RATINGS: Chuck vs. the Final Exam Holds Steady

The overnight ratings for “Chuck vs. the Final Exam” are in and they’re pretty much the same as last week’s numbers. Airing opposite the premiere of Dancing with the Stars (up over last spring’s debut), approximately 5.43 million viewers tuned in to see Chuck take his red test, with a 1.9 in the 18-49 demo. This compares to last week’s 5.78 million viewers and 1.9 in the demo.

What are the odds of NBC greenlighting a fourth season? TV By The Numbers has some thoughts.

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158 comments

  1. Guys. There is no way that Sarah is pregnant. Even if it’s Chuck’s, how does she continue to be a spy? It ends the show.

    Ausiello said that someone on a drama is pregnant. And that it would be discussed until the show returned in the fall.

    How do you get Sarah from that? For one thing, Chuck isn’t a drama. For another, it’s certainly not assured to come back in the fall.

    Now it does sound like an excellent idea for a fanfic, lol. How about this one?

    http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4785910/1/Chuck_vs_The_Negotiation

    • Exactly, Bill. The Ausiello “someone’s pregnant” thing was a BLIND ITEM about an hour-long drama that has already been renewed for next season. If that show is Chuck, then I’ll eat seafood on a podcast (I detest seafood).

  2. Just posted a few minutes ago. It appears it didn’t take. What happened?
    Thanks.

  3. Well Elie could be pregnant that would be cool! Mini bartowski 😀 and plausible!

  4. If ausiello was referring to chuck, and there is no guarantee that he was. I think the three likely canidates are Ellie, Anna Wu, or Morgan’s mom. The latter seems to be a stretcch as it doesn’t really fit in to the plot of the story. Anna Wu could be and that is why she is coming back “for Morgan” as was brought out. Top canidated = Ellie. Fits in with Chuck’s spy/family life as another person he has to worry about being threatened because of Charles Charmichael.

  5. One thing I think everyone needs to keep in mind is what I believe are the key words in this story: the ratings held steady from last week. They didn’t drop any lower. The show isn’t doing nearly as well in the ratings as a lot of us would like, but it held it’s ground from the previous week. Now it’s up to us to help it take ground back.

    We need to watch the show (live as it airs, if at all possible), and encourage others to do the same, especially anyone we know who is a Nielsen family. I know people have been frustrated about the slow pace of the season and all the character development/angst as opposed to action & comedy (and yes, the wt/wt issue), but I’m confident Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak and the writers know what they’re doing and where they’re going with this.

    Come on, everybody–we can do this! 🙂

  6. After a lot of soul searching and drinking lots of grape kool-aid I have decided that I am going to give this season another 3 episodes to change my mind. I love the show so I feel that I at least owe it that much. Now having said that, I still stand by ALL of my comments that I made above.

  7. I’ve been tough on the show this season myself, but I have stuck with it and I do think there is time for things to improve. I’ve never wanted it cancelled and I hope that is not where we are headed. I’ve had frustration with its direction this season to be sure. Count me as one who wanted Chuck and Sarah to come together this season and overcome other obstacles not love interests-they seemed past that to me. However there have been good moments and I do think there is a chance for them to take a step back and bring it in season 4. I think it’s saying something that people are so passionate about this show, good and bad, and forums and comment areas explode with discussion.

  8. I tried to post a comment yesterday and it apparently did not take so I am
    going to try again.

    I essentially agree in principle with the comments made by rstacy and others
    of like mind. Season 3 has been a disaster from the start. It wasn’t broken
    so the producers decided to fix it, regardless of viewer input prior to the
    start of Season 3. They just arrogantly ignored it, took the fans” saving of the show for granted, and did what they wanted to do.

    The results speak for themselves. People have turned away, the ratings have
    trended steadily downward. The producers had plenty of warning and were told
    the viewers would have the final say and they have-just look at the numbers.
    Most of the blogs (not all) I have seen from this and other sources, on the
    whole, have been negative.

    The producers were true to their word. They not only kept Chuck/Sarah apart,
    they even went a couple of steps further. They changed the nature and the
    personalities of the characters as well. Chuck/Sarah’s chemistry has been
    destroyed and both characters are no longer likeable or capable of even generating sympathy for them. The original team has been broken up, witness
    the exit of Casey. Everything that was part of making seasons 1 and 2 so
    successful has been changed or eliminated from the show. Despite all of this,
    the viewers have given this mess a fair hearing of 10 episodes. Unless it all
    does a 180 degree turn in the fianl 3 episodes and the upcoming mini season of
    the last 6 it will be bery difficult to get a renewal which I personally would
    like to see, provided the problems can be fixed.

    NBC needs to do its part if they are serious about wanting to retain the show if possible.

    Move the day and time. A 9:00 PM EDT 8:00 CDT start time would help. More
    people would be inside their homes as it would be dark in most areas of the
    country regardless of DST. Tuesday, Wednesay, or Friday would cettainly be better than Monday. The show is getting killed there. Wednesday 9:00 PM EDT
    8:00 CDT would be the best chance I think of turning this around.

    Promote the show heavily during the 2 week hiatus. Emphasize the new day
    and start times. Heavily promote as a new mini season with brand new story
    lines. This might bring back most of the core base which has stopped watching the show. At least it’s worth a shot.

    If all of this does work and the show is renewed for a 4th season, NBC should
    demand positive changes in the show, even if it means replacing the producers
    and some of the script writers. If possible restore some if not all of the
    budget cuts.

    I would hate to see this show go down, I really would but changes need to be
    made for it to be saved. The above are just a few ideas. If others have input
    of their own to help save the show, please comment, thanks.

  9. I’d hate to see the show cancelled, but the ratings suggest that the show is in trouble. What is particularly sad is the relatively steady decline in the ratings. In early January, NBC did a good job to promote the show (and there was some buzz left over from season 2) and it appeared that many people watched the show that may not have watched before. This was a real opportunity. Unfortunately, JS and CF chose a path from light entertainment to dark soap-opera-like drama, and that may have sealed Chuck’s fate. I hope I am wrong, but I am not very confident in the producers/writers anymore.

  10. I don’t want the show cancelled either. But lately it’s been difficult to watch. I’ll usually rewatch on Hulu 3or4 times during the week.Ep 3-11 I couldn’t force myself to see again. Chuck’s character has been kept true to his original form, Casey too. Sarah on the other hand has been written to be a psychotic woman. Just when they get a smart, strong, independant woman established, they decide she can’t do anything rationally. Okay, Chuck hurt her in Prague, but she saw the photos, they couldn’t have run.She decides she wants a normal life, so she falls into the arms of deep cover spy. Instead of telling Chuck to quit. She finds it painful to watch Chuck become a spy, so she helps him become one. She believes him to have killed when she was the bait to make him do it, so now she hates him. I have never met anyone so self loathing as this character so I don’t understand. The only way they can reform this Sarah(to me) is if all of this is to expose Shaw as a leader of the Ring. Playing Chuck for a sucker would be fine for Jenny Burton in a con. Sarah Walker as a spy could not do that to a partner.

  11. This is a message for rstacy and all others(including myself) who are currently not happy with the show and Sarah’s character. Please read on this
    website an article by Lou W. Sytsma under the heading ” A fistful of Catch 22’s Episode 3.11 Chuck vs The final Exam”.

    The article is excellent and explains much of Sarah’s motivation and why
    Season 3 has been frustrating for so many fans. There another excellent article on the Sarah character on the chuckthis website entitled “Saving
    Agent Walker”. Please read and hopefully the articles will motivate people
    to stick with the show for the rest of this season before making up their
    minds whether or not to continue to watch the show. The articles really
    turned my attitude around into sticking with the show until the end of the
    season before making up my mind.

    Rstacy, since you indicated you are going to watch the next 3 episodes at
    least, please advise your friends who you said are Nielsen viewers to continue
    to watch the show as well and give it a fair shot until the end of the season.
    We need all of the help we can get for a renewal for a 4th season. Please ask them to read the articles as well and spread the word to others. The articles
    really clear up a lot of questions and hopfully mitigate frustration with the
    show.

    Thanks very much.

  12. Please do not moderate my above comment. I am only trying to get people to read the articles, one of which is on this website to help save the show, thanks.

  13. Hoping for a 2.1 this week. Lots of repeats and the shine on “Dancing with the Has-Beens” has worn off. The extra promotion for Chuck this week should bring us some help.

    The thing that worries me is that the promo mirrors the promo for the TV show called “Ed”. It was the beginning of the end. With any luck, they’ll at least be together if this is in fact the end.

  14. The show’s going to be cancelled, and it serves them right. You can’t keep forcing people to watch characters they treasure jump the shark and expect them to support you.
    The audience are just showing Chris Fedak and co. the same level of regard they showed them.
    The truth is what they’ve done to Chuck and Sarah can’t really be undone now, if they’re wise, they’ll try and end it on a pleasant note so they can do well on DVD,. but some people are never coming back, the trust has been broken.