TV: Friday Ratings Report

What would I like to put in my ratings diary? The Eurovision song contest and coverage of the Cannes Film Festival. (What happened, IFC?) Alas, no dice. Here’s what I’m reporting to Unnamed Media Research Company:

6PM – 6:30PM Cash Cab, Discovery Channel

I’ve written about this game show before. A Rosemarie favorite.

10:30PM – 11PM The Thick of It, BBC America (DVR)

The funniest show currently on TV. Also the most painful to watch. The deadpan camera of The Office watches a hapless government minister and his staff.

Peter Capaldi – sweet, innocent Peter Capaldi from Local Hero – is pants-soilingly terrifying as the U.K. version of Karl Rove. The show is the brainchild of Armando Iannucci, who worked with Steve Coogan on his Alan Partridge series. He’s said that the inspiration for this show came when Tony Blair wanted Partridge to interview him at a Labor Party conference. When Iannucci and Coogan arrived, Blair’s image maker Peter Mandelson was furious that Partridge wasn’t there. It had to be explained to him that Partridge was a fictional character.

Silly, silly English. That kind of thing could never happen here.

11PM – 11:30PM Baseball Tonight, ESPN

Highlights for men.

11:30PM – 12:30AM The Late Show With David Letterman, CBS

I rarely watch Dave any more. I tuned him in for two reasons:

1. Grindergirl, who’s a Friday staple. Naturally, she wasn’t on last night. Instead, we got two awkward segments with Mary Cheney.

2. Comedian Harry Hill. “You like the lining, don’t you?”

12:30AM – 1AM The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, CBS

Craig on Cast Away’s Wilson the volleyball in rehab: “He’s deflated, but he’ll bounce back.” Hey, somebody’s got to do those jokes.