Spike TV knocks "Wipeout" as an "'MXC' ripoff"

Spike TV is taking playful shots at ABC's new hit "Wipeout," calling the reality show a ripoff of its long-running series "MXC."

"Spike TV realizes that in the summer, some broadcast networks might be 'lost' like a "desperate housewife' or an 'ugly betty' in search of 'bachelor' so they turn to imitating shows on cable," reads a press release. "In honor of this, Spike TV celebrates 'MXC, The Original, Not The Ripoff, Weekend' on July 5-6 as an homage to the network's original series based on a wacky Japanese game show which debuted five years ago."

The release later notes that "'MXC' has become so popular that many of the games featured in the Spike series such as Mudslingers and Log Jam can be seen in surprisingly similar forms on other networks."

Spike has a point. "Wipeout" takes a clear riff from "MXC," a comically dubbed version of the Japanese series "Takeshi's Castle." "Wipeout" also owes a debt to G4's "Ninja Warrior," an obstacle course series that, like "Wipeout," starts with a mixture of fit and out-of-shape contestants than gradually becomes a more straightforward competition.

But give ABC some credit for its execution here, which could have gone wildly wrong. Cable or no, "MXC" has been around for years and averages less than a tenth of the 10 million viewers that checked out "Wipeout." Plus, the original mocking-people-who-fall contemporary hit is ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos," which pre-dates both shows.

'Baby Borrowers' retains premiere rating

A day after ABC's "Wipeout" managed to nearly hold its impressive premiere rating, the second episode of NBC's "The Baby Borrowers" on Wednesday night pulled off a similar feat.

"Borrowers" (6.8 million viewers, 2.8 adults 18-49 rating and an 8 share) lost only a tenth of a point compared with last week's debut and once again placed second at 9 p.m. after Fox's chart-topping "So You Think You Can Dance" (8.7 million, 3.2/10). The reality series improved 100% on its new lead-in, a repeat of the "Borrowers" premiere. At 10 p.m., "Celebrity Circus" (5 million, 1.9/6) was down a tick and tied a repeat to win the hour.

Overall, NBC placed second for the evening, after Fox. CBS was third with repeats (averaging 8.3 million, 1.7/5). ABC was fourth with repeats and "Primetime Crime" (5.6 million, 1.7/5). The CW aired repeats (averaging 1 million, 0.4/1).

NBC introduces Hellboy to Chuck and Wolf

Synergy, thy name is Universal.

For the July 11 release of "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," distributor Universal is teaming with NBC Universal for some creative cross-pollinating. Three new ads mix Hellboy with NBC television personalities.

In one, Zach Levi from "Chuck" plays video games with Hellboy on the couch. In another, Wolf from "American Gladiators" introduces him to a jousting rod. And, in the best bit, James Lipton from Bravo's "Inside the Actors Studio" tries to get the essence of the demon-fighting hellspawn.

Universal also tapped NBC earlier this summer to promote its release of "Hulk."

Here's the first James Lipton clip, below, and two more are after the jump.

'American Teenager' sets ABC Family record

Brenda Hampton's new teen pregnancy drama "The Secret Life of an American Teenager" set a ratings record for ABC Family.

With 2.8 million viewers, Tuesday night's "Teenager" debut was the most-watched series premiere ever for the network (and its highest rated among adults 18-49, women, the works). Among all of cable, "Teenager" won its time slot. The debut ranked as the network’s top series telecast ever in several demographics, though trails the first season finale of “Kyle XY” in total viewers.

Here's THR's "Teenager" review and here's Hampton talking about how the show deals with teen pregnancy.

(Hmm, bet Nickelodeon now wishes it had given Jamie Lynn Spears a reality show last year.)

'Wipeout' stays afloat in Week 2

ABC's "Wipeout" continued to impress in its second week on the air; the obstacle course competition series nearly matched its premiere rating.

"Wipeout" (9.4 million viewers, 3.5 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and a 12 share) easily dominated the 8 p.m. hour, falling only 5% from last week's debut. NBC's rival "Celebrity Family Feud" (7 million, 1.9/7) fell 17% in its second week.

Fox's "Moment of Truth" (4.6 million, 1.8/6), returning this week for its summer finale, placed third in the hour with a series low rating.

At 9 p.m., the momentum shifted from ABC to Fox, with "Hell's Kitchen" (7.9 million, 3.6/11) holding steady this week, topping the hour and pushing aside "Wipeout" to lead the night. The second episode of ABC's "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" (6.3 million, 2.6/8), however, didn't hold up as well as its lead in, falling 16%.

NBC's two-hour "America's Got Talent" (12 million, 3.3/10) placed second in the hour, gaining 6% for the week and gave NBC a win for the night -- edging out ABC and Fox by a tenth of a point. NBC also won among total viewers.

At 10 p.m., "Primetime: The Outsiders" (5.7 million, 2.1/6) fell 16% and placed second in the hour, but featured what might be the perfect newsmagazine listing description: "Raising monkeys as children; the extreme edge of morbid obesity; grisly accident photos leaked online."

USA tops cable; Hampton speaks out; disabled 'Top Model'

-- Brenda Hampton swears watching "Secret Diary of an American Teenager" won't make you pregnant: "I think that's kind of a hysterical response. Did watching 'Friends' make everybody friends? Did 'The Sopranos' make people commit murder? Did '7th Heaven' make anybody a Christian? I don't think that young women are so impressionable."

--  USA Network tops cable ratings for Q2, most nets post gains in the demo: USA up 5%, TNT up 8%, Sci Fi up 4%, Lifetime up 5%, E! up 14%, Bravo up a whoppin' 45%. But: FX down 11%. Highest-rated cable telecast? An April episode of VH1's "Rock of Love 2." 

-- BBC airs "Britian's Missing Top Model," a modeling reality series featuring disabled models. A concept that seems to be taking the highest and lowest ethical roads at the same time.
 
-- Studios once again increasing the number of TV shows at Comic-Con.

-- Casting roundup: Jason Schwartzman in HBO's "Bored to Death" … Tim Roth in Fox's "Lie to Me."

-- TV coming out of the closet: Flat panels make armoires "the dinosaurs of 2008."

-- Madonna's brother shopping a reality show about himself, because he's surely a fascinating person all on his own.

'Wipeout' is last week's top-rated show

The premiere of ABC's "Wipeout" was the highest-rated show last week, becoming the network's first series to debut in the weekly top spot since 2004's "Desperate Housewives."

"Wipeout" (10 million viewers, 3.7 rating/12 share in the key adults 18-49 demo) gave the network a foothold on what has become the most competitive night of the summer: The three top shows last week all aired Tuesday.

'Jericho' fans bombard Hollywood Reporter

As promised, The Hollywood Reporter received a whole lotta nuts on Monday.

About 1,050 pounds of nuts flooded the THR mailroom, causing rampant chaos -- if "rampant chaos" can be defined as annoyed mailroom employees having to maneuver around 42 boxes of nuts.

"Jericho" fans famously bombarded CBS last year with about 50,000 pounds of nuts to help persuade the network to pick up the show for a second season. CBS executives -- displaying a mix of pride and annoyance -- donated the nuts to charitable causes.

THR, however, is not a fancy broadcast network with a private commissary and neighboring Grove, but an oft-frantic Mid-Wilshire newsroom. When you're on a daily deadline and have skipped lunch because Tim Russert died, you need a desk drawer stocked with protein. Deliveries of free snacks, in other words, tend to be attacked like a UNICEF airdrop. So one of the 25-pound boxes of nuts that was brought to the newsroom was well-received, and by Tuesday several other boxes had vanished from the mailroom.   

"Tell them to send some Luna Bars next time," one staffer said.

"If you write about this, then the terrorists win," warned another.

Still, 1,050 pounds is more nuts than even hypoglycemic reporters can handle, and THR is chatting with CBS on nut donation strategies.

The nuts are from a group called the Jericho Rangers, which recently spent more than $6,000 to air a "Save Jericho" commercial and buying billboards and ads urging the Powers That Be to pick up a third season somehow/somewhere. At this late date, we're not sure exactly what good sending nuts to THR will do. This post in itself will likely be regarded to some extent as Mission Accomplished, making their point that, yes, some fans still care about "Jericho" and want to see more of the show. But the amount of money to pick up an ambitious broadcast series and reassemble a cast isn't, well, peanuts.

So in the meantime, how about somebody launch a social networking site called Moonlight Rangers that pairs up the fans of "Moonlight" and "Jericho"? They could join each other's respective series resurrection campaigns, dish about CBS and discuss the merits of small-town life in Kansas vs. living forever in New York City. Just don't send us any garlic, OK?

UPDATE: "Are they fresh or roasted?" -- actual question asked by a local homeless shelter interested in taking possession of the nuts.

ABC reality shows tie CBS repeats

ABC's reality lineup tied CBS' repeats to win Monday night, with a special episode of "The Bachelorette" ranking as the evening's highest-rated original series.

"The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All" special (7.5 million viewers, 2.6 preliminary adults 18 to 49 rating and a 7 share) followed an original "Bachelorette" (7.2 million, 2.3/8). At 10 p.m., ABC aired "The Mole" (1.6/5).

CBS was second in the demo with repeats (averaging 7 million, 2.2/7), with a "Two and a Half Men" repeat the evening's top-rated show (8.3 million, 2.7/8). Fox was a close third with repeats (averaging 7.4 million, 2.1/7).

NBC came in fourth, with "American Gladiators" (1.8/6) and a season low "Nashville Star" (1.5/4). The CW aired repeats (averaging 960,000 viewers, 0.4/1).

Study: Viewers prefer traditional TV sets

Watching online streams isn't going to replace the living room TV set any time soon: According to a study released Monday, 94% of adults who subscribe to a cable or satellite service prefer to watch programming on their traditional sets rather than online.

The study was from the Nielsen Co. and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. It also found that about one-third of those surveyed have watched at least one program online. Among those who sought out video content online, 87% watched television programs directly from a TV network Web site. The primary motivation for watching online – by 82% -- continues to be to catch up on missed episodes.

Still, the percentage of users watching online video continues to grow, with 14% of those surveyed watching television programming on desktop computers and 9% on laptops. Viewers added that they prefer to watch shorter clips online, such as movie trailers or user-generated content.

None of this should really be a surprise. While network Web sites have been making rapid advances in offering online content, the home video experience has been making rapid advances, too – from standard-definition 27" television sets a few years ago to HD widescreen, surround-sound home theaters. The study doesn't include viewers who don't have a subscription video service, however, and it would be interesting to see if viewers who invest less in their TV experience are as likely to stick to the living room set.

NBC tops Sunday; 'Dance Machine' debuts inert

NBC won a repeat-strewn Sunday night with the U.S. Track and Field Team Olympic trials (5.5 million viewers, 1.6 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and a 5 share) and "Dateline" (7.5 million, 2.2/6) -- the latter was the night's highest-rated show.

Also Sunday, a repeat of ABC's "Wipeout" (5 million, 1.7/6) debut won the 7 p.m. hour and an original episode of CBS' "Million Dollar Password" (8.5 million, 1.7/5) placed second at 8 p.m.

On Friday, ABC's efforts to get a foothold on the night with original programming continued to be frustrated. The network ranked last, with new series "Dance Machine" (3.7 million, 1.0/4) coming in fifth place at 8 p.m. NBC won the night with repeats and "Dateline" (5.8 million, 1.6/6).

George Carlin-hosted 'SNL' sets ratings record

NBC’s re-broadcast of the 1975 "Saturday Night Live" series premiere hosted by the late George Carlin delivered the show’s highest out-of-season rating in three years.

The repeat  (4.5/11) was the top "Saturday Night Live" metered-market overnight rating that aired outside of the show’s broadcast season since a repeat that aired Sept. 24, 2005  (an episode hosted by Will Ferrell that ran at the start of the broadcast season, but before the show launched its original run).

Compared to the same night last year, "SNL" was up 29% in the metered markets.

Leno's options; WGA crawl; 'Call Girl' secret

-- "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno will end up at ABC ... or Fox ... or NBC ... or CBS ... or CNN ... or in syndication. Well, surely one of those, right? Today's THR.com story lays the odds on the late-night host's next move.

-- The New Yorker's review of Showtime's "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" suggests the bestselling book's author is a fraud. If correct, it would be the first time an embarrassing media scandal was due to a person not being a prostitute.

-- Not very bright: Democrats used "Sopranos" theme music to attack Italian-American candidate.

-- The WGA wants networks to add a real-time onscreen crawl that alerts viewers whenever product placement is used in a show. It's pretty rare that an industry proposal manages to be equally dreadful from a creative and business perspective.

-- A U.K. survey has found that British women rush through sex so they don't miss their favorite TV shows. So if you're dating an English girl, she'd probably really appreciate a DVR.

-- Bravo says the deal's not done yet, but sources say Bunim/Murray Productions ("The Real World," "Road Rules") will take over production of "Project Runway" now that the Magical Elves have left the show.

-- And finally, THR received a mysterious package of peanuts followed by a large, lovely bouquet of flowers. Along with the flowers was this note: "Hope you enjoy the nuts. Jericho Rangers still fighting hard for a season 3." ... Ah, "Jericho" fans, how could we ever think that "Moonlight" fans were more hardcore?

Fox's 'Dance' tops Thursday

On an uneventful Thursday night in the ratings, NBC's rising tide may have slightly lifted "Last Comic Standing" -- the reality competition matched it's highest post-premiere demo rating this summer.

The two-hour "Standing" (5.3 million viewers, 2.1/7) placed second for the night with its best number in a few weeks, behind Fox's steady "So You Think You Can Dance" (8.6 million, 3.0/9).