Above Suspicion didn't even get 7m in the overnights last series against weaker competition and when there was heavy snow. No chance of it getting 7m tonight!

(Average predictions on the RPG so far are: SW- 6.3m, AS- 5.9m)

Seeing the BBC ratings against it maybe they knew what they were doing.

I liked the show before when it had a proper storyline but two episodes in and this has just become boring. Both episodes were just dino in, dino runs, dino cornered.

No plot development to make you feel you need to come back,

It was given a chance via this reprieve and the writers have blown it.

I believe that's what they're doing, so when the time comes to bid again both channels will be at the end of their contracts.

It would if it was giving a Christmas Day slot. As I said before, Gavin And Stacey series 3 was getting 6-7m until it arrived on Christmas Day and then it shot up to 10m. And 6m is not cult-ish these days. 6m is probably the equivalent of 12m fifteen years ago.


I've read Hugh Dennis say that series 4 starts filming in February.

We've already seen Jake growing up into a teenager. Why can't they do the same with Ben and Karen?

Over predicting again so when AS gets a respectable 5.5-6.0m, it can be seen by you as poor.

Take Me Out is too late at 8.45pm IMO - it's the sort of show which can capture viewers before they go out for an evening, so putting it too late surely cuts off a chunk of it's target audience.

Assuming Push the Button is back once Primeval is finished I'd be tempted to give Take Me Out a mid-season break and run the remaining episodes alongside the BGT auditions. Otherwise it's a 7pm/8.15pm combination, though that pushes TV Burp to 6.30pm.

Or 'tragic'.

The new Deal Or No Deal, now 15 minutes longer (3.55pm to 5pm).
Started 3.57pm. First commercial 4.09pm, returned 4.13pm.
4.21pm....time for another commercial!
I won't be watching it again.

I agree, they've basically got two 7pm hour shows back to back and one of them (TMO) will suffer. Now is when running those episodes of All Star Family Fortunes at 6pm against Strictly in the Autumn looks like a real waste as they could give TMO a break and run those after Push The Button. Alternatively, they could run the new series of The Cube at 8:45pm after Push The Button and run TMO before BGT rather than the other way round which I believe is the plan. TMO at 8:45pm could work with a 5-6m lead-in from PTB but it's not an ideal slot for it imo.

Because using the current format, it removes most of the laughs - the comedy in the show tends to come from the absurd but authentic musings of small kids. The musings of teenagers won't be nearly so amusing. As a result, the whole thing will have to be more tightly scripted, and they'll need to use the plot to drive the laughs to a greater extent. It's possible if they want to try - but the show will have to change.

--

In terms of tonights 9pm battle - it could be a good one. I imagine they'll dent each other quite significantly but I've no idea which way it'll fall. (Hence, I predicted them the same on the DSRPG ). Perhaps Above Suspicion because of the lead-in, and that its a three parter running just this week. People can get their Silent Witness fix next week with no ill effects.

Will be fascinating to see the ratings to see if it was worth it. All I can think is poor Countdown, it was already struggling, shunting it earlier will probably kill it off.

I suspect the average will dip a bit but the extra advert break will make it worth it with the extra revenue. If they really wanted to extend it they'd have been better off running it 4:15-5:15pm with 45 minute episodes of Come Dine With Me/Coach Trip/Wogan at 5:15pm with Countdown at 3:30pm. Also, why do they insist on having stupid start times like 3:55pm instead of 4pm? Doc Martin repeats may prove tougher competition than some of the detective shows too as it does better for original episodes.

I notice The Chase is back tonight too. It was something of a sleeper hit last Summer, starting low but winning the slot every night with 2 million viewers by the end of its run. Hopefully it'll do well today as it's quite a good show.

Here's the breakdown for Famous & Fearless:

5-Minute Breakdown
20:00.. 2.301
20:05.. 2.419
20:10.. 2.242
20:15.. 2.366
20:20.. 2.273
20:25.. 2.26
20:30.. 2.221
20:35.. 1.71
20:40.. 1.915
20:45.. 2.051
20:50.. 1.661
20:55.. 1.829
21:00.. 2.193
21:05.. 2.234
21:10.. 1.844
21:15.. 2.092
21:20.. 2.136
21:25.. 2.147
21:30.. 2.296
21:35.. 1.894
21:40.. 1.935
21:45.. 1.992
21:50.. 1.893
21:55.. 2.221

15-Minute Breakdown
20:00.. 2.32
20:15.. 2.30
20:30.. 1.97
20:45.. 1.85
21:00.. 2.09
21:15.. 2.13
21:30.. 2.03
21:45.. 2.04

Also Channel 4 nearly beat ITV1 between 7-8pm with 3.25m, slightly behind Primeval's 3.34m.

Bit surprised by last night's figures. I was expecting Primeval and The Cube to do better, with over 5m each. I thought The Cube, in particular would have established itself now as a pretty decent gameshow. (Well, I think it's pretty gripping!) Primeval had a good slot just before it... so that figure is a bit of disaster.

Surprised by Casualty having over 6 million viewers... I'm guessing with the X Factor out of the way, it will flourish now.

Above Suspicion and Silent Witness are clashing tonight... what about complimentary scheduling? I can see both shows denting each other, but I can see Silent Witness just winning the clash. I'll be tuning into Above Suspicion and catching up with Silent Witness on BBC iPlayer.

They could have got an extra break with a smaller increase to 55 minutes.

Not a particularly good breakdown there to be quite honest. No real 'peak' to look at, and the audience was stable. That's more bad than good, from Channel 4's perspective.

There is just too much wittering on-idealy the show should be 30 mins not 65-just about manageable at 50 mins but its going to be tough to watch with all the adverts and all the talk.

Interesting comments from Hugh Dennis. I guess everyone involved with the show will be thinking along the same lines.


With filming starting in February, late spring could be an option as Robbie said. I doubt it will be on air by the start of April, though, so possibly a month or so later than last year.

Jake was always the sensible one of the three, though. His character contrasted well with the more exaggerated characters of Ben and Karen. If all three become sensible, it's hard to see where most of the comedy is going to come from.

I hope Primeval rebounds a bit next saturday, maybe showing it outside of its normal home wasnt a smart move.

That said Casualty did well, I would seriously look at moving it to Sunday based on that.


Still for me last night felt like a Saturday, Primeval then Casualty, very saturday night.

Why don't they air Primeval in the week? This leaves more space for Dancing on Ice and Take Me Out.

ITV are attempting a Sunday viewer sabotage. Their alternative DOI and the new Sunday Night Show with Adrian Chiles is more "interesting" then Countryfile and Antiques. They decided to stick Primeval in. Its failing - the Football should salvage some viewers.

Wild at Heart and Kidnap and Ransom should do OK - (for ITV nowadays)

Moving Casualty away from Saturday night is fine but I dread to think how the Beeb would fill that 50 mins every Saturday night given that there is more than a little cluelessness about how to entertain people.
It did well last night but would eventually still have to face X Factor in that slot and presumably would not do as well as AR.

They have Lottery Draws, The Magicians and a new series of Total Wipeout. Come Fly With Me.

Are you sure about that statistic. Lookign at BARB, Rome got 7.02 in November 2005 but that was an official audience.


The show would have to completely change when the youngest kids get older. Most of the humour and charm is from Ben and Karen's views of the world. I cant see it running for more than another 2 or 3 years.


C4 is just desperate and I cant see anything improving with Jay Hunt and George Dixon. Even big hits like Big Fat Quiz of the Year is strangely scheduled at 9:35 tonight and David Wallims show starts in at the time tomorrow. These shows wont do well starting at that time. The scheduling is terrible.


A bit of relief for C4 that it stayed steady and didnt shed viewers. Althought I think they may be disappointed their promotional campaign only attracted 2.3m at the start.

How about show Primeval on a weak night like Tuesday opposite Holby. I'm sure 4 million for ITV1 in this slot would please them.
Also people who like Countryfile generally don't like DOI. I think DOI's series this year will be its last.

ITV need to replace its long haul of reality TV

The X Factor
Britains Got Talent
I'm a Celeb
71 Degrees North
Dancing on Ice
The Biggest Loser

with things like sitcoms and comedy

Benidorm
Doc Martin.