed by the decision to restate the pilot premise-- make sure to check out Monday's third episode, "Chuck vs. the Tango."  It's a great hour that cements Zachary Levi as a breakout star-- and "Chuck's" status as my favorite new show of the season.

--Josef Adalian

Not only was Thursday's hour of "The Office" another tremendous installment, firmly reasserting the show as TV's top comedy, along the way it cleverly poked fun at those who thought the show might be in trouble once Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) got together.

In the second half-hour, Jim ambled over to Pam's desk:

Jim: I just have to ask. Now that we're public, um, is the magic gone?

Pam: It's funny you bring that up because ... yes it is.

Jim: I knew it. Oh, man.  Just like that, huh?

Pam: I think, I mean, I don't, I don't know what it is, but I now find you ... repulsive?

Jim: That's honest.  All right.  Fair enough. ... It was really fun while it lasted.

Pam (shrugs): Eh ...

Jim: For me, it was.

Pam: Okay.

Jim turned to walk back to his desk, while Pam smiled, truly giddy.  No, "The Office" isn't in any trouble, not at all.  Besides, now there's bigtime drama between Dwight and Angela.

For more great lines from Thursday's "Office," go to the fan site OfficeTally.

— Jon Weisman

The premiere most of us here at Season Pass have been salivating for since April is finally here: The return of the vaunted “Friday Night Lights.” We’ve all seen episode one and most of us have also viewed episodes two and three and are dying to dish about it. (Note: spoilers after the jump.)

Kathy: To loyal viewers, the premiere will feel familiar initially, will break their hearts just a little in the middle and then may shock them with its ending. But I urge everyone, especially new viewers, to give the show three episodes before passing judgment. Trust in the writers to continue to deliver the goods. I’ll admit the twist felt wrong and untrue to the characters involved, but it would take a lot more than this misstep — if you want to call it that — to sway me from the belief that this remains television’s best drama, by miles. By episode three everything was back on track for me and I can’t wait for the rest of the season — God, viewership and network executives willing.

Stu: Don’t forget that some of the show’s best storylines have developed after life-changing incidents, specifically Jason Street’s paralysis in the pilot. I’m OK with big plot developments, knowing that they come from a group (Katims and his writing team) who wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the integrity of the show.

What'er the only two new shows to crack TiVo's top 50 Season Pass (no relation) rankings?

Surprise, surprise: "Private Practice" and "Bionic Woman." ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff "Practice" (pictured left) ranks No. 18 on TiVo's ranking of most its most popular Season Pass settings, in which the whiz-bang DVR grabs all original segs of a designated series."Bionic" (pictured below) ranks No. 43 on the list.

TiVo's Season Pass top 10, not surprisingly, closely corresponds to the Nielsen top 10: "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," "House," "Lost," "CSI," "Heroes," "American Idol," "24," "The Office" and "CSI: Miami." Pretty sad to see only one comedy on the list; god bless "The Office."

A little surprising to see ABC's big buzz show "Pushing Daisies" not make the top 100, particularly after last night's solid preem. NBC's "Journeyman" ranks head-scratchingly high at No. 54, followed by ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" (No. 55); Fox's "Back to You" (No. 65); CBS' "Cane" (No. 70); NBC's "Chuck" (No. 75); PBS' Ken Burns mini "The War" (No. 76); CBS' "Kid Nation" (No. 89); and ABC's "Big Shots" (No. 95).

Last fall the only newcomer to crack the top 50 was NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and we all know what happened there...

--Cynthia Littleton

ABC's 8 p.m. seedling "Pushing Daisies" got off to a good start, drawing 12.8 million viewers and 4.2 rating/12 share in the adults 18-49 demo.

"Daisies" (pictured left) easily led its time period and built slightly at the half-hour mark, per prelim Nielsens. Show was boffo with femmes, thanks no doubt to the charms of star Lee Pace. It drew 5.3 rating in women 18-49, 4.2 in W18-34 and 6.3 in W25-54.

The presence of "Daisies" hammered Fox's 8 p.m. anchor "Back to You" (6.6 million, 2.4/7) to its lowest score yet in three airings. CBS' "Kid Nation" started out soft in its first half-hour but jumped by more than 1 million viewers in the second half to finish out in third place, behind NBC's "Deal or No Deal" (11.1 million, 2.8/8), with 7.5 million viewers and 2.4/7 in the demo.

ABC got more good news at 9 p.m. as "Private Practice" (pictured right) held up well in its second outing with 12.3 million viewers and 4.5/11 in 18-49. NBC's competing "Bionic Woman" took a tumble from its premiere outing last  week but still delivered a credible 10.9 million viewers and 4.0/10 in the demo.

CBS' "Criminal Minds" was also a factor at 9 p.m., winning the hour in viewers (14.4 million, 3.7/9) and undoubtedly siphoning off a few demo points from the competish. CW's "Gossip Girl" (2.8 million) was pounded by the surprisingly strong young-femme appeal of "Practice," which scored a 6.2 in women 18-34 to "Gossip's" 2.7. "Gossip" nonetheless had the teen aud sewn up with a time slot leading 2.5.

At 10 p.m., week two of ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" (9.7 million, 3.6.10) was again a little soft coming out of its "Private Practice" lead-in. NBC's "Life" (8.8 million, 3.0/8) had the same problem going up against CBS' incumbent "CSI: NY" (12.7 million, 3.9/10).

Overall, ABC led the night in 18-49 (4.1/11) and narrowly beat CBS for the total viewer crown too (ABC's 11.61 million average to CBS' 11.55 million). Click here for a full rundown of the night from Variety and Season Pass-er Rick Kissell.

-- Cynthia Littleton

10:11 p.m.: The first block takes us from a live audience in a cheap-looking studio in Chicago to Aspen where the chef-testants - Dale, Casey and Hung (pictured left) - dueled for top honors.

Just when the show looks like its running out cash and gimmicks, it pulls out a smart one: Celebrity chefs will work as sous chefs with the finalists. Hung gets Rocco DiSpirito, Casey gets Michelle Bernstein and Dale gets Todd English. The chefs are given 35 minutes to devise menus - prawns and foie gras dominate; lamb, duck and pork belly are likely to be the deciding factors when the three chefs serves the judges each course simultaneously.

Biggest questions now, though: What will Dale forget? How exotic will Hung go in his Vietnamese prawn dish? And will Casey look more like Celine Dion or Jennifer Aniston when she gets into the kitchen?

10:26 p.m.: Solid, fast-paced camera work captures the energy of the kitchen and the dazzling knife skills of the mighty six. Hung and Dale complement their  celeb help, but the well-known cooks have some issues. Rocco says his "head is spinning" from the list of Hung's ingredients; Michelle would have never chosen pork belly as Casey did; and Todd English  is wondering if all of Dale's flavors will marry. Eventually the celebs have compliments for their new bosses.First mistake though is Dale not taking into account the effect the altitude will have on his gnocchi.

10:42 p.m.: A second curveball gets thrown: The chefs are about an hour away from finishing service and are told they have to come up with a fourth course. Help arrives in the form of former contestants Sara, CJ  and Howie. (One assumes Brian is sitting bitterly cooking another 40-ingredient stew). Casey - the look is classic Aniston by the way - starts to fall apart as the clocks starts bearing down on her. Hung,  who must whisper to himself "I am Da Man" each time he tastes his food, is supremely confident. Words like truffle juice, tamarind sauce, curry and baked peaches fly by in a hurry so its hard to figure out exactly what is being served by whom. Guess we'll find out soon. Padma is live (we believe) in Chicago still where she is reading cue cards at a fourth grade level. Killer  moment:  A subtitle that read "f**k." Time to make my second negroni.

11:03 p.m.: The chefs serve their four courses to Colicchio, Padma, the guest celebs, Gail Simmons, Ted Allen and, surprise, the third runner-up Brian. Judging by the bulk of the comments, Hung has taken a lead followed closely by Dale. Casey, who 60% of the viewers want to win despite the fact that they did not see what she made for the final, gets compliments on the one dish she didn't really do - a sirloin steak that Howie oversaw. Ouch. Hung's duck and hamachi courses earned raves and Dale's scallop and lamb won  kudos, but his lobster  dish got a major thumbs down. Without Anthony Bourdain at the table, there is no humor. And where are the wine pairings? Can't we get Stephen from season one to Aspen to run the "America's Top Sommelier" contest? Proof that it's all in the editing will come if Hung does not win. The only judge who does not seem to like his food or menu is Colicchio.

11:23 p.m.: Padma looks at the final three and with all seriousness says "one of you is Top Chef." Puh-leeze. (Earlier in the night she learned the word acid and was able to use it in a sentence). The Judges Table decides that two of Hung's courses (hamachi and duck) and two of Dale's courses (scallop and lamb) dominated. They sort of need a diving judge from the Olympics here, who could multiply difficulty factors into the slicing of fish vs. cooking lamb in duck fat. (Mmmmmmmm...duck fat).These were excellent looking meals and a real drama in present in the kitchen, the dining room and the chef's table. This show has seasons to go before it jumps the shark. Now bring on the winner.

11:32 p.m.: Hung wins. And deservedly so. "Top Chef" is looking for someone who is already at the top of their game. He knows flavor, he knows technique and he has a point of view. While the viewing audience would certainly rather pal around or date Casey or Dale, the choice almost seemed anti-climatic.  Marcel from season two was in the audience and you have to wonder if his eyes narrowed and he started  squealing "this should have been MINE!" Oh well. Interestingly, the judges all asked the chefs if they had cooked any of their four courses before, if they had shown up knowing what they would be cooking and all of them answered no. Last year, perhaps they were tricked a bit when the winner leaned on the staples found in the tasting menus of his place of employment. That meant the less-liked Marcel was handed second place even though his menu would probably be more likely to earn a Michelin star or two. Time to get back in the kitchen - and start working on that scallop with grapes recipe.

- Phil Gallo   

Accelerating the end of my journalistic career, I will defend "Cavemen" not once, but twice.

It's a show that has left most critics scratching their heads, and I won't deny that it's a particularly strange program. But in Tuesday's official premiere of the show's alternative pilot, I continued to see redeeming qualities.

It's dry, even droll. It doesn't beg for laughs.  It's much more interested in character than joke, joke, joke — and the characters are interesting in their insider/outsider way.  And, despite its Geico ad roots, as far as sitcoms go, "Cavemen" is wholly original in its situation (which is half of "situation comedy," in case you've forgotten). 

A counterpoint to the show — and this is really going to get me in trouble — is something like NBC's "Chuck," which also has its upside but seems more interested in looking good than being good. Compared to "Cavemen," is "Chuck" really any funnier, any more dramatic, any more insightful or even that much more plausible?

In "Chuck" so far, the characters have been types.  The show is definitely easier on the eyes (although, not to commit the same kind of offense "Cavemen" takes a stand against, you could exchange Yvonne Strzechowski of "Chuck," right, with Kaitlin Doubleday of "Cavemen," left, pretty swiftly), and it's a more obvious good time, but I'm not seeing how "Chuck" isn't a more shallow endeavor.

Let me caution that "Cavemen" is nowhere near as good as the show I'm about to mention — not even close — but thinking about it this morning, the comedy that came to mind was "The Office." When that show premiered in the U.S., it was anything but a laugh riot; it was not at all clear what it was going to be. But there were signs it could be something, if it were given room to breathe. 

"Cavemen" could go either way at this point. As James Poniewozik of Time wrote today, some of the changes made from the original pilot were for the worse, such as the fact that "Nick, the militant postgraduate student, was especially defanged." In any case, it's certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but in this day and age, what is? It will be interesting to see if Tuesday's adequate ratings hold up next week, providing an indication of whether "Cavemen" can be a niche success.

— Jon Weisman

"Cavemen" and "Carpoolers" opened respectably on Tuesday in the 8 p.m. hour. It's always a tough assignment for two new shows to lead off the night, especially for shows that have been beaten up pretty good by crix.

The dawn of "Cavemen" (pictured left) brought in 9 million homo sapiens and 3.3 rating/10 share in the adults 18-49 demo, per prelim Nielsens. At 8:30 p.m., "Carpoolers" (pictured below) held the crowd, averaging 9 million commuters and 3.4/9 in the key demo, and that was enough to keep the ABC comedies in second place for the hour behind CBS' ever-popular "NCIS" (16.3 million, 3.6/10).

ABC's fortunes perked up at 9 p.m. with the "Dancing with the Stars" results show (15.7 million, 4.3/10) but Fox topped the hour with another strong perf from "House" (17.3 million, 7.1/17). Sadly, CW's much-loved 9 p.m. entry "Reaper" (2.8 million, 1.6/4 in adults 18-34) isn't scaring up much business in its tough  time slot, though it is a positive sign that "Reaper" ranked No. 2 to "House" for the hour in the dude demos of men 18-24 (2.3) and male teens (1.7).

At 10 p.m., CBS' "Cane" (9.2 million, 2.5/7) was pretty soft against NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" (11.7 million, 4.5/12), which is also off its usual game, and ABC's "Boston Legal" (10.9 million, 3.1/8).

With the aud transfusion supplied by "House," Fox had no trouble winning the night overall in viewers (12.6 million) and adults 18-49 (5.0/13).

--Cynthia Littleton

As the last of the summer series dies like the flame on crepes suzette, Season Pass will be there to bask  in the stunted  speech of Padma, the raised eyebrows of Tom Colicchio, the "who me?" reactions of chef Casey,  the "yes, ME" reactions  of Hung and  the "me-ow" of  Mohawked Dale. After a brutal full season, complete with bye weeks, Variety's weekly critique of America's favorite cooking shows comes to the end with us pulling up to the critical equivalent of the drive-thru window: Live blogging. No day-after, well-conceived analysis this week. No, instead of reaching for Glad Bags, making reservations  to Aspen, Colorado, on Continental Airlines or  whipping up coq au vin  in my GE appliances, I will supply the knee-jerk review of the cook-off in Chicago beginning at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.
- Phil Gallo

Theoretically, writers have plenty of time to put together a script for their pilot. They can tinker all they want, right up to the taping, so it should be a grand effort. There's no excuse for a lazy or poorly executed finished product.

It's episode No. 2 that often gives viewers a more accurate sense of the quality of the series, of what they're going to see for the next 21 episodes. And that's why I was so excited to see "The Big Bang Theory" hold up incredibly well creatively.

While the pilot made me laugh, there was little, if any, letdown last night. With the story by exec producers Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, and the teleplay by Robert Cohen and Dave Goetsch, the characters were delivering one zinger after another, and not necessarily the kind where you could see the jokes coming from a mile away.

Maybe more than any other new show, the casting is spot on. Johnny Galecki has been a pro since his "Roseanne" days but relative newcomer Jim Parsons has comedic timing that would seem virtually impossible to teach. Either you have it or you don't, and he's got it. Big time.

Their buddies — Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar — add just the right notes as well and 21-year-old Kaley Cuoco, who feels like a TV vet at this point after turns on "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" and "Charmed," plays ditzy with more charm than most actresses would.

Ratings held on strong in week two as well (read Rick Kissell's story here), which is a good sign this one will be here for awhile.

And don't forget to pause the Tivo and read Lorre's rants on the title cards at the very end of the show. Hilarious.

If these geeks are around for years to come, that's fine by me.

— Stuart Levine

Now that premiere week is complete, it’s time to start thinking about the next important step of the fall season — the first cancellation. Yes there are still five new scripted shows debuting this week and another three later this month but with some shows already having aired two episodes, a clearer picture is emerging.

We’ve had only two shows bow to the kind of numbers that conjure up hopes of “hit” status — “Bionic Woman” and “Private Practice.” Everything else could best be called so-so. Shows that have aired twice have so far dropped off a bit week to week.

One show has to be the first to go. It’s inevitable. Of course before we get to the first “official” cancellation, there will be a couple statements from networks about shows “going on hiatus” or “being given a rest” or getting “pulled from the schedule for retooling” or any other number of euphamisms.

The season has already had one reality entry, Fox’s “Nashville,” fall by the wayside after just two airings (pictured right).

The question Season Pass poses to our readers is this: What do you think will be the first new show to die an early death? And we mean a dead-and-buried, won’t see the light of day on broadcast again cancellation.

Our guesses, based on personal taste, ratings performance (where applicable), scheduling and plain old gut feeling: three for “Moonlight”; two for “Carpoolers”; one each for “Cavemen,” “Cane,” “K-Ville” and “Women’s Murder Club.”

We’d love to hear from our readers. What do you think will be the first Nielsen casualty?

— Kathy Lyford