Commercial-free for ‘Laguna’ finale

MTV announced Monday that the second season finale of “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” will air without commercial interruption Nov. 14. That’s great news if you’re a television viewer between the ages of 12 and 24, but perhaps meaningless otherwise.

The network promises live segments with the cast members and a climactic episode in which Stephen and Kristin meet up for the last time and the gang realizes that nothing will ever be the same again. Oh the humanity.

Consistently billed as television’s first “reality drama,” “Laguna Beach” has developed into an unexpected ratings powerhouse for MTV in its second season. After launching with relatively modest returns last fall, “Laguna Beach” has become the network’s most buzzed about show, overtaking the “Real World” and “Road Rules” as a watercooler conversation piece in certain circles.

Those are the circles that are most likely to care about what will happen when Stephen and Kristin meet up for the last time. Everybody else can just watch “CSI: Miami” or “Medium” in that 10 p.m. time slot.

For the season, “Laguna Beach” has reached more than 79 million viewers and regularly wins its time period among viewers 12-24.

– Zap2it.com
‘Threshold,’ ‘Home’ swapped

Annoyed, perhaps, that Friday was its only Jerry Bruckheimer-free night of the week, CBS is swapping freshman dramas “Threshold” and “Close to Home” for a November sweeps test run.

Starting this Friday, “Close to Home” will move into the 9 p.m. EST slot after “Ghost Whisperer.” The trial will run for two weeks. “Threshold” won’t take over at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays until Nov. 22 (a two-hour “Amazing Race” is set for this Tuesday and the CMA awards are in place on Nov. 15), but will remain there the following week.

If these alternative time slots prove successful, CBS could make the moves permanent.

Neither “Threshold” nor “Close to Home” has been a failure for CBS, but neither drama has achieved quite the level of viewership the network had hoped for.

Expectations were that “Threshold,” with its alien invasion themes, would play will with Jennifer Love Hewitt communicating with the dead. While “Ghost Whisperer” has been a solid hit with nearly 11 million viewers per week, “Threshold” has struggled to retain that audience, averaging just 7.8 million viewers.

“Close to Home” has averaged just under 10 million weekly viewers, holding on to most of the 10.8 million people who watch “Amazing Race” each week. That’s not bad, but CBS cancelled venerable drama “Judging Amy” (nearly 10.6 million viewers) in hopes of finding a younger Tuesday night audience. “Home” has fallen short of that goal.

Best of all, the move will give CBS a Bruckheimer produced series on Sunday (“Cold Case”), Monday (“CSI: Miami”), Tuesday (“Amazing Race”), Wednesday (“CSI: NY”), Thursday (“CSI: Original Flavor,” “Without a Trace”), Friday (“Close to Home”) and Saturday (whatever procedural repeats CBS decides to trot out). That’s pretty impressive.

– Zap2it.com