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Rock Star: INXS So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance has strong debut as Rock Star sinks and Brat Camp stays solid

by Andy Dehnart 21 Jul. 2005 | 11:46 pm

So you think there’s nothing else on TV so people will watch a pretty poor copy of American Idol, one that’s so cheap the contestants wear hand-written numbers and get cast by the producer rather than real judges? If so, you’d be right. (Hell, even Virginia Heffernan hates it.)

FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance came out of the gate with strong numbers: 10.3 million viewers watched. Variety says that’s “pretty close to what ‘American Idol’ launched to in June 2002 (4.8/14 in 18-49, 9.9 million).” Those numbers also make the show the number two premiere of the summer, behind Hit Me Baby One More Time and just ahead of Brat Camp.

FOX’s Mike Darnell was surprised by the strong ratings. He says, “It was a shocking number for us, because it’s not been a summer where everything (in reality) has launched. We didn’t see this number coming.”

Brat Camp, by the way, was watched by 9.36 million viewers, which, in its made-up language, Variety says “declined a mere 5% from its strong week-earlier preem, looking good despite tougher competish.”

Rock Star, on the other hand, had “the lowest scores of its five episodes this summer as it moved to its new 9 o’clock slot,” and was watched by just 3.31 million.

Fox ‘Dance’ dazzles [Variety]

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Pacific Standard, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association, Andy, 40, directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. More about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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