Picking the bones of departed season

By Gary Levin
USA Today

The 2002-03 television season just ended, so the postmortem can begin, and not just on "CSI."

Winners

• "24" (Fox): "American Idol" helped spark a 36 percent ratings increase for Kiefer Sutherland's suspense thriller, the largest for any returning show remaining in its time slot.
• "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC): The third incarnation of Dick Wolf's cops-and-courts franchise was up 20 percent in its second year, and easily bested ABC's buzzed-about "Alias."
• "Smallville" (WB): The network's most watched drama climbed 14 percent in its second season, helping the network score bigger overall gains than any other.
• "CSI: Miami" (CBS): TV's top-rated new drama was a slam-dunk for CBS, with nearly 17 million viewers.
• "Joe Millionaire" (Fox): This eight-week reality phenomenon was this season's No. 2 show, and its final hour was more widely seen than the Oscars.

Losers

• "The Practice" (ABC): David E. Kelley's legal drama lost 22 percent of its viewers, in part because of a disastrous January move to Mondays. The show will return on Sundays this fall, but without most of its cast.
• "Frasier" (NBC): The once-durable "Cheers" spinoff dropped 16 percent this season, and will limp into its final year.
• "The West Wing" (NBC): Some blame the political climate, others blame "The Bachelor." But the White House drama elected 22 percent fewer viewers, and this fall loses creator/writer Aaron Sorkin.
• "Enterprise" (UPN): The "Star Trek" franchise was off a whopping 32 percent in its second season.
• "That Was Then" (ABC), "Girls Club" (Fox): Don't remember them? No surprise. These new dramas tied for quickest death. Both were canceled after two episodes.

Top 10 among teens 12-17

• "American Idol" (Wednesday);
• "American Idol" (Tuesday)
• "The Simpsons"
• "Joe Millionaire"
• "Malcolm in the Middle"
• "Oliver Beene"
• "Wanda at Large"
• "Friends"
• "King of the Hill"
• "The Bachelorette"

Among men 18-49

• "Joe Millionaire"
• "Monday Night Football"
• "American Idol" (Wednesday)
• "CSI"
• "American Idol" (Tuesday)
• "Friends"
• "Survivor: Thailand"
• "The Simpsons"
• "ER"
• "Survivor: The Amazon"

Among women 18-49

• "Joe Millionaire"
• "Friends"
• "ER"
• "American Idol" (Tuesday)
• "American Idol" (Wednesday)
• "Will & Grace"
• "CSI"
• "The Bachelorette"
• "The Bachelor"
• "Scrubs"

Among adults 50 and older

• "CSI"
• "60 Minutes"
• "JAG"
• "Everybody Loves Raymond"
• "Law & Order"
• "The Guardian"
• "Judging Amy"
• "CSI: Miami"
• "My Big Fat Greek Life"
• "Survivor: The Amazon"