(You’re entering a world of pain, Jay Leno.)
When we opened our inbox to find an email from Spike TV about last night’s "Ultimate Fighter" 10 season premiere, we expected the usual ratings chest-thumping where they point out how well it did in the 18-34 year-old male demographic that the UFC basically owns, while leaving out how it got smoked by some terrible network TV offering that plays to the very old, the very stupid, and the too-lazy-to-change-the-channel demographic. But instead what we saw were numbers actually worth bragging about. According to Spike TV, last night’s TUF 10 premiere "was not only the most watched episode in the series history, but also in network history for an original."
Of course, the other network original that it beat out was the season finale of something called "The Joe Schmo Show" in 2003, which somehow garnered 3.4 million viewers. It sounds less impressive that way, but the point is that the TUF 10 premiere got 4.1 million viewers, which crushed the previous TUF high of 2.8 million set by the season three finale. And yes, in the 18-34 male demo it also beat out a bunch of network shows like "America’s Got Talent," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Jay Leno Show," and something called "Glee," which we at first thought was a typo but turns out is an actual show. God help us.
So does this mean that the drawing power of Kimbo Slice is now beyond question? Or could it be that the silent, but fiercely loyal fans of Darrill "Titties" Schoonover helped push the TUF ratings to new heights? It would be irresponsible of us to speculate (just kidding, it was "Titties"), but odds are the Spike TV execs are just glad that something finally pushed "The Joe Schmo Show" out of the top spot after so many years. Now when advertisers ask them what their greatest ratings success was they don’t have to mumble the answer into the backs of their hands before quickly changing the subject by asking, ‘Who else could go for some chicken strips right about now?’
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Comments
Thu, 09/17/09 - 04:47
Photographer- "I know this might sound unorthodox, but, uh, Kimbo? Instead of looking mean and menacing, could you maybe, um, smile on this one?"
Thu, 09/17/09 - 04:49
All in all it was a pretty good episode. But Rampage is one crappy coach. He doesn't seem to take it seriously. It was clear his guy had no idea how to defend against or get up after a takedown. I guess all you can do is yell get up, get up!
Thu, 09/17/09 - 05:03
I'm down for some chicken strips, you buying?
Thu, 09/17/09 - 05:03
Sweet. Now I can saw I saw the top 2 rated original shows in SpikeTV history. "The Joe Schmo Show" was pretty awesome too.
Thu, 09/17/09 - 05:08
Hey, Glee is quite wonderful. Thank goodness they're aired on different timeslots over here, else I'd have to cut an innocent bystander.
Thu, 09/17/09 - 05:29
Yeah I agree. That Joe Shmo show was damn cool.
Thu, 09/17/09 - 05:34
I gaurantee the ratings drop tremendously for the duration of the series. That first fight was awful and did nothing for the show except most likely hurt it.
Thu, 09/17/09 - 06:07
Im not gonna Lie.... I tuned in to watch "Titties"
Thu, 09/17/09 - 06:54
The Joe Schmo Show was at least as entertaining as any season of the Ulimate Fighter. I was engrossed.
Thu, 09/17/09 - 07:19
Dude, I like Glee.
Thu, 09/17/09 - 08:58
Rampage is just plain stupid! Wouldn't it have been awesome if "Titties" responded to Pages "Distract him with your titties" comment, by asking him if thats what he was looking at instead of the road while he was running people over? Please God, let there be a way that Rampage and Rashad can acheive the legendary "Career Ending Double K.O."
Thu, 09/17/09 - 09:29
TUF 10 the heavy bellys
Thu, 09/17/09 - 09:39
GOOD. The more the merrier :)
Thu, 09/17/09 - 09:52
Kimbo looks like a chia pet if you rubbed the seeds on the chin as opposed to the head a smile would've been nice
Thu, 09/17/09 - 10:00
I kinda like Rashad. But it seems as soon as I start pulling for someone, they get their face caved in. Chuck made it a while with me pulling for him but then my guy got his face crushed in with regularity. Then I thought, Rashad seems like a pretty good guy, then he gets knocked crosseyed. As much as I hate Silva and Pierre, it is like they just dominate to drive me crazy. It's weird stuff. If I want you to win, you need to go get life insurance. I wish I did not hex everyone, but life's a bitch.
Fri, 09/18/09 - 05:07
I was thinking this as I was watching the show... Is Kimbo big enough to be a HW? He looks no bigger than Rashad. I'm sure he could easily get to 205. Barring the ever-present puncher's chance, he would get smoked by most mid-level fighters in both classes, but come on...Heavyweight?
Fri, 09/18/09 - 05:36
@ Fight Fan I agree. He could go down to 205. He is the same height as both coaches and he weighs 235. I bet both Page and Rashad are 220-225 normally.
Fri, 09/18/09 - 06:53
I've seen BJJ white belts at my gym that give better cornering than Rampage. The guy fights on instinct and power and is not a technique fighter so it's no surprise that the guy can't articulate a game plan. Whereas my coach would have said, control the head, control the wrist, forget half guard go butterfly then squat press that guy off of you and then stand up, Rampage says "get up!"
Fri, 09/18/09 - 08:28
Sounds like somebody should go to Hulu and check out an episode or two of Glee. It's definitely worthwhile.
Fri, 09/18/09 - 10:16
The fight on the show was boooooring. I was afraid the show was going to suck when they announced Heavyweights cause it's so hard to find good ones.
Fri, 09/18/09 - 10:31
That John Madsen dude is a little bitch too.
Fri, 09/18/09 - 10:51
I'm with ReDx. The Chicken Strips Distraction Tactic (commonly known as C.S.D.T.) is always a good option. I read that and forgot about the MMA topic for a second.
Fri, 09/18/09 - 11:05
The good.. The show proved to millions that A. size doesn't count for shit when there is a huge gap in technique and B. A big strong striker with poor ground skills is a fish out of water against any experienced wrestler The bad.. A massive amount of people probably got turned off to mma due to the blood and brutality of that fight.. and lack of visible technique to those who don't appreciate wrestling. Let's hope old Bill wasn't watching and continues his ignorance in using fights like Lesnar vs Couture (a good fight that really wasn't very brutal) to try and display the brutality of the sport.
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