James Hibberd

’Tis the season for reporters churning out retrospectives before they leave on vacation. So in this proud tradition of wanton end-of-year recycling, here’s a look back at the first six months of “Rated.”

• Cult TV luminaries: Ron Moore on the battle over “Battlestar Galactica” … A Q&A with Joss Whedon about Fox’s upcoming “Dollhouse” … Carol Barbee on the upcoming second season of CBS’ “Jericho.”
• Why January’s press tour will be sorely missed: The critics grill Fox’s Kevin Reilly … and NBC’s Ben Silverman … and ABC’s Steve McPherson … and “Bionic Woman” producers … the hotel lobby throwdown … and let’s toss in that unconscious “Life Is Wild” lion.
• Writers strike musings: “Heroes” and the strike … WGA vs. AMPTP: giving peace a chance … The blog strikes the strike.
• About town: Dining in Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” … An awkward lunch: HRTS presents the network chiefs … A report from Fox’s eco party.

Also:

• Most oft-linked post: “Babylon Fields,” CBS’ buried zombie necrophilia pilot unearthed. Few journalists are so fortunate in their careers as to have a valid excuse to write a zombie sex story, let alone to also have video clips.
• Most reader comments: Sally Field speaks out. Emmy Awards + celebrity Iraq War protest + DrudgeReport = a flash mob of opinions.
• Most pestering comments: Any “Kid Nation” post. I’m sincerely sorry, Caylee, Ashley, Hannah, et al., I cannot get you cast on the next season of “Kid Nation.” Please stop asking.
• Most enthusiastic comments: ABC’s New “Lost” Trailer. A dispiriting reminder that TV industry reportage never excites readers as much as the shows themselves.



• Most coincidental ultimatum: HD DVD: Fight or Quit—which urged Toshiba to make a major headline soon or it’s going to lose the high-def DVD war. A few weeks later, Toshiba pulled Paramount into its camp.
• Worst prediction: That lack of positive buzz for ABC’s “Private Practice” would hurt its ratings (salvaged only slightly by correctly suggesting that “Bionic” would premiere to stronger numbers).
• Harshest post: Court TV changes its name to truTV. Was a bit mean (especially to Dean Koontz).
• Most echoed observation: The similarities between The CW’s “Reaper” and NBC’s “Chuck”
• Least echoed observation: In defense of ABC’s ‘Cavemen’

Reality shows staged a comeback Tuesday night, as NBC’s combination of “Clash of the Choirs” and “The Biggest Loser” finale won the night.

NBC led among adults 18 to 49 in the preliminary Nielsen ratings, while CBS won among total viewers with its trio of original dramas.

“Biggest Loser” (4.6) was off a very slight 4% from last year, but that’s still considered a victory given the increased DVR penetration (now up to 21%, according to the latest Nielsen tally). Its success bodes well for NBC’s next round of “Biggest Loser” debuting Jan. 1.

Lead-in “Choirs” (2.4) maintained its premiere number, and NBC just announced it will expand Thursday night’s finale to two hours.

Fox was second with repeats of “Bones” (2.0) and “House” (3.3).

CBS was third with originals of “NCIS” (2.7), “The Unit” (2.8) and the last produced episode of “Cane” (1.8), all on the low side.

ABC was fourth with “Duel” (2.4), up a sigh-of-relief 14% from its premiere to tie with “Choir” for second place in the 8 p.m. hour. A repeat of “According to Jim” (1.5) followed, then a season-low “Boston Legal” (2.1). The CW aired repeats.

“Survivor” fourth-place finisher Denise Martin said she will turn down executive producer Mark Burnett’s offer of $50,000 after being caught in a lie during the finale’s live reunion show Sunday night.

Martin (oft-billed on “Survivor” as “The Lunch Lady”) claimed she lost her Douglas, Mass., public school cafeteria job because her boss said she became too distracting to the students after her stint on the popular CBS reality show. Martin added she was now working as a janitor instead.

She told her tale on the CBS reunion show after the two-hour “Survivor” finale. Before getting voted out, Martin pleaded with rivals not to send her home, claiming she earned only $7 an hour. Another contestant cruelly bashed Martin during the episode for her economic status, saying she “sucks at life.” After Martin then revealed her apparent demotion to cleaning toilets on the air, “Survivor” host Jeff Probst declared that Burnett will give Martin $50,000—lending her story a happy ending.

But Douglas Schools Superintendent Nancy Lane disputed Martin’s account the next day, saying she had requested the higher-paying janitorial work (at $17 an hour) and actually started her new position before leaving to film the show. In an interview on CBS’ “The Early Show,” Martin accepted Ms. Lane's version of events and apologized.

Late Tuesday, Martin released a statement through CBS: “I would like to apologize to Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, CBS, Nancy Lane, the town of Douglas and my friends and family. It was not my intention to mislead anyone. I take full responsibility for my actions and hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I do not feel comfortable about accepting the $50,000. I would instead ask that it be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Please accept my apology. I would also like to thank all the people who have supported me through this experience.”

Notice Martin’s apology doesn’t let Burnett off the hook for coughing up 50 grand. A spot for Martin on the upcoming “fans vs. favorites” season of “Survivor”? Unlikely.

Below is the clip of Martin talking about her "demotion" to janitor during the "Survivor" reunion show.

Jimmy Kimmel will join his NBC talk show brethren and return to the air without writers on Jan. 2.

His statement echoes the “this one’s for the crew” reasoning expressed by Carson Daly, Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno: “Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work. I support my colleagues and friends in the WGA completely and hope this ends both fairly and soon.”

Word is still pending on the return of David Letterman, and whether the veteran host will be able to secure permission from the Writers Guild of America to employ his writing staff after the guild rejected waiver pleas from producers of the Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

UPDATE: Statement from "Late Show With David Letterman" executive producer and Worldwide Pants President/CEO Rob Burnett on the status of its request for an interim agreement with the WGA: "We are willing to agree to the writers' demands that are within our control, so we have no reason to believe that an interim agreement can't be achieved with the WGA. As a result, our only focus is on returning January 2nd with writers."

In a ratings report sure to please striking writers, ABC's and NBC's latest unscripted series premieres were overshadowed by repeats Monday night.

The two-hour debut of ABC’s new game show “Duel” (2.5 preliminary rating among adults 18 to 49) and NBC’s holiday reality competition “Clash of the Choirs” (2.4) posted low returns for their respective time periods. “Duel” barely bested the 90-minute “Choirs” by a tenth of a point in the 8 p.m. hour.

However, a rerun of Fox’s “House” (2.6) edged out both of them in the 8 p.m. hour, as did back-to-back repeats of CBS' "Two and a Half Men" at 9 p.m. (3.6) and 9:30 (3.7).

CBS managed to come out on top for the evening, winning in the demo and among total viewers. CBS ran two hours of comedy repeats leading into an original “CSI: Miami” (3.9) that was the highest-rated show of the night despite matching its series low.

ABC was second with “Duel,” “Notes From the Underbelly” (1.9) and “October Road” (2.2).

NBC and Fox tied for third, with NBC airing “Choirs” and “Journeyman” (a series-low 1.6). Fox had “House” and the final scheduled episode of “K-Ville” (1.6). The CW was fifth with repeats.

UPDATE: In the Nielsen national ratings, ABC's "Duel" dropped sharply to a 2.1 rating due to some affiliates carrying ESPN's "Monday Night Football." As a result, NBC's "Choirs" (2.4) came out on top between the two shows.

Continuing to cross-pollinate its cable and network content, NBC Universal soon will give USA Network hits “Psych” and “Monk” a second airing on NBC.

Six original episodes will premiere on USA in January, followed by a repeat on NBC on Sunday nights starting in March. NBC also may air older episodes from last summer or previous seasons of the shows.

“I’ve been a big fan of both shows, and we have been talking about [airing] these since the merger of NBC and the studio,” said NBC Entertainment Co-Chair Ben Silverman. “We felt these two character-driven procedurals would play well as a block together.”

Although the move will almost certainly be seen as a response to the writers strike, Silverman claimed he was planning to air the shows regardless.

“A lot of this we would be doing anyway,” he said. “The strike is pointing a flashlight on it.”

Bonnie Hammer, president of USA Network and Sci Fi Channel, said: “[Airing on NBC] was always an end-game goal. It’s just been accelerated at this point.”

Starting in January, NBC also is repurposing episodes of USA’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” a decision made months before the strike. Hammer said NBC siphoning USA’s content will only benefit the cable network’s brand.

“We’re very excited about getting the extra exposure on NBC,” she said. “If anything, it will bring new viewers to the USA Network.”

NBC is the first broadcast network to dip heavily into a cable catalog during the writers strike. Some of NBC’s broadcast competitors have said they consider such a move a last-resort option if they run dry of original content. But NBC has a history of cross-promoting its popular fare across its network properties, including USA, Bravo and Sci Fi Channel.

Absent from NBC’s current repurposing plans: USA’s new hit “Burn Notice,” which averaged higher ratings last summer among adults 18 to 49 than either “Monk” or “Psych.” Since “Burn Notice” is produced by Fox Television Studios, a separate deal would have to be made to bring the show to the network. “Monk” and “Psych” are produced in-house at Universal Media Studios.

“There have been very non-detailed conversations about bringing over ‘Burn Notice,’” one source familiar with the matter said. “NBC is going into its own neighborhood first.”

Another issue with “Burn Notice” is that only last summer’s episodes are available for repurposing. The second season had yet to begin production when the writers strike started in November.

NBC executives left the door open to other cable series making the jump, however. Sci Fi’s “Battlestar Galactica,” which returns for its fourth season in March and is produced by Universal Media Studios, could enjoy additional airings on NBC, executives said, though the network is wary of scheduling heavily serialized programs.

UPDATED: NBC has nailed down premiere dates and times for "Monk" and "Psych." Starting March 2, "Monk" will air Sundays at 8 p.m. followed by "Psych" at 9 p.m.

Conan and Jay to return Jan. 2 without writers … Maybe Letterman will also return – with writers … “Our sympathizers are legion” – new video that says talk shows will be disrupted if their hosts return to work attempts to be threatening and playful at the same time, which is a tad tricky to pull off … “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof, sounding far from annoyed at ABC airing a partial season, says it’s “awesome” to be on Thursday nights: “We can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end” ... A Q&A with “Dexter” producers about the finale.

A closer look at the fourth season, not to be confused with last week’s 32-second teaser. ABC made headlines Friday when it announced the show will return on Thursday nights starting Jan. 31.

Aside from Fox’s half-hour of NFL overrun, CBS’ “Survivor: China” finale topped Sunday night in preliminary Nielsen ratings. The veteran reality series closed its 15th season by posting strong returns in the 18 to 49 demographic (5.1 rating) and among total viewers (15.1 million).

The two-hour event saw a “slippery” 22-year-old flight attendant take home the $1 million prize.

Although the finale was down 11% from last December, the show has sturdily ruled its regular Thursday time period amid falling ratings for many shows this season, particularly in recent weeks. Last night’s one-hour reunion special (4.5, down 12%) came in second in the 10 p.m. hour behind NBC’s tentative NFL delivery.

At the conclusion of the reunion show, “Survivor” host Jeff Probst announced a format twist for next season: A tribe of the show’s “super fans” will compete against a group of popular contestants from previous seasons—thus mixing an “All Stars” edition and a somewhat traditional “Survivor” contestant crop.

With its average dragged down by an episode of “60 Minutes” (2.6), CBS finished second for the night.

Fox won the evening, boosted by the half-hour of NFL overrun (8.2). New episodes of “The Simpsons” (4.8), “King of the Hill” (3.7) and “American Dad” (3.5) mingled with a “Family Guy” repeat (4.2).

NBC was third with its presentation of “Football Night in America” (2.5) and “Sunday Night Football: Washington Redskins at New York Giants” (4.8).

ABC was last among the major networks, airing “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (2.7), “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (4.2) and repeats of “Desperate Housewives” (2.4) and “Brothers & Sisters” (1.7).

The CW aired repeats, aside from an original of “CW Now” (0.4).

On Friday: CBS won all three hours with its regular lineup of “Ghost Whisperer” (2.6), “Moonlight” (2.1) and “Numb3rs” (2.5).

NBC will premiere its MySpace-to-broadcast drama “quarterlife” on Feb. 18, launching the project as a one-hour series.

“Quarterlife” claims to mark a few industry firsts: the first “network-quality” series (read: not cheap) produced for the Internet, the first Internet series created in tandem with social networks (MySpace.com and quarterlife.com) and the first online series that has migrated to primetime broadcast television.

"[NBC Co-Chair] Ben Silverman and NBC are innovators who understand and appreciate that ‘quarterlife’ represents an important shift in television programming, as our Internet series is the first to air on a major network," said Marshall Herskovitz, who created the show along with creative partner Edward Zwick ("My So-Called Life,” "thirtysomething"). "Ben also really gets how special the ‘quarterlife’ story is and believes in our young talent.”

The first season contains 36 webisodes, 8-to-10 minutes each. Since Nov. 11, they have premiered weekly on MySpace.com, then debut on quarterlife.com. The webisodes will be edited together into six one-hour episodes for air on NBC in February. Producers have said the “quarterlife” scripts were completed prior to the writers strike.

The "quarterlife" series follows the interconnected stories of six creative young people. The show encourages fans to upload their own videos onto quarterlife.com, some of which are incorporated into the show.

Network scheduling decisions normally are routine affairs, but plenty of media suspense has built up for this announcement: ABC’s serialized hit “Lost” will return Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. That’s Thursday night in the slot currently held by “Grey’s Anatomy” (which has only one original episode left).

“Lost” has shut down production due to the writers strike and has eight completed episodes that conclude in a cliffhanger. Last season the show aired on Wednesdays at 10 p.m., where it suffered ratings drops after taking a 13-week winter hiatus. Shifting "Lost" to Thursday echoes ABC's headline-making move last year to put "Grey's Anatomy" in the 9 p.m. Thursday slot, a decision that paid off when the medical drama began regularly besting veteran procedural "CSI."

This time, the deck is stacked in ABC's favor to maintain dominance of the coveted time period. As previously pointed out, the highly valued Thursday 9 p.m. slot was looking surprisingly light of heavy-hitter competition, with “CSI” mostly in repeats against NBC’s ratings-uncertain “Celebrity Apprentice” and Fox’s modestly-performing “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.”

If the strike is resolved and original episodes of "Grey's" make to air before "Lost" has competed its brief run, ABC intends to move the action drama to 10 p.m.

But it is Wednesday nights that get the most extreme makeover in ABC’s winter strike schedule. ABC launched a trio of scripted original series this fall on Wednesdays (“Pushing Daisies,” “Private Practice” and “Dirty Sexy Money”), which are fading into repeats. Starting next month, the network plans to fill the three hours with reliable returning reality shows “Wife Swap” and “Supernanny,” along with new series “Cashmere Mafia.”

Key ABC premiere dates:

-- Power-businesswoman ensemble drama “Cashmere Mafia” will air Wednesday at 10 p.m. starting Jan. 9, going against mostly repeats of “CSI: New York” and originals of “Law & Order.” “Cashmere” will have a special premiere airing on Thursday, Jan. 3, after the final original “Grey’s Anatomy.”

-- Legal drama “Eli Stone” will premiere following “Lost” on Jan. 31, taking the Thursday 10 p.m. slot.

- “Oprah’s Big Give,” in which contestants compete to raise money and then give it away, will air Sunday nights at 9 p.m. starting March 2.

-- “Dancing With the Stars” spinoff “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann” premieres with a two-hour episode at 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 7, before settling into a one-hour version thereafter.

Absent from the list: ABC hasn’t yet assigned spots to new comedy “Miss/Guided,” game show “Wanna Bet” and reality series “Here Comes the Newlyweds” and “Dance Machine.”

With ABC's announcement, the winter broadcast schedule has filled in. Here's the complete gird for Jan/Feb.

From the Dharma Initiative editing bay, below is the fourth-season trailer for “Lost.”

UPDATE: The new, longer fourth-season “Lost” trailer is here.

CBS won as about much as it could win Thursday night, leading every half-hour among adults 18 to 49 and total viewers. With its all-original lineup up against mostly repeats, CBS won the keystone night by more than two full ratings points.

CBS’ on-par lineup included the penultimate “Survivor: China” (4.5 preliminary Nielsen rating in 18-49), “CSI” (6.1) and “Without a Trace” (4.0).

In second place, NBC aired an hourlong “The Office” repeat (2.7), “30 Rock” (2.8) and a repeat of the special “Saturday Night Live Christmas” (2.7).

Placing third, Fox had “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” (2.5) and “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” (2.7).

ABC had repeats in fourth place. The CW aired “Smallville” (1.5) and “Supernatural” (1.2).

Wednesday: Ratings were delayed. Here’s a brief rundown of the national tallies: CBS and NBC tied for first in the 18-49 demo, with CBS eking out a victory among total viewers.

CBS had the season finale of “Kid Nation” (2.2), “Criminal Minds” (3.6) and “CSI: NY” (4.1).
NBC aired a two-hour “Deal or No Deal” (3.6, an 11-week high) and “Dateline” (2.7).

Fox had comedy repeats and the season finale of “Kitchen Nightmares” (an on-par 2.8). By the by, for “Nightmares” fans, here’s a site that live-blogs each “Nightmares” episode, checks out the online menus of the restaurants and sometimes interviews the restaurant owners for a little reality fact-checking.

On The CW, the premiere reality series “Crowned” (1.1), about mother-daughter beauty contests, lost more than half its lead-in from the typically sturdy “America’s Next Top Model” finale (2.6).

After effectively swaying its members as well as the public behind its rallying cry of new-media compensation for Hollywood writers, the Writers Guild of America leadership recently found itself back out on the sidewalk over a list of issues that included some seemingly non-core concerns, such as reality and animation jurisdiction.

Today the guild upped the ante by filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The WGA claims the AMPTP violated federal labor law during last week’s negotiations collapse, when the studios issued an ultimatum demanding the WGA remove several proposals from the table.

WGAW Assistant Executive Director Jeff Hermanson talked Thursday afternoon about the current standstill and the Labor Board complaint.

TVWeek: How is this helpful?
Hermanson: It’s helpful in that it points out the fact that the companies walked away from the table unilaterally and illegally. I hope that when people really understand what happened here, there will be pressure on these big media organizations to get back to the table. To me it’s outrageous they would issue an ultimatum and walk away on the eve of the holiday season when there are thousands of people out of work. So we’re filing a charge to point that out—and because they have a legal obligation to bargain.

TVWeek: So it sounds like it’s more to make a point in the press than to legally force them back to the table.
Hermanson: No. Ultimately they will have to provide testimony and they will be forced ultimately to bargain with us. It’s a well-established point of law that you can’t issue an ultimatum to your bargaining partner to take things off the table or you won’t discuss other things.

TVWeek: Even if you were able to force them back to the table, you cannot force them to agree to any proposal. So don’t you still have to deal with their unwillingness to accept your current proposals regardless?
Hermanson: They have not negotiated in good faith from the very beginning. Negotiating in good faith requires them to make counter-proposals.

TVWeek: For months before the strike, the AMPTP accused you of effectively issuing an ultimatum, by your actions if not written, that unless they took profit-based residuals off the table you weren’t going to discuss other issues. How is what they’re doing different?
Hermanson: We had a full proposal on the table of reasonable demands, which they refused to discuss. We presented that proposal first. They did not respond to a single one of those proposals until close to the expiration date of the contract. So that’s quite different than their ultimatum to take specific proposals off the table. We didn’t say we wouldn’t discuss other matters. We stayed at the table, we didn’t walk away … and we’re still here waiting.

TVWeek: There’s been some grumbling that by making reality and animation part of this latest fallout, the WGA is striking away from its core issues. How do you respond to that?
Hermanson: We had those issues in our pattern of demands. It was ratified by more than 90% of our members. They were part of our initial proposal. They were never taken off the table. They’re focusing on those two issues because they think it will divide our membership. But [members] understand what bargaining is about.

Hallmark Channel’s “A Grandpa for Christmas” received more Golden Globe nominations than ABC’s “Lost.”

Or NBC’s “Heroes.” Or “Friday Night Lights.” And it tied with NBC’s “The Office” and the final season of HBO’s “The Sopranos.”

This is, of course, a completely unfair way of looking at this morning’s nomination tally. “Grandpa” received a single nod, for beloved actor Ernest Borgnine, and long-form categories are notoriously weak.

Still, whining about award season snubs is a source of universal pleasure—getting outraged on behalf of stories that match our supposedly refined personal taste.

So let’s indulge for a moment: Is HBO’s “Entourage” or Showtime’s “Californication” really more worthy than NBC’s “The Office” for a comedy series nod? Doesn’t Showtime’s “The Tudors” seem like it got invited to the drama series party by mistake?

In truth, the 65th annual Golden Globes television nominations list is, by and large, admirable. AMC’s “Mad Men” (two noms). FX’s “Damages” (four!). HBO’s “Extras” (two). NBC’s “30 Rock” (three). ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” (three).

One expects the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s nominations to be ahead of the curve, singling out freshman and low-rated cable shows more reliably than the stalwart Emmys. But almost all the best series nominations share an emphasis on a particular quality that is, at the moment, ironic: Great writing (“Grey’s Anatomy,” you just dived through the closing elevator doors of this compliment, but you still get to ride it).

News stories this morning are listing Fox’s popular “24” among the snubs, but the absence of a nomination for last season’s jumbled storytelling is yet another sign the HFPA pays attention to a show’s writing rather than rubber-stamping obvious picks. Likewise with “Ugly Betty” (which received but one nomination), which critics say has stumbled since the opening rounds of its freshman season.

As far as “A Grandpa for Christmas” … well, one can only hope ABC Family’s “Holiday in Handcuffs” isn’t shut out next year.

Complete nominations list here.