• by December 4, 2000

As Broadcasting and Cable reported this morning, our Energizer bunny-like election, sending viewers to cable news outlets, may be to blame for the lackluster performances of several syndicated series for the week ending Nov. 19.

Not great for a sweeps period, all talk shows were down or flat from the previous week, and among the court efforts, no show went up or down more than one-tenth of a ratings point. On the talk show front, "Oprah" led the group as usual, posting a 6.0, which was flat from the previous week, according to Nielsen Media Research's household ratings. Followers were "Live with Regis" (3.7, down 12%), "Jerry Springer" (3.6, flat), "Maury" (3.3, flat), "Montel" (3.2, down 3%), "Rosie" (3.1, down 3%), "Sally" (2.5, down 7%), "Ricki" (2.4, down 4%) and "Jenny" (2.0, down 9%). In faux court, top dog "Judge Judy" scored a 6.8, unchanged from the previous period. Runners-up included "Judge Joe Brown" (3.9, down 3%) and "Divorce Court" (3.1, flat). Top rookie court effort "Power of Attorney" (2.5) was also unchanged. However, other syndicated fare, especially action-oriented weeklies and off-net sitcoms perked up during the week - indicating these programs were great escapist alternatives to election nuttiness.

All four top off-net rookies posted series highs, including "Spin City" (3.3, up 10%), "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (2.0, up 11%), "Suddenly Susan" (1.7, up 13%) and "Jamie Foxx" (1.5, up 7%). "Moesha" jumped 15% to equal its season best 1.5.

Among the weeklies, "Entertainment Tonight's" weekend edition (episodes featured TV's greatest scandals) grabbed a 4.3, its highest marks in more than four years. Behind "ET," was "X-Files" (4.1, up 5%), posting its best numbers for the season. Next came "Andromeda" (3.7, down 3%), "Xena" (3.4, down 13%) "Stargate SG-1" (3.3, up 14%) and "ER" (2.8, down 7%). VIP (2.7, up 8%) matched its season high. Elsewhere, "Entertainment Tonight" (6.1, up 5%) led all news strips. Among the rest, "Inside Edition" matched its 3.3 season high, "Extra" slipped 3% to a 3.2, "Access Hollywood" was flat at a 2.4 and "National Enquirer" hopped up 9% to a 1.2.