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Some Old Friends Are Back On Top Of The Ratings

© F. Colin Kingston

As the fall season has gotten underway many returning series are enjoying some of their highest ratings ever. Some of this increase is undoubtedly due to the fact that many people are staying closer to home since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. During times of stress people seem to enjoy spending time with old friends and returning shows offer the opportunity to do just that.

One very noticeable trend is the fact that the ratings for most "reality" shows are way down since September 11th. ABC has just pulled "The Mole II" after only three episodes. It will supposedly return as a mid-season replacement. The lone exception to the trend is "Survivor" which had great ratings with the debut of their third saga, this one in Africa.

Here are the top ten shows for the week ending October 14, 2001: 1. Friends (NBC) 2. E.R. (NBC) 3. West Wing (NBC) 4. Law and Order (NBC) 5. Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) 6. A Tie between CSI (CBS) and Inside Schwartz (NBC) 7. Survivor: Africa (CBS) 8. Will & Grace (NBC) 9. NFL Monday Night Football (ABC)

News and notes from the world of television:

"Alias" is a bright spot for ABC: One of the best new shows of the season is "Alias" on ABC. This series is fast becoming my new "guilty pleasure" show. It is pure escapist fantasy and it fills the bill in every way possible.

On the face of it the premise is rather silly. Jennifer Garner plays Sydney Bristow, grad student by day/super spy by night. It is the execution of this premise that makes this series so enjoyable though.

The story arcs are very well thought out and the writing is fast paced. There are moments of humor, tension and high drama as well. The action scenes are some of the best on television. Better still, the series is not formulaic as it is not always possible to tell the good guys from the bad ones. There are twists and turns too as each episode ends with a good old fashioned cliffhanger.

In the pilot Garner's character comes to realize that, instead of working for the CIA as she has thought she has been doing, she has actually been working for a rouge spy agency. She immediately goes to the real CIA and offers to work as a mole inside her agency to help bring the agency down. She now finds herself working as a double-agent and trying to avenge the death of her fiancée.