Andrea's Agenda

I'm a Nielsen family for a week

It seems that Nielsen Media Research, the outfit that measures TV ratings for different broadcast markets across the United States, has decided that "everyone counts" and is requesting that I keep a diary of my viewing habits for one week in November. I believe I am one of several people in this reading area who have been so honored and our viewing choices will be used to help set advertising rates for the coming year. Of course, they may revoke my privilege now that I have publicized it here but oh, well.

This is something I did a number of years ago when I was in the demographic that is most highly coveted by TV advertisers. Now I am ancient, but not so ancient that they no longer care what I watch. Apparently if you're over 50 you're not worth their time or energy since they probably figure all you watch is the Lawrence Welk re-run on PBS. For the record, I wouldn't be caught dead watching Lawrence Welk. I do like "CSI," which my colleague Terry Aman claims is what all the over-40 crowd is REALLY watching instead of Lawrence Welk. I can point to demos that prove that people of all ages watch "CSI" even if Terry isn't one of them.

The Nielsen people also are not likely to care overly about my viewing habits since I choose not to pay through the nose for a DVR or cable television or watch TV online or any of the other new technologies that advertisers are panting to measure.

No, I am an old-fashioned viewer, the sort who relies on rabbit ears, a digital converter box, and an aging VCR that doesn't work unless I am there to manually push the start button. The converter box turns off after awhile and records only static if I set the timer on the VCR. This VCR enables me to record shows for later viewing, though I quite often decide they're not worth watching after I've recorded them. I watch in real time, record AND rewatch a very few shows. One of my favorite shows, "House," is now on my Meh list after they turned one of my favorite characters, Dr. Chase, into a murderer. Last week the only show I bothered to tape and rewatch was "The Mentalist."

Yes, the Nielsen ratings will reflect that I, along with millions of other viewers, am a fan of actor Simon Baker and his show about the phony psychic turned police consultant Patrick Jane. The plots are frequently preposterous, but Baker's easy charm makes you suspend disbelief for an hour or so. The ensemble cast is also great. I enjoy the character Agent Cho's deadpan humor. Told he had to testify in court, he griped morosely, "Not if I walk in front of oncoming traffic first."

The boss Teresa Lisbon, played by actress Robin Tunney, is also growing on me. Last week's show, where she was framed for murder and pretended to have a breakdown to flush out the real murderer, was highly entertaining. Robin Tunney also played a witchy school girl in the cult Halloween movie "The Craft," so I was more used to seeing her act crazy than like a straight-laced police detective. This episode allowed Tunney to really let it rip.

I have my doubts that a real hypnotist would be able to hypnotize someone in 30 seconds, as Jane did Lisbon in this episode, but it's only a TV program. Then again, there are very few women who would not enjoy having Patrick Jane attempt to hypnotize them after that episode, so he probably had an unfair advantage over Tunney's character.

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