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Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Chuck Barney columnSep 01, 2011 (Contra Costa Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- In just a few weeks, we'll be up to our eyeballs in new TV shows as the networks delve into their fall season. We say, bring it on. Reruns are painful. But before the sun sets on another summer, let's take a few moments to review the programming highs and lows of the past three months -- a time when broadcasters mostly hibernate while the cable channels rise and shine. Here's our rundown of the summer's winners and losers: Winner: Women with badges. The female crime-fighters of TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles" and "The Closer" packed a stupendous one-two ratings punch, attracting nearly 16 million viewers per week between them. They were easily the most popular scripted series of the season. Loser: Fans of "Mad Men." For the first time in five years, the Emmy-winning period drama was a no-show, because of lengthy contract negotiations that pushed back production. We sorely missed Don Draper -- and the highballs. Winner: "Jersey Shore." Defying all sense of logic, a show pegged to juicers, lunkheads and spray-on tans continues to keep viewers enthralled. The MTV reality series is averaging 8.6 million viewers to reign as the No. 1 cable show of the summer. Loser: Florence. The beautiful Italian city had the misfortune to play host to the "Jersey Shore" lunkheads. It may take years to recover. Winner: The USA Network. Behind new hits such as "Suits" and "Necessary Roughness," and established favorites such as "Burn Notice" and "Royal Pains," USA rolled to its sixth straight summer ratings victory among cable channels. Blue skies, indeed. Loser: Nick at Nite. Reruns of "My Wife and Kids" and "That '70s Show" apparently just don't cut it. Prime-time ratings are down 22 percent from a year ago. Winner: Oddball jugglers, magicians, contortionists, etc. We're still entranced by the eclectic acts of NBC's "America's Got Talent." In its sixth season -- a time when many reality shows start to wane -- "Talent" actually has grown its audience by 22 percent on Tuesdays and 12 percent on Wednesdays to remain summer's top-rated show on any network. Loser: The boring "Bachelorette." Ashley Hebert didn't exactly come up roses in the eyes of reality TV fans. ABC's dating show saw its ratings fall 9 percent. Winner: Pawn shops. One man's junk is another's gem. That seems to be the lesson behind "Pawn Stars," which averages 7.3 million viewers to reign as the History Channel's top show. Meanwhile, "Hardcore Pawn" (2 million) is the favorite show of truTV watchers. Loser: Exotic locales. Two shows that tried to draft off the "Amazing Race" vibe -- "Love in the Wild" (NBC) and "Expedition Impossible" (ABC) -- both tanked in the ratings. Maybe we were more in the mood for a staycation. Winner: Katie Leclerc. The Texas-born teen won over critics and brought attention to issues faced by deaf people in "Switched at Birth." The engaging freshman drama became an instant hit for ABC Family. Loser: George Lopez. A later time slot and dwindling ratings doomed his late-night chat fest, "Lopez Tonight." TBS axed the show in its second season. Winner: Space aliens and Noah Wyle. "Falling Skies," the TNT sci-fi adventure series from Steven Spielberg, averaged nearly 7 million viewers to become basic cable's top-rated new show of the summer. That meant good times for lead star Wyle, who has locked onto a cool, post-"ER" gig. Loser: Old dudes. Despite being showered in critical adoration, Ray Romano's angst-laden midlife drama, "Men of a Certain Age," failed to achieve Nielsen traction and was dumped by TNT. Contact Chuck Barney at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chuckbarney, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.ChuckBarney. ___ (c)2011 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) Visit the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) at www.contracostatimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |