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'Dharma' achieves ratings enlightenment Tonight's Dharma & Greg is a soap opera spoof, with Dharma (Jenna Elfman) and Greg (Thomas Gibson) caught up in a web of familial intrigue and back-stabbing, courtesy of guest stars Morgan Fairchild and daytime soap stars Julie Pinson (Port Charles), Leslie Charleson (General Hospital) and Matthew Ashford (Days of Our Lives). The ratings race between the ABC sitcom and NBC's Frasier has never been tighter than during the current February ratings sweeps. The season began with Frasier, boosted by huge promotion for the Niles/Daphne courtship, topping the D&G premiere by a whopping 140% among the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 age group. But the momentum has shifted of late: Dharma has narrowed the gap to roughly 3% among the 18-to-49 group, while outpacing Frasier for the first time all season among 18-to-34-year-olds. Dharma's success with young audiences is a bit of a coup for ABC, which now gets bragging rights to being tops on Tuesdays among adults 18-49. This, despite the cooling off of ABC's reality entry, The Mole (down 15% in adults 18-49 in recent weeks) and the continued disappointment of The Geena Davis Show (losing an average 17% of Dharma's lead-in during the February sweeps). Dharma co-creator Chuck Lorre is pleased "the audience has responded so enthusiastically to the work that we're so proud to do." Co-executive producer Bill Prady hints that "the events that the characters experienced in the beginning of this month (Dharma and Greg's marriage is threatened when Dharma is tempted by a college professor) will continue to have an effect on their relationship. Secrets, after all, are hard to keep. |
