American Idol battles Lost

American Idol is not getting the viewers like in past years. Last night, NCIS scored 19 million viewers against the former television titan. Tonight American Idol spreads across America while it does battle with ABC’s Lost.

Also last night…why do people do the things they do? The beauty pageant moms of Toddlers and Tiaras say they do it all because their kids love it so much. (Right.) The ex-fiance on NCIS killed his father-in-law to be so the daughter would come running back to him for comfort in her grief. (Yikes!) The contractors foreclosing on homes in Leverage did it because they were greedy, and more importantly because they could get away with it. (Typical.)

People are altogether wacky, weird and wonderful, aren’t they? This leads me right to American Idol which is all three of those things in one entertaining package. Last night’s auditions were mild on the scale of weirdness. We still haven’t encountered the likes of “Sex” or the “I Am Your Brother” guy. Can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I miss the crazies. But wait, was that a guy in a bunny suit I saw in the promos? We’ll find out – – tonight!

Tonight On TV — January 28

ABC starts with a rerun of Lost, follows that with a new episode and then it’s the return of Life on Mars.NBC slips a little with Knight Rider on the trail of a serum that makes you incredibly strong, then it’s a Law & Order: SVU rerun, followed by a new Law & Order and ties to the Russian mob. 

CBS is going with a little experiment by putting the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric first in line tonight. That’s followed, inexplicably, by the comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine, a rerun of Criminal Minds, and the fifth season opener of CSI: NY.

The CW has reruns of Privileged and 90210.

FOX should easily take the night with American Idol and their new drama Lie to Me.

Over on cable

Bravo is running a mini-Top Chef marathon that ends when some of the old contestants come back to take on the new at 10:00.

Stay in the kitchen with BBC America’s mini-marathon of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares.

Braver souls can go with a full night of ghost hunting on SCI FI, including a new episode of Ghost Hunters International at 9:00.

For the fussy amongst you, Style Network fills their night with episodes of Clean House including a new one at 10:00.

News and notable

Singer/songwriter Chris Isaak has a new show on Biography where he sits down with musicians in the studio to talk about their careers. The show debuts February 26.

American Idol Extra will be back on Fox Reality Channel starting at the end of March.

Lisa Kudrow is behind a new NBC series called Who Do You Think You Are?, which takes celebrities back through their genealogical history.

NBC has ordered a pilot that sounds very Jericho like, it’s called Day One and it’s about survivors putting the world back in order after a major catastrophe.

Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes got a pilot deal from ABC for a series about a group of news journalists in Washington.

Have a spare $2.9 million laying around? NBC has four Super Bowl ad slots that they haven’t sold yet. Want one? Photo credit:
Lie to Me: Moral Waiver — Lightman (Tim Roth, L) questions an Army Private. Mike Yarish/FOX
Lost: Jughead — Pictured: Elizabeth Mitchell, Josh Holloway. Photo: ABC/Mario Perez

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