Overnight TV Ratings -- "Black Donnellys" Bleak

The debut episode of "The Black Donnellys" did only marginally better than the sad final shows of "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip." And given the massive promotional push NBC gave it, that has to be considered a disappointment. If it drops in week two, this could be good news for "Studio 60," which would have lost its slot for good if TBD had worked. Some critics who've seen the first five episodes say the second is a jump in quality but I'm certainly not inclined to watch again. Two minutes into the show, we were in a bar with Van Morrison playing -- thanks for the obvious. Actually, that was the only bearable music cue of the entire episode, with some miserable pop (perhaps Celtic Woman or something?) blaring throughout the action scenes with electronica gurgling in the background. And the look of the show was ludicrous. Apparently, they began each scene by turning off each and every light within a five mile radius. Sure, a smoky pub might be dark and certainly an alley way. But every single home and bar and restaurant and store, down to a diner and a hospital cafeteria, were gloomy and dark and murky and, frasnkly, silly. I personally had a strong hatred for "Crash" so if you liked that movie you might want to take my comments with a grain of salt. But everything here had a false, manic tone from the unreliable narrator who told us the life story of the lovable thieves the Donnellys to the "surprise" ending that simply made everything we've been told about these guys seem absurdly off base. As for "Heroes," the episode focused on Claire and her family and was especially involving. Maybe they'll realize we don't need little cross-cutting plots every single weekl. For a complete ratings breakdown, go to MediaWeek's Marc Berman.

8 p.m.
1. Deal Or No Deal -- 17.35 million viewers
2. Prison Break -- 9.39 million
3. How I Met Your Mother -- 9.42 million/The Class -- 8.90 million
4. Wife Swap -- 8.98 million
5. Everybody Hates Chris -- 2.80 million/All Of Us -- 2.44 million

9 p.m.
1. Two and a Half Men -- 16.70 million /Rules Of Engagement -- 13.73 million
2. Heroes -- 14.27 million
3. 24 -- 12.81 million
4. Supernanny -- 10.15 million
5. Girlfriends -- 2.49 million/The Game -- 2.47 million

10 p.m.
1. CSI: Miami -- 17.24 million
2. Building A Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy -- 8.85 million
3. The Black Donnellys -- 8.42 million