Note: The fast affiliate results for Wednesday will be posted at PIFeedback by 12 p.m. ET. Go to the website, click on Ratings Box (the first category), then Last Night’s Results, and Wednesday, July 23, 2008.   

Let’s wait and see what the fast affiliate results look like.

Fox scored another midweek victory care of a two-hour edition of So You Think You Can Dance at a 5.8 rating/10 share from 8-10 p.m. Take a look at the half-hour breakdown:

Needless to say, it was quite entertaining seeing some of the former contestants this season perform at the press tour.

Next was CBS with its combination of Big Brother 10 (#2: 3.6/ 6), which I finally had the opportunity to see, a repeat of Criminal Minds (#2: 5.6/ 9) and a repeat of CSI: NY (#1: 5.1/ 9). As for Big Brother, yes…I am addicted again. Go, Remy! Doesn’t she remind you of Victoria Principal?

Third overall in the metered markets was ABC’s line-up of a repeat of Wife Swap (#3: 2.9/ 5), a repeat of Supernanny (#4: 3.0/ 5) and Primetime: Crime (#2: 4.9/ 9), which deserves accolades for building by 53 percent out of the 9:30 p.m. portion of Supernanny (3.2/ 5). Fourth was NBC’s combination of a repeat of Baby Borrowers (#4: 2.4/ 4), an original installment of Baby Borrowers (#3: 3.3/ 6), and a repeat of Law & Order (#3: 3.6/ 6).

Last, and very least as usual were repeats of America’s Next Top Model (1.1/ 2) and Pussycat Dolls Presents: Girlicious (0.7/ 1) on the CW, which has not even bothered to program anything original this summer other than the final episodes of the inane Farmer Wants a Wife.

It’s great to be back analyzing the ratings, isn’t it? To whet your appetite for the fall, here is what you will be seeing on Wednesday. New shows are capped.:

8:00 p.m. The New Adventures of Old Christine (new day and time)

Oxygen’s Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood rose to 1.1 million viewers in the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour this week, making this the most-watched telecast in the cable net’s history. Tori & Dean (a new addiction for Mr. TV, by the way, care of Virgin America Airlines) also reached a new zenith in adults 18-49 (791,000) and women 18-49 (591,000). Tori Spelling…your father would be proud!

-More Success for The Secret Life of an American Teenager:

Also on Tuesday was ABC Family’s The Secret Life of an American Teenager, which delivered a series-high in all categories, rising to the cable net’s most-watched telecast on record in total viewers (3.1 million), adults 18-34 (982,000), adults 18-49 (1.5 million) and viewers 12-34 (2.0 million). Compared to one week earlier, The Secret Life of an American Teenager increased by 600,000 total viewers and as much as 36 percent among adults 18-49.

-Lackluster Start for ABC’s High School Musical: Get in the Picture:

Wipeout may be the new hit of the summer, but ABC’s latest non-scripted entry, High School Musical: Get in the Picture limped out of the Sunday 8 p.m. gate with just 3.97 million viewers (#62 out of 98 entries) and a 1.1 rating/3 share among adults 18-49 (tied for #64). 

Canadian drama Flashpoint on CBS still managed to win the Friday 10 p.m. hour on July 18, with 7.12 million viewers and a 1.5 rating/5 share among adults 18-49 (tied in the demo with ABC’s 20/20). But compared to its U.S. debut one week earlier (Viewers: 8.13 million, A18-49: 1.9/ 6 on July 11), that was a loss of 1.01 million viewers and 21 percent among adults 18-49. In an effort to boost the numbers, CBS will move Flashpoint into the higher profile Thursday 10 p.m. time period (in place of Swingtown, which heads to Fridays at 10 p.m.).

The one disadvantage of attending the Summer Press Tour is missing CBS’ perennial Big Brother, which opened season No. 10 on Sunday, July 13. As a benchmark, here were the results for the three weekly airings for the week of July 14:

Tuesday 9 p.m. (time period premiere) – Viewers: 6.10 million (#26 overall), A18-49: 2.2/ 6 (#12 tie)

Wednesday 8 p.m. (time period premiere) – Viewers: 5.76 million (#31), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#25 tie)

Sunday 8 p.m. – Viewers: 5.72 million (#33), A18-49: 1.9/ 6 (#20 tie)

While The Programming Insider was reporting from the TCA Summer Press Tour, here were the final national rating results for the week of July 14 (with change versus the year-ago period in parentheses). Led by the annual Baseball All-Star Game, it was a clean sweep for Fox.

Fox: 4.5 rating/8 share (+29), CBS: 4.3/ 8 (no change), NBC: 3.6/ 7 (- 8), ABC: 2.9/ 5 (- 9), CW: 1.1/ 2 (-15), MNTV: 0.7 (no change)

Fox: 7.11 million (+30), CBS: 6.41 (+ 3), NBC: 5.51 (- 7), ABC: 4.48 (- 5), CW: 1.66 (-13), MNTV: 990,000 (- 1)

Fox: 2.3 rating/8 share (+ 5), ABC: 1.5/ 5 (- 6), CBS: 1.5/ 5 (-12), NBC: 1.5/ 5 (-25), CW: 0.6/ 2 (-14), MNTV: 0.3/ 1 (-25)

Fox: 2.6/ 8 (+13), CBS: 2.0/ 6 (- 9), NBC: 1.9/ 6 (-14), ABC: 1.7/ 5 (- 6), CW: 0.6/ 2 (-14), MNTV: 0.4/ 1 (no change)

Fox: 2.2/ 8 (+ 5), ABC: 1.2/ 4 (no change), NBC: 1.1/ 4 (-31), CBS: 1.0/ 4 (- 9), CW: 0.6/ 2 (-14), MNTV: 0.3/ 1 (no change)

Baseball All-Star Game (Fox): 14.54 million, America’s Got Talent (NBC): 12.79, Baseball All-Star Pre-Game (Fox): 10.37, Criminal Minds R (CBS): 9.26, So You Think You Can Dance – Wednesday (Fox): 9.01, CSI R (CBS): 8.92, Wipeout (ABC): 8.65, CSI: NY R (CBS): 8.60, So You Think You Can Dance – Thursday (Fox): 8.40, Two and a Half Men R (CBS): 8.39, 60 Minutes R (CBS): 8.30, Celebrity Family Feud (NBC): 7.82, Dateline – Sunday (NBC): 7.77, NCIS R (CBS): 7.76, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox): 7.69, CSI: Miami R (CBS): 7.67, House R (Fox): 7.43, Flashpoint (CBS): 7.12, Primetime: Family Secrets (ABC) and Greatest American Dog (CBS): 6.97 each

Baseball All-Star Game (Fox): 4.5 rating/14 share, Wipeout (ABC): 3.2/11, America’s Got Talent (NBC): 3.2/ 9, So You Think You Can Dance – Wednesday (Fox): 3.1/10, Baseball All-Star Pre-Game (Fox): 3.0/11, So You Think You Can Dance – Thursday (Fox): 2.7/ 8, Primetime: Family Secrets (ABC) and Two and a Half Men R (CBS): 2.5/ 7 each, Baby Borrowers (NBC) and House R (Fox): 2.4/ 7 each, I Survived a Japanese Game Show (ABC): 2.3/ 7, The Big Bang Theory R (CBS), Big Brother 10 – Tuesday (CBS) and Family Guy R (Fox): 2.2/ 6 each, Celebrity Family Feud (NBC): 2.0/ 7, American Dad R (Fox), CSI: Miami R (CBS), Criminal Minds R (CBS) and CSI: NY R (CBS): 2.0/ 6 each

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

 8:00 p.m. Ugly Betty (R)

 9:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy (R)

 8:00 p.m. Greatest American Dog

 8:00 p.m. Last Comic Standing (two hours)

 8:00 p.m. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (R)

 9:00 p.m. So You Think You Can Dance

 8:00 p.m. Smallville (R)

 9:00 p.m. Supernatural (R)

 8:00 p.m. Movie: King Arthur (R)

 8:00 p.m. Movie: Superman (R)

On a belated note, I had to of course include an item on the passing of Golden Girls legend Estelle Getty, who died Tuesday at her Hollywood home after suffering for years from advanced dementia. She was 84.

Remembered as Bea Arthur's feisty, quick-witted mother Sophia Petrillo on sitcom The Golden Girls, theater actress Estelle Getty made her theatrical debut on Team-Mates in 1978. She also had small roles in Tootsie in 1982 and Mask in 1985 (as Cher's mother) prior to The Golden Girls, which resulted in an Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1988. Getty reprised her role as Sophia in Golden Girls spin-off Golden Palace from 1992-93, and in later episodes of Empty Nest and on installments of Blossom and Nurses.

After retiring Sophia, Getty guest starred in series like Touched by an Angel, Brotherly Love, Mad About You and Ladies Man. She also played Sylvester Stallone's mother in 1992's Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot; and appeared in the family-themed Stuart Little in 1999. She is survived by her two sons, Carl and Barry; a brother, David Scher of London; and a sister, Rosilyn Howard of Las Vegas.

Lifetime Television will pay tribute to Estelle Getty with a 10-episode marathon of The Golden Girls from 12-5 p.m. on Friday, July 25. The last episode at 4:30PM ET will be the No. 1 favorite "Sophia episode" as decided through a vote at myLifetime.com.

___________________________________________________________________

Fox has green-lit a pilot, plus four additional scripts, for a one-hour comedy from Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy called Glee. Focusing on the world of high school glee clubs, Gee will feature a Midwest Spanish teacher named Will who is asked to coach the school’s notoriously awful glee club.

Disney-ABC Domestic Television Distribution has named Ben Lyons, E! Entertainment’s film critic, and TCM host Ben Mankiewicz as the new hosts of veteran weekly half-hour At the Movies. The two Bens replace Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, who joined the show in 2000 after the passing of Gene Siskel.

In memory of Estelle Getty, how many children did Sophia Petrillo have on The Golden Girls? (Bonus: what were their names)?

Which one of the following TV characters would have the longest commute to the current Television Critics Association Press Tour gathering in Beverly Hills?

Is: b) Phyllis Lindstrom, who was the only one of the five not to live in Los Angeles. To the over 100 people who answered All in the Family’s Mike Stivic, you forgot that he and Gloria moved to Los Angeles at the end of season eight. The two, of course, divorced and Gloria ended up working for the Penguin in upstate New York. But Mike, as far as we know, stayed in LA. Dot Higgins worked as a waitress on It’s a Living, Morris Thorpe was a student on The White Shadow, and Heather Locklear as evil Amanda Woodward “saved” Melrose Place.

Who makes the fog surrounding the Golden Gate simply disappear?

Who makes the warning bells on the cable cars play the "Gangs All Here"?

Who charms the crabs at Fisherman's Warf right out of their shell?

Who lights the lamps of Chinatown just by walking in view...who?