• by Wayne Friedman , March 27, 2007

Most limited reality series have a hopeful trajectory: Start modestly and then build to a season finale high rating. While NBC's singing-and-acting contest show "Grease: You're the One That I Want" never appeared to be a serious rival to "American Idol," it didn't stay with tradition. Instead, it spun into a reverse reality flight plan.

After its debut in January, it lost virtually half its audience by the end. The show premiered with a 4.3 rating among 18-49 viewers--but ended with a Nielsen Preliminary 1.9 rating for its season finale on Sunday night.

What was to blame?

Milquetoast cast members, surging ABC Sunday night shows, a sturdy Fox comedy lineup and increasingly high-rated early evening NFL football overruns on CBS.

NBC did do somewhat better later in the evening, with both "Deal or No Deal" and "The Apprentice" each earning a 2.7 during the 9 p.m. and the 10 p.m. hours, respectively. But NBC's all-unscripted Sunday night just couldn't compete. The network had a fourth-place finish for the night, with 2.1/6.

It was a slow night overall.

CBS won the evening with a small 3.6/10. Fox was second at 2.8/8. ABC was next at 2.6/7. Then came NBC at a 2.1/6, Univision fifth at 1.3/4, and CW in last place at 0.7/2. CBS was helped by early evening overruns from the NCAA Tournament, which pulled in a 4.0 rating and a 3.7 rating for "Cold Case"/"Without a Trace" at 10 p.m.

Usual Sunday-night leader ABC was mostly on the sidelines, with repeats of "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters." It did grabbed a tie for the highest-rated show of the night, with a 4.2 for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Fox gets a piece of that honor, with a 4.2 for "Family Guy." Other good performers for Fox were perennials "The Simpsons" (3.3) and "King of the Hill" (2.8). CW, however, was in rewind: a 0.7 for a repeat of "Pussycat Dolls Present: Search for the Next Doll" and a 0.8 for "America's Next Top Model."