Roof Falls in on Aaron Sorkin-'Bachelorette' Trounces West Wing Ratings Again

The Drudge Report and Fast Market Major City Overnight Nielsons ^ | January 9, 2003 | Matt Drudge

[ewing]

CBS LIVE 'STAR SEARCH' [9.4 RATING/14 SHARE OF ALL TV'S] WINS HOUR.

ABC'S 'BACHELORETTE' [11.6/17] WINS VAUNTED WEDNESDAY 9PM EST TIME SLOT

NBC WINS OVERALL NIGHT WITH REGULAR FARE BOOSTED BY 'LAW AND ORDER' AT 10PM EST [15.9/25] AND WEST WING [11.3/16]

DEVELOPING..

[jackbill]

Perhaps West Wing is losing its audience because everyone knows that it is no longer realistic.

David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter, was asked about WW this morning on Fox News. He said that it was a portrayal of the Clinton West Wing. He said that there was no way in the world that it portrayed the Bush West Wing.

He also said that he couldn't imagine a pizza being allowed in Bush's WW.

[ewing]

Sorkins show is one of the highest rated on television and always wins its time slot.

This means that there is something seriously wrong with his show and people are not watching..

[ewing]

David Frum did say that the whole show was a liberal fantasy.

[Karsus]

What is wrong with a pizza?

[Your Nightmare]

From what I can find, West Wing has averaged 10.1/16.0 for the season, so a 11.3/16 would be an increase. BTW, why is Drudge reporting TV ratings as a developing story? Nothing better to do?

[ewing]

Because West Wing is so politically biased the show get a lot of attention.

[ConservativeDude]

the average American thinks Martin Sheen IS president

[drjimmy]

BTW, why is Drudge reporting TV ratings as a developing story? Nothing better to do?
You must not visit Drudge very often (and don't take that as a criticism!). He gives TV ratings and movie box office results the same size headline he would give to the war with Iraq starting. His show biz roots go a lot deeper than his politics roots.

[Momma Lou]

I agree. West Wing seems to be nothing more than a liberal fairy tale, wishful thinking that Clinton is still in the White House. I have watched maybe 15 minutes total, and have found it to be silly and irrevelant. I suppose it does give the liberals in this country something to fantasize about.

[Your Nightmare]

I don't go to Drudge much. I guess the fact that he thinks TV ratings are a developing story doesn't make me think I'm missing much.

[ambrose]

Trashy show beats another trashy show. Hardly uplifting news.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Poor Aaron. Here's an idea for WW:
Have the President sexually harass a woman, then get sued over it. Have the Supreme Court unanimously rule the lawsuit must go on, then have the President lie while he's under oath.

That'd be a ratings getter for sure.

[ewing]

Only uplifting from the standpoint that even liberals are bailing on 'West Wing' now.

[ghost of nixon]

Have the President sexually harass a woman...

you are right on the money. Sorkin & his lefty writers are so busy showing us their wet dreams of what a liberal administration should be like, that they are leaving out the very real, very scandalous, and very ratings-enhancing stuff that real Democrat administrations are made of. Amazing and stupid.

[UB355]

Our local left leaning critic has also bailed

Does 'West Wing' need the GOP?
Last Updated: Jan. 8, 2003
Inside TV & Radio



Tim Cuprisin
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What if Aaron Sorkin had let fake president Martin Sheen lose the election to fake Republican James Brolin on NBC's fading "West Wing"?

At the very least, what if he had dragged things out with a squeaker that ended up in the House of Representatives, a scenario dragging well into the heart of the February sweeps?

A dramatic change in plot, with much of the old cast replaced by a new White House crew, may be a bigger gamble than you'd expect from a network show.

But the networks are continuing to lose viewers to cable. And "The West Wing" has been losing viewers on its own.

It's time to gamble.

Imagine the injection of fresh ideas into the show, with new characters and countless new subplots. Think about the creative stretch for Sorkin as he tried to present Republicans as complex human beings. Picture the free buzz the show would generate from radio talkers who could point to the show as a sign that they're making a dent on entertainment TV.

Of course, the talkers would start squawking when Sorkin's complex Republicans proved to be as morally muddled as his Democrats. Remember, Sheen's noble President Bartlett has a record of lying about his medical problems, and he ordered an assassination.

But even talk-radio criticism of a GOP "West Wing" could jump-start a fading show.

Instead, the political soap opera remains set in Sorkin's liberal Fantasyland. Most characters speak with his voice - often at the same time and way too quickly.

Come to think of it, just letting the actors speak a little more slowly and enunciate a bit more clearly might stop some viewers from drifting away.

[Darksheare]

It's good to see Aaron Sorkin get trounced.
The West Wing is nothing more than what the Libs wish the world was.
And people want to see people's feelings get crushed more than they want to be spoon-fed liberal flatulance.

Mwah-hah-hah-hah-hahaaaa!

[The South Park Republican]

ABC'S 'BACHELORETTE' [11.6/17] WINS VAUNTED WEDNESDAY 9PM EST TIME SLOT

NBC WINS OVERALL NIGHT WITH REGULAR FARE BOOSTED BY 'LAW AND ORDER' AT 10PM EST [15.9/25] AND WEST WING [11.3/16]

Ummmm...This is Free Republic not Democratic Underground. We like facts here. A 11.6 to a 11.3 Ratings win does not a "Trouncing" make.

Or did San Fransisco "Trounce, BRUTALIZE and KILL" New York last week because New York didn't make a field goal at the end of the game? (Well, OK, the refs missed the call but you get my point).

;-)

[Bluntpoint]

This was not a trouncing and Kenny is not really dead.

"They killed Sorkin! The bastards!

[weikel]

Hey shes a hottie( and I just know from the commericials I hate reality tv).

[weikel]

Well looks like somebody has a lot of sand in his vag***.