SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Reality rules, as “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Star” took over the top four spots in the Nielsen’s this week.

JULIANNE HOUGH, ADAM CAROLLA on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

And what is dying at the bottom of the barrel? My beloved “Aliens in America.” Here’s the list so you can check out how your favorite shows stack up.

1 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY 27340 9.5
2 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY 26080 9.1
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS 21150 7.4
4 DANCING W/STARS SP-3/18 17020 5.9
5 TWO AND A HALF MEN 14060 4.9
6 SURVIVOR:MICRONESIA WE-SP 11560 4.0
7 60 MINUTES 11540 4.0
8 OLD CHRISTINE 11470 4.0
9 LOST 11460 4.0
10 EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED. 11360 4.0
11 MOMENT OF TRUTH 10920 3.8
12 NCIS 10600 3.7
13 LAW AND ORDER 10490 3.7
14 DEAL OR NO DEAL 3/20 10260 3.6
15 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON 10080 3.5
16 MEDIUM 10070 3.5
17 CBS NCAA POST GAME SUN 1 10030 3.5
18 OPRAH’S BIG GIVE 9810 3.4
19 CSI: MIAMI 9640 3.4
20 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 9610 3.4
21 MISS GUIDED SP-3/18 9280 3.2
22 CBS NCAA BSKBL CHMP-SA-4 9200 3.2
23 BIG BANG THEORY, THE 8930 3.1
24 APPRENTICE 7 8830 3.1
25 BACHELOR: LONDON CALLING 8580 3.0
26 DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS 8370 2.9
27 LAW AND ORDER:SVU 8290 2.9
28 CBS NCAA BSKBL CHP-EVEFR2 8210 2.9
29 LAW AND ORDER:SVU-SUN3/23 8090 2.8
30 AMER FUNN HOME VIDEOS 8050 2.8
31 BIGGEST LOSER 5 7890 2.8
32 LAW AND ORDER-SUN 3/23 7720 2.7
33 CBS NCAA BSKBL CHP-EVETH2 7630 2.7
34 SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER 7460 2.6
35 20/20-FRI 7360 2.6
36 ELI STONE 7320 2.6
37 NEW AMSTERDAM 7270 2.5
38 SUPERNANNY 6960 2.4
39 LIPSTICK JUNGLE 6950 2.4
40 LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT 6830 2.4
41 HERE COME THE NEWLYWEDS 6730 2.4
42 BIG BROTHER 9-WED 6600 2.3
43 BIG BROTHER 9-SUN 6460 2.3
44 COLD CASE 6350 2.2
45 CSI: NY 6340 2.2
DATELINE FRI 6340 2.2
47 MISS GUIDED-3/20 8:30PM 6310 2.2
48 20/20-9PM 6300 2.2
49 MISS GUIDED-3/20 8PM 6280 2.2
50 EASTER BEAGLE, C. BROWN 6240 2.2
51 LAW AND ORDER-SAT 6200 2.2
52 DATELINE SUN 7PM 3/23 6080 2.1
53 COPS 2 6010 2.1
54 AMW: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK 5910 2.1
55 MEN IN TREES 5890 2.1
56 JERICHO 5730 2.0
57 CANTERBURY’S LAW 5710 2.0
58 WIFE SWAP 5700 2.0
59 LAW AND ORDR:CRIM INT3/19 5440 1.9
60 HOUSE-FRI 9P 5430 1.9
61 BIG BROTHER 9-TUE 5380 1.9
62 DEXTER 5270 1.8
63 LAW & ORDER:SVU-SAT 5230 1.8
64 AMNESIA 5140 1.8
65 COPS 5110 1.8
66 JUST FOR LAUGHS 4870 1.7
67 SIMPSONS 4810 1.7
68 FAMILY GUY 4490 1.6
69 MY DAD IS BETR THN YR DAD 4400 1.5
70 FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN 4280 1.5
71 AMERICA’S TOP MODEL-4 3790 1.3
72 GREY’S ANATOMY-FRI 8PM 3700 1.3
73 SMALLVILLE 3440 1.2
74 TIL DEATH-FRI 8P 3390 1.2
75 UNHITCHED SP-3/23 8:30P 3210 1.1
76 RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES 3130 1.1
77 UNHITCHED 3110 1.1
78 ONE TREE HILL 3000 1.0
79 REAPER-THU 2940 1.0
80 AMERICAN DAD-SUN 7:30P 2700 .9
81 KING OF THE HILL-SUN 7P 2500 .9
82 APPRENTICE 7 3/22 2280 .8
83 BEAUTY AND THE GEEK-3 1730 .6
84 PUSSYCAT DOLLS:GIRL-ENC 1710 .6
85 PUSSYCAT DOLLS:GIRLICIOUS 1640 .6
86 GAME, THE-SUN 1260 .4
87 GOSSIP GIRL-MON 1240 .4
88 AMERICA’S TOP MODEL-4-ENC 1220 .4
89 GIRLFRIENDS-SUN 1170 .4
90 EV HATES CHRIS-SUN2 990 .3
91 ALIENS IN AMERICA-SUN 910 .3

Here’s a quick rundown of when you all can expect to see your fav CW shows on this spring. Note for the five of you watching “Life is Wild” – it’s gone:

SERIES ANTICIPATED RETURN EXPECTED # OF NEW EPISODES
THE GAME March 23 9

ONE TREE HILL April 14 6

SMALLVILLE April 17 5

GOSSIP GIRL April 21 5

REAPER April 22 5

SUPERNATURAL April 24 4

*EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS completed 22 episodes. The 12 remaining originals will begin airing March 3.

* ALIENS IN AMERICA completed 18 episodes. The 8 remaining originals will air March 2-March 23 and April 27-May 18.

With ratings like these, if the CW was a TV show, it would have been cancelled long ago.

The barely breathing network trotted out its new game plan today, with the family-in-Africa drama “Life is Wild” missing. If you don’t know what show I’m talking about, don’t worry. Very few viewers ever tuned it. In fact, if you gathered all the regular viewers together they probably wouldn’t even make a noticible line in Starbucks.

Penn Badgley as Dan and Blake Lively as Serena star in Gossip Girl on The CW. Photo Eric Liebowitz /The CW

Not that they don’t have some great shows. “Gossip Girl” is a great guilty pleasure, and although “Reaper”never again rose to the level of its fantastic pilot, it’s still not a bad show.

Enough pitching. Here’s the line-up:

Monday

8 p.m. “GOSSIP GIRL” (Beginning January 28)

9 p.m. “PUSSYCAT DOLLS PRESENT: GIRLICIOUS” (Beginning February 18)

Tuesday

8 p.m. “REAPER” (Beginning January 15)

8 p.m. “BEAUTY AND THE GEEK” (Beginning March 11)

9 p.m. “ONE TREE HILL” Wednesday (Beginning February 20)

8 p.m. “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL”

9 p.m. “PUSSYCAT DOLLS PRESENT: GIRLICIOUS”

Encore

Thursday

8 p.m. “SMALLVILLE”

9 p.m. “REAPER” (Beginning February 28)

Sunday (Beginning February 10)

7 p.m. “CW NOW”

7:30 p.m. “EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS” Encores

8 p.m. “EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS”

8:30 p.m. “ALIENS IN AMERICA”

9 p.m. “GIRLFRIENDS”

9:30 p.m. “THE GAME”

“Aliens in America” may be one of the funniest shows on television right now, except precious few people are tuning in.

But if you’re one of the proud and the few, you can get some one-on-one time with the stars during this weekend’s San Jose soccer tournament.

Adhir Kalyan “Raja” and Dan Byrd “Justin” will be signing autographs from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 at the CW Cup Soccer Tournament at the Morgan Hill Soccer Complex. Take the Dunne Avenue exit of 101 South of San Jose to get there.

Adhir Kalyan as Raja and Dan Byrd as Justin in ALIENS IN AMERICA on The CW. Photo: Sergei Bachlakov

In addition to soccer, the general public is invited to enjoy the “Kick It! Zone” just outside the soccer complex. This festival area will feature inflatable games, prizes, information and product samples from a variety of sponsors.

All you need is a computer and a fast connection to get an early viewing of CW’s series “Aliens in America” and “Life is Wild.”

The full episodes of the series air free and without commercial interruption on Yahoo.com before their broadcast air dates.

“Aliens,” about a misfit high schooler and the Muslim exchange student the family takes in, will begins streaming on Yahoo! today. It premieres Oct. 1 on the CW.

Dan Byrd as Justin Tolchuck, Adhir Kalyan as Raja Musharaff Photo Credit: Kharen Hill/The CW (C)2007

“Life Is Wild,” a family drama about a New York veterinarian and his blended family moving to South Africa airs Oct. 7 on The CW, but will be available at Yahoo! starting Saturday.

(L-R) D.W. Moffett as Danny Clarke, K’Sun Ray as Chase Clarke, Leah Pipes as Katie Clarke, Mary Mouser as Mia Weller, Stephanie Niznick as Jo Clarke, David Butler as Art and Andrew St. John as Jesse Weller stars in LIFE IS WILD on THE CW. Photo: David Bloomer/The CW ©2007