Ratings: NBC’s ‘Community,’ ‘Glee’ finales up; ‘The Office’ rises

It’s finale season, and you know what that means: People actually being so afraid of Twitter spoiling their favorite show for them that they actually decide to watch live for a change.

Let’s start with what was for us the only real loser on the night: “Elementary.” We know that the numbers are still pretty good for CBS (at least good enough for a second season), but how big of a disappointment is this show? Only drawing a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic after a heavily-promoted year is not as great as the bigwigs were probably hoping for. Plus, they gave this show the Super Bowl time-slot, and it airs on a night that includes the dream-crusher otherwise known as “The Big Bang Theory.”

While of course the sitcom won the night with a 4.6 (down from last week), we don’t really have reason to talk further about something that has become Pac-Man to anything NBC puts up against it. “Community” actually rose for its season 4 finale to a 1.3, though this may still not be enough to save it. Either the network is still trying to weigh its odds on what to do with the show moving forward, or they are planning to announce its cancellation at a time when executives will not be accosted outside of 30 Rock by people sporting grey felt goatees.

In terms of other finales, “Glee” rose back up to a 2.1 after what was really a pretty ho-hum final episode for a ho-hum season. The big “shock” was that Heather Morris’ Brittany left McKinley High for MIT, and considering that she is pregnant in real life, we knew that the show had to write her out for a time.

Elsewhere, “The Office” is clearly starting to pick up steam (and quality) leading up to its own finale. NBC may be happy with a 2.3, given that this is the best number than any of their comedies has seen all year unless one of them is following up “The Voice.” Next week, we predict something reasonably close to a 3.0 as old viewers will stop in to say goodbye.

Photo: NBC