Ratings Watch: Out of Sight...

Only a small and petty man says I told you so. I am a small and petty man.

For a while now, I've been skeptical about the wisdom of the networks' decision not to bring back some of their high-profile new shows last year after the strike. Instead, they kept shows like Chuck, Pushing Daisies and Private Practice off the air for almost a full year—following what had been an anemically-rated fall season to begin with—returning them for a second season do-over. The strategy, as I put it, was: "Remember all those shows you were mildly interested in last fall, America? We bet you'll be even more mildly interested in them this fall!"

Last night, Daisies, Practice and DSM came back. The verdict? Not so mildly interested. Says the Hollywood Reporter:

Despite strong reviews, the return of "Daisies" (6.3 million viewers, 2.0/6) had the steepest drop, falling a roller coaster-style 55% to a series-low fourth place at 8 p.m. "Private Practice" (8 million, 3.2/8), whose critical reception has been unenthusiastic, declined 38% to place third at 9 p.m. Then "Dirty Sexy Money" (7.1 million, 2.5/7) fell 31% to place second at 10 p.m. ("Money" not only dropped the least, but was also the only ABC show to improve upon its last episode, which aired in December).

I'm not right about predicting ratings very often, so allow me me small, petty moment. That said, I do hope Daisies, at least, recovers—it deserves better.