CSI

Nine have released their schedule for the first week of Easter non-ratings, week commencing April 17. The schedule includes The Big Bang Theory at 7pm weekdays – like what Brisbane have already been doing, and many, many repeats of regular Nine titles.

Here’s the summary.

1. Sunday April 17

ACA Sunday remains at 6.30pm. At 7pm, is Easter with the Australian Women’s Weekly. 60 Minutes airsat 7.30 as usual.

After 8.30, The Mentalist will be a repeat, followed by another replay of the Harry’s Law pilot at 9.30pm.

2. Weekdays, 7pm.

After experimenting in Brisbane for a few weeks now with The Big Bang Theory stripped across 7pm instead of Two and a half Men, Nine are set to extend the move to the rest of the network, starting with the pilot on Monday April 18 at 7pm.

Should this programming remain, it will be an opportunity for fans to see the entire series in order at a stable time. Problem is, there are still extra episodes on Nine, as well as GO which may add to the confusion.

3. Monday April 18.

A repeat of Two and a Half Men is at 7.30, followed by a new episode of $#*! My Dad Says at 8pm. 8.30 and 9.30 TBA.

Note, however, that Two and a Half Men and $#*! My Dad Says BOTH also air on GO!

4. Tuesday April 19.

A repeat of Big Bang at 7.30pm (season 3), followed by another new episode of $#*! My Dad Says at 8pm. At 8.30 is a repeat of Top Gear, while 9.40 remains TBA. Kitchen Nightmares at 10.40 is new.

5. Wednesday April 20.

Getting boring now…

A repeat of Big Bang at 7.30pm (season 3), followed by another replay of the Mike& Molly pilot at 8pm. New RPA: Where Are They Now follows at 8.30pm.

At 9.30, the AFL states will have their Footy Show on, this is because there is an AFL match played on Thursday April 21 instead of Good Friday April 22.

NRL states get Embarrassing Bodies at 9.30, TBA at 10.30 and the AFL Footy Show at 11.30pm.

6. Thursday April 21.

7.30 will be a repat of RBT, a new episode of Getaway at 8pm. CSI at 8.30 is a repeat.

At 9.30 in NRL states is the NRL Footy show.

7. Friday April 22.

While AFL move their Friday night Football to Thursday night, NRL remains on Friday night with the usual two games. Wests Tigers Vs Brisbane Broncos is live at 7.30pm (NSW & QLD) and Manly Sea Eagles Vs Penrith Panthers is at 9.30pm.

8. Summary

This week sees 7 episodes of The Big Bang Theory on Nine and 3 on GO!, 1 Two and a Half men on Nine and 2 on GO, an episode of Mike & Molly on both Nine and GO and two eps of $#*! My Dad Says on Nine and one on GO!

It also sees repeats of The Mentalist, Harry’s Law and CSI on both Nine and GEM.

8:30pm – Thursday, March 31 on Channel Nine

While investigating the murder of a convicted ex-cop, the CSI’s stumble upon a list in his prison cell with names of several individuals he believed might have been his wife’s true killer.

8:30pm – Thursday, March 24 on Channel Nine

When two people who were thought to be dead come back to life, the evidence leads CSI back to a discredited ex-professor who conducted bizarre death-related experiments in the 1970s.

8:30pm – Thursday, March 17 on Channel Nine

Langston testifies against the notorious “Dick & Jane” killer, Nate Haskell. Meanwhile, Nick receives a call from troubled teen Jason McCann to warn him of impending danger. Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married) returns as Nate Haskell and Justin Bieber returns as Jason McCann, the brother of Alex McCann who Nick shot in the season premiere.

8:30pm – Thursday, March 10 on Channel Nine

A thrift store donation turns gruesome when a dead body is found in a box; meanwhile, Langston’s wife

8:30pm – Thursday, March 3 on Channel Nine

A night full of celebration ends with a bang when the director of a scholarship foundation for the deaf is killed by a deadly car bomb, prompting Sara to interrogate the students and faculty of the college where her mother-in-law works.

Warner Bros to pay Men crew

Warner Bros has confirmed that it will be paying the crew of Two and a Half Men for the four remaining episodes of the current season which has been axed. The company will cover the crew’s wages in full after it was decided to shut down production following Charlie Sheen’s stint in rehab.

Rob Dyrdek launching new MTV show

MTV’s Rob Dyrdek is launching a new series on the network later this year called Ridiculousness. The series, which will run alongside his Fantasy Factory, will see him put his own spin on the funniest amateur videos from the internet in front of a studio audience.

Dancing with the Stars contestants named in the US

Dancing with the Stars in the US has named its latest batch of celebrities to take part in the upcoming season. Former boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, E! Channel star Kendra Wilkinson and actress Kirstie Alley are among those set to take to the d-floor.

CSI actress to guest on Castle

Former CSI actress Liz Vassey has landed a guest role on drama series Castle where she will play a real estate agent who gets caught up in a murder investigation.

8:30pm – Thursday, February 24 on Channel Nine

The CSIs set out to track down a paedophile suspected of murdering an FBI agent’s wife and kidnapping his children.

Is it because the year ends in two one’s that we are seeing so many double episodes this year? Or is it simply non-creative programming as network programmers – from Nine and Ten in particular – scramble for ratings points in an attempt to try and beat Seven.

It is only the third week of official ratings for 2011, and between Nine and Ten, there have been numerous programming changes as the two networks respond to ratings figures of their shows.

The disturbing trend emerging this year so far is the use of double episodes, or two episodes of the same new show in the one week in the hope to lure more viewers.

Just in the last few weeks, we have seen Nine offer double CSI on Thursday nights and double The Mentalist on Sunday nights. For the last few weeks, Nine were airing two new episodes of The Big Bang Theory each week while GO! have inserted a second episode of Fringe on Wednesday nights.

Ten, this week, will play a double episode of Blue Bloods, as well as two new Hawaii Five-O’s next Sunday. Last week, they aired two new NCIS episodes in the same week, the week before, two new episodes on the one night.

Seven doubles up How I Met Your Mother on Thursdays, while the last three weeks has seen two Bones episodes per week – that goes down to one next week with Conviction Kitchen moving in to the Monday 8.30pm timeslot.

The theory behind double episodes is that fans of high rating shows will stick around to watch the second episode. Having a second episode of the same show on limit’s the chance of viewers going to another channel or turning off. However, it does not always work that way.

Second episodes generally rate about 90% or less of what the first does – last night for example, The first episode of The Mentalist was watched by 893,000, the second 744,000. The lower figure for the second suggests many viewers may not have bothered with the second or recorded it for later.

Problem with less watching the second episode is that some of these people who chose not to watch the second simply do not return fearing they may have missed vital information in that second episode they did not watch. While most of these crime procedurals are usually self contained episodes, there are always background story arcs that develop throughout the series, and the perception by many, that missing an episode will mean they have missed something.

That can result in less returning next time the show is on, and ultimately have a detrimental effect overall.

The other problem with too many doubles like we are seeing now, is that some of us simply run out of time to watch everything we want to on TV. With so many channels and choices now, something has to give – and – it is usually the shows viewers aren’t too sure on that give way or, in some cases, shows where too many unwatched episodes have built up.

At our house, for example, we are a week behind with Blue Bloods, having not watched last Wednesday night’s episode yet. There is a double this week from 9pm – chances are, if we don’t end up watching the one from last week within the next few days, we wmay decide not to keep the additional new episodes and give up on the show – it’s too much of the same thing to get through at once.

Last night, we watched one episode of The Mentalist, but not the second – we simply ran out of time. The second will most likely be watched on the weekend once other shows we watch have been seen. I am sure there are others with similar stories.

Viewing habits at my place aside, the real problem with excessive double episodes for the networks is that they will run out of new content sooner, rather than later. That will result in repeats making their way back into schedules, and the likelihood of there being slim pickings as far as new content is concerned down the track.

There may be more channels and choices now than ever before, but it is no good rushing through all the good stuff in the first few months of the year, only to be left with repeats and second rate shows for the rest of the year.

For those trying to keep track of where new episodes of either CSI: Miami or CSI: New York is, this one is for you.

Nine have made ANOTHER change to 9.30 Thursday.

The last two weeks, they have played two original CSI’s in a row.

Next week, Thur Feb 24, they were going to return to new CSI: NY at 9.30pm.

That is no longer the case.

Next week now, they will play a new episodes of CSI: Miami, following the new episode of CSI. In NSW and QLD, it is S9E8, in VIC S9E12. At this stage, CSI: Miami is also in for 9.30 Thur March 3.

New CSI: NY is nowhere to be seen.

Don’t get too used to the timeslot – 9.30 Thursday is where the Footy shows will return to shortly.

Why they don’t just put CSI: Miami and NY on at 10.30 two nights in a row is beyond me.

Or another idea – once the Footy Shows start – have the CSI trilogy split over NIne and GEM with CSI at 8.30 Thursday on Nine, and new CSI: Miami and new CSI: NY from 9.30 on GEM.

You almost need a CSI lab to keep track of when the new episodes are these days.