Ratings: ‘Nikita’ season 3 rises; Fox’s ‘Touch,’ CBS’ ‘The Job’ premieres bomb

This is turning out to be a very, very bad midseason for some of the major television networks. Over the past couple of weeks, we have mocked and ridiculed NBC for putting the woeful “Do No Harm” on the air, and it’s now been canceled after just two airings. Now, CBS no longer has a reason to tout doing any better with some new series launches of their own.

“The Job” on Friday proved quickly that it was no “Undercover Boss,” as its 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic for its premiere was just as bad as “Do No Harm’s” was, even if it can try to use the excuse that Friday night is not a good one for TV. (It could also blame the bad weather on the East Coast knocking out power, but those who had power literally had nothing else to do while stuck in their homes other than watch TV.) We expect this show at this point to last just as long as “Do No Harm.”

Meanwhile, Fox has to be completely to blame for “Touch” season 2 launching with a 1.0 rating. The show had a huge launch after “American Idol” last year, but then they for whatever reason didn’t air another episode for a month. The show moved around to various timeslots, aired its finale out of season, and even stuck a throwaway episode that didn’t air in the middle of fall without any promotion. If you want a show to do well, you have to believe in it; and while investing so much in “The Following” proved to be a smart move, “Touch” has already made “Fringe” look good with just one airing.

Finally, good news for “Nikita” fans: the show once again rose to its season-high rating of 0.5. It’s not amazing by any means, but the improvement from the show since moving back to 8:00 pretty much ensures to us that it will be around for another year.

If you want to read some more news on the “Do No Harm” cancellation, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: Fox