'Pictionary' pretty in bow
"Pictionary," the syndie celebrity gameshow described as "charades with a pen," garnered a 1.8 household rating and 5 share in Nielsen's 38 overnight metered markets. The new strip from Spelling's Worldvision Enterprises lost about 25% of its average lead-in rating (2.4) and was down about 14% from the average ratings of its metered market timeslots for the same period last year (2.1).
In a marketplace where some new syndie strips have failed to crack a 1 rating in the overnight metered markets, "Pictionary's" relatively small drop from lead-in and year-ago averages is a good omen. Among the show's best markets Monday were San Francisco, where the Alan Thicke-hosted gamer scored a 3.2/6 on Fox affil KTVU; and St. Louis, where it nabbed a 3.6/13 on Fox O&O KTVI.
With a 3.2/6 across the metered markets, Warner Bros.' "Living Single" basically matched its average lead-in (3.3), and came within arm's reach of its year-ago timeslot ratings (3.5/7). The Fox comedy pulled a 6.1/12 at 6:30 p.m. on Fox O&O WNYW New York, building 27% on its "Home Improvement" lead in.
After two weeks on the air, the pecking order for the rest of the firstrun syndie freshmen has not changed, nor has any show notched notable growth. Eyemark Entertainment's "Martha Stewart Living" and Warner Bros.' "People's Court" led the pack, averaging a 2.8/11 and 2.8/9, respectively, from Sept. 8-22. Eyemark's "Gayle King" has earned a 2.2/9.
"The Home Team With Terry Bradshaw," from Comcast's C3 and Twentieth TV, is stuck at a 0.9/4, while All American TV's "The Arthel & Fred Show" has stalled at a 0.8/4.
On the off-network side, the star of the season is shaping up, as expected, to be Paramount TV's "Frasier," which has averaged a 5.6/10 since its Sept. 15 bow in syndication. The quirky NBC sitcom is tearing up Gotham, where Tribune's WPIX won its 11:30 p.m. timeslot for the week of Sept. 15 with an 8.1/17. Its closest competitor was "Nightline" on WABC with a 7.0/15.
Buena Vista TV's "Boy Meets World," from ABC's "TGIF" Friday lineup, is showing double-digit growth from its average lead-in after two weeks as a Monday-Friday strip. Carsey-Werner Co.'s "Grace Under Fire" has averaged a 2.7/6, down 16% from its average lead-in.
