No Wonder American Standard is the Name of a Toilet Company

Congratulations, America. You did it. You made the bold choice. Dare I say the bolder choice last night and I, for one, have to say well done. Just well done. You have given the terrorists another reason to wipe our culture off the face of planet Earth. I might be with them on this.

This morning, I was greeted by the following in my inbox:

“American Gladiators” debuted last night with the highest 18-49 rating for any new-show premiere on any network this season, and NBC’s top 18-49 rating for a new-show debut since “Heroes,” according to “fast affiliate-based” “live plus same day” viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Last night from 9-11 p.m. ET, the debut of “American Gladiators” (5.9 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49, 12.0 million viewers overall) scored NBC’s highest non-sports 18-49 rating in this time period in nearly three years (since the January 16, 2005 telecast of the Golden Globe Awards). In total viewers, it was NBC’s top non-sports program in the slot since the Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006.

That’s right. The highest rated new show of this television season among the key demos isn’t Private Practice, Life or Pushing Daisies, it is American Gladiators. Who knew the secret to ratings success was spandex and Hulk Hogan? This does give me hope that this might once again see the light of day.