I got a bit annoyed while reading the latest issue of People magazine wherein the editors compare the "skinny" girls of the "90210" to the "curvy" young women of "Gossip Girl."

Oh, People, cut it out! Why must you play this game and make women feel bad about their bodies? There are so many other ways you could have compared and contrasted the two CW teen dramas: Funky N.Y. style vs. casual L.A. style; school uniforms vs. wear what you want; catching a cab vs. driving a BMW. There must be others, I just frankly am tired of hearing the shows compared.

Please indulge me while I jump on my soapbox for a minute. Women's bodies are beautiful, in all their various shapes and forms — thin, curvy, voluptuous, athletic, you name it. As long as she is healthy and has a modicum of self-esteem, a woman should be proud, regardless of size. Perpetuating the notion that there is but one standard for female beauty is dangerous and insulting. There, I'm done.

Yes, the lovely "90210" gals (right) are thin. But the ladies of "Gossip Girl," gorgeous though they may be (there on the left), could hardly be called "curvy" — at least not outside the confines of Hollywood.

I would urge the folks over at People to spend a little more time with their televisions if they want to find shapely small-screen stars.

These, my friends, are curves:

To reiterate, this is curvy...

There. I feel better now that I've gotten that off my chest.

— Kathy Lyford

"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

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

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

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

A Season Pass reader apparently thinks we’re experts and asked us the following question (grammar fixed for your reading pleasure):

I am hoping you can tell me, or direct me to someone, that can explain to me why new shows like, “The Bionic Woman,” “Damages,” “Journeyman,” etc. have such loud background music or noise to the point that you can not hear the actors dialogue. It has gotten so bad that maybe I should complain to their sponsors.

In response, most of us said we hadn’t really been bothered by this as much as we are by, say, the intrusive laugh tracks.

Brian thought maybe it had to do with the target demo of said shows: “As for the noise issue, my dad has long complained of just that.  You don’t see that occur as much with shows like “ER” and “CSI,” I think, because their auds don’t skew younger. But “CSI Miami,” “Bionic Woman,” “Gossip Girl,” etc. all incorporate heavy music cues as part of the storytelling and mood.” Presumably to draw in younger viewers?

Phil adds that “sound editors and music editors always butt heads over which should be louder and the winner is usually the one who gets to touch the print last before it is locked. Everything is done louder on new shows to make them seem more exciting. Also, HD shows are quieter so when a switch made from HD to regular the volume of everything rises.”

While Jon offers up this pithy solution: “(Why doesn't) a person who’s above both the sound editors and music editors find a happy medium. I would call him … a ‘showrunner.’”

But Brian responds: "I don't think showrunners are typically in the room during final mixes unless it's a pilot or major episode. Those chores are typically handed off to other producers and the sound team. There's supposed to be one sound mixer in charge on the final mix, but the others are sometimes in the room, and that final decision can be shaped by that person's particular background.Over time, most shows find a good working balance and settle into a rhythm. But early on, everyone's so wound up over representing their craft and freaking out that a show's going to last that the competition can be heated unless they've got prior working relationships."

Anyone out there think they have a better answer for our reader? We’re here to help.

— KL

Wednesday was ladies' night in primetime. NBC's "Bionic Woman" and ABC's "Private Practice" opened against each other at 9 p.m. with impressive numbers.

The 10 p.m. newcomers, ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" and NBC's "Life," fell into the so-so category, given their strong lead-ins and the fact that CBS' "CSI: NY" didn't have much pull in the 18-49 column.

Fox's "Back to You" took a tumble in week two. So did CW's "Gossip Girl" (not surprisingly against the "Bionic"-"Practice" duel), CBS' "Kid Nation" and Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares."

"Bionic" (pictured above) ranks as the top premiere of the new season so far in adults 18-49 with an average of 13.6 million viewers and 5.5 rating/14 share in adults 18-49. "Bionic" showed its superstrength by building significantly on its 8 p.m. "Deal or No Deal" lead-in (8.9 million 2.6/8) and by growing at the half-hour mark (it climbed from 5.3/14 from 9-9:30 to 5.7/14 from 9:30-10).

"Private Practice" (star Kate Walsh pictured right) won the 9 p.m. hour in viewers, drawing 14.2 million and 5.1/13. "Practice" got a boost in viewers from its 8 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars" results show lead-in (16.6 million, 4.0/12), but it demonstrated clear tune-in interest by spiking in the 18-49 column even against the heat of "Bionic." "Practice" held fast in the demo column at the half-hour mark but lost about 800,000 viewers in its second half.

At 10 p.m., "Dirty Sexy" weighed in with 10.4 million viewers and 3.6/10 in 18-49. "Life" opened to 10.1 million and 4.1/11, good enough to win the hour in adults 18-49 against the fourth season preem of CBS' "CSI: NY" (12.7 million, 3.7/10).

For a full rundown of the night, see Rick Kissell's ratings flash.

--Cynthia Littleton

Wednesday's newcomers got off to fair-to-middling starts, per the prelim Nielsens. (Click here for a full rundown of the night by Variety ratings guru and Season Pass contributor Rick Kissell.)

Fox's "Back to You" won its 8 p.m. timeslot in adults 18-49, but didn't have the kind of opening night drawing power you'd expect for the combo of Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. Sitcom averaged 3.1/10 ratings share in the key demo and 9.5 million viewers overall.

For all the advance hoopla, CBS' "Kid Nation" didn't do a whole lot of business for the Eye in its 8 p.m. debut, pulling in about 9 million viewers and 3.0/9 ratings share in adults 18-49.

Gordon Ramsay's numbers also cooled off after his hot summer in "Hell's Kitchen." Chef's new show "Kitchen Nightmares" followed Fox's sitcom block at 9 p.m. with 6.6 million viewers and 3.1/8 in the demo.

CW had something to talk about with the 9 p.m. bow of "Gossip Girl." Show wasn't so hot in overall viewers, drawing about 3.7 million, but scored in its target demos of women 18-34 (3.2/9) and femme teens (5.3/17).

--Cynthia Littleton

The season begins in earnest next week with debuts of the following:

New shows…:
"K-Ville” (Monday at 9 on Fox, pictured at right)
“Back to You” (Wednesday at 8 on Fox)
“Kid Nation” (Wednesday at 8 on CBS)
“Gossip Girl” (Wednesday at 9 on CW)
“Kitchen Nightmares” (Wednesday at 9 on Fox)
“CW Now” and “Online Nation” (Sunday 7-8 on CW)

…and returning shows:
“Deal or No Deal” (Monday at 8 on NBC)
“Prison Break” (Monday at 8 Fox)
“Beauty and the Geek” (Tuesday at 8 on CW)
“America’s Next Top Model” (Wed. at 8 on CW)
“’Til Death” (Wed. at 8:30 on CBS)
“Survivor: China” (Thursday at 8 on CBS)
“Simpsons,” “King of the Hill,” “Family Guy” (Sunday  8-10 on Fox)
“Cold Case” (Sunday at 9 on CBS)
“Shark” (Sunday at 10 on CBS)

For a comprehensive schedule, by date or name, click here.

— KL

I don't think I was alone in considering the CW a network for the Clearasil set. Fair or not, it just seemed like a desination for youngsters. So imagine my surprise at the nets' high rankings among our Season Pass panel — comprised mostly of people old enough to have kids in the CW's coveted target audience age range. You know, if we'd all married young and had kids right away.

Three of the CW's new shows (drama "Gossip Girl," dramedy "Reaper," and half-hour laffer "Aliens in America") got almost all thumbs up from our group, with multiple season passes being set for each show. I initially gave "Aliens" one thumbs down indicating it isn't my cup of tea, but I've sinced flipped it to one thumb up; I would watch it again, just not every week. And none of us thought drama "Life is Wild" was unwatchable — it just skewed a bit too young for our taste.

"Gossip" is soapy and dramatic in the way the exec producer Josh Schwartz's late Fox show "The O.C." was in its first season. "Aliens" is cute, humorous and sometimes poignant. And "Reaper" is just a delightful surprise. I can't say enough good things about the latter — funny, sweet, touching, beautifully cast...

Those CW DVDs sat on top of my TV for weeks until I finally had to watch them in order to finish off my list. What a mistake on my part. It looks like the CW is growing up. I just hope auds our age give the shows a chance.

— Kathy Lyford

Here's a shocker. According to a survey, the new fall skein that teenagers were most aware of back in early August was CW's "Gossip Girl." (Must be all those promo shots of pouty-looking girls in sexed-up school uniforms.)

Coming in No. 2 on the awareness-meter in the survey of 750 youths in the 13-17 demo, conducted the week of Aug. 6 by market research outfit OTX and social network site eCrush, was a tie among NBC's "Bionic Woman, ABC's "Cavemen" and CBS' "Kid Nation." ABC's "Pushing Daisies" rounded out the top three, followed by a tie for fourth among CW's "Reaper" and Fox's "Nashville" and "The Next Great American Band." CW's "Aliens in America" weighed in at No. 5.

When asked what shows they were most intent on checking out, No. 1 was still "Gossip Girl" (pouty star Blake Lively pictured at left) but ABC's "Pushing Daisies" rose to No. 2.

Survey did have some counter-intuitive findings. Despite all the hoopla about Net marketing and alternative distribution platforms, 51% of respondents said they were getting most of their info on new shows from ads and promos seen on...TV. Word-of-mouth chatter from friends was cited by 33% of those surveyed, while Internet ads were cited by only 26%. TV network websites ranked far down the list of info sources (19%); blogs and newspaper ads were even more negligible (7%).

And when these teens were asked how they intended to watch the new shows they're most interested in, some 70% chose the answer "in its scheduled time period on TV," warming the hearts of network skedding execs everywhere. Only 21% said "using my DVR, VCR or DVD recorder," which pretty much adheres to the stats indicating that DVR penetration, for all the ink it receives, stands at about 20% of U.S. TV households.

For more factoids from the survey click here.

--Cynthia Littleton

Whatever the virtues of the new CW high school sudser "Gossip Girl" might be, there was one nagging question that persisted for me: Shouldn't Veronica Mars be out solving mysteries at her own school instead of talking oh-so-coyly about the follies of someone else's?

The dissonance arises from the use of Kristen Bell, mere months after the demise of her CW cult favorite "Veronica Mars," as the unseen narrator of "Gossip."  Bell also provided the ongoing voiceover for her own adventures on "Mars," and if the CW expects us to forget that voice so quickly, the network perhaps has underestimated its small but devoted audience.

It's just too soon - know what I mean? Veronica's body is not even cold yet.

Perhaps Bell has such diehard fans that they'll watch her -- or listen to her -- in anything, but it strikes me that by including Bell on "Gossip" and inviting the comparison, the CW and showrunner Josh Schwartz are in effect challenging their core viewers to find their new show to be better than "Mars." That's a gambit that might be futile. 

Of course, the whole reason "Mars" isn't around anymore is that it had such low ratings, so it's not as if there's loads of viewers at stake. Much of the reason for launching a new show like "Gossip" is to draw in new auds. Still, "Gossip" has to start somewhere when it comes to gaining ratings traction, and I can't help wondering if it has imprudently risked alienating potential fans by reminding them of their fair show now departed.

Moreover, "Gossip" has to face the prospect of Bell overload, now that she has been cast in a recurring role on NBC's "Heroes."

All in all, "Gossip" will live and die on its own merits, but I think it should have taken the opportunity to completely carve out its own space, rather than link so overtly to a show that many are bitter ended up in the TV graveyard.

— Jon Weisman

Welcome to Season Pass, Variety.com’s blog for dishing about fall’s new scripted TV shows.
We wanted to give readers a wide range of opinions on the fall fare so eight of us spent a good chunk of our summer watching all of it. We like to complain, but it was really kind of fun.

Each of us has rated all the shows using four categories:

Love it, setting a season pass now

Worth another try

OK, but not for me

Won't watch again

"Reaper" (below) was one show that took us all by surprise. I did not expect to like it and it ended up being one of my favorites

The shows that rated the highest (one or two thumbs up) among our group of TV junkies were: ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” (seven season passes), NBC’s “Chuck” (four season passes), the CW’s “Reaper” (six season passes), CBS’ “Big Bang Theory” (three season passes), the CW’s “Gossip Girl,” (one season pass), Fox’s “Back To You” (one season pass) and CBS’ midseason entry “Swingtown” (one season pass).

See the chart for more details.

Our opinions are meant as a guide only. We encourage you to give all the shows a try and see for yourself what shows speak to you.

We’ll be blogging after each episode to track the shows’ progress. And we’ll weigh in on topics related to the season.

Have fun and happy channel surfing!