Kay McFadden / Times staff columnist
'CSI' sweeps opener wasn't totally warm and fuzzy

	BRIAN KENISON / NBC-TV Brad H. is one of the 16 ordinary guys Melana Scantlin will date on "Average Joe," an NBC series premiering tonight at 10.
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Thanks to "CSI," viewers of the nation's No. 1 TV show know a lot more about stuffed animals and the people who love them than we did a few days ago.

If there's one transcendent lesson to take away, it's that whatever the networks do during November sweeps, the fur will fly.

"CSI's" plushies episode was the opening-night salvo of a month when the television industry strives to boost ratings so advertisers will pay more for commercials.

This November, the pressure is greater than usual. Household ratings are down from a year ago at every network except a baseball-fueled Fox.

Curiously, it isn't the usual culprit — new series — being rejected by viewers.

Instead, the industry's case of viewer reflux appears caused by the same boring menu. Old hits such as "Friends," "Gilmore Girls," "NYPD Blue," "Frasier," "West Wing" and "Alias" are losing steam.

Network executives, however, say the ratings cart was upset by unexpected enthusiasm for the national pastime and that normalcy will return now that the World Series is over.

Top 20 network series
Based on household ratings, through Oct. 26
Rank, show	Network
1. CSI	CBS
2. Friends	NBC
3. ER	NBC
4. Everybody Loves Raymond	CBS
5. CSI: Miami	CBS
6. Survivor: Pearl Islands	CBS
7. Law & Order	NBC
8. NFL Monday Night Football	ABC
9. Two and a Half Men (tie)	CBS
9. Will & Grace (tie)	NBC
9. Without a Trace (tie)	CBS
12. Scrubs	NBC
13. The West Wing	NBC
14. Law & Order: Criminal Intent	NBC
15. 8 Simple Rules	ABC
16. 60 Minutes	CBS
17. Cold Case (tie)	CBS
17. NFL Monday Showcase (tie)	ABC
19. Fox NFL Sunday Postgame	FOX
20. The Bachelor	ABC
20. Coupling	NBC
20. Navy NCIS	CBS
— Nielsen Media Research

Certainly, high-profile guest stars will proliferate at the needier venues. Some hit series will be aired twice in the same week to cover cancellation gaps.

Reality will continue to be a last-minute crutch when creativity fails, though things work out better than expected with NBC's "Average Joe," debuting tonight and reviewed later in this column.

The most confident networks will pull the fewest gimmicks. Overall, TV in November suggests "God Bless the Child." Them that's got, shall get; them that's not, shall stunt.

NBC, the McNetwork of super-sizing, again will inflate a few favorite shows. ABC will lean to its news side for some scoops. UPN, The WB and Fox are inviting lots of special visitors to rev up their decaf nights.

At CBS, which had the best series development this season and is No. 1 in households, the emphasis is on miniseries and nostalgia fests like last night's "CBS at 75."

One CBS way-back production already making news is "The Reagans," a four-hour miniseries.

The casting of liberal actor James Brolin in the starring role and the script's allegedly harsh depiction of the president's handling of the AIDS crisis have had conservatives calling for a boycott. Judy Davis co-stars as Nancy Reagan; airs Nov. 16 and 18.

Should the '80s not prove what they once were, however, CBS has a '60s backup. Nov. 11 will feature a reunion of stars from "The Andy Griffith Show."

Should all this sound a wee bit on the elderly side, CBS will nurture its younger male demographic with "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" on Nov. 19.

The networks haven't forgotten to grab ideas from headlines. This Sunday, it's the battle of confusing, partly fictionalized versions of confusing, partly true news as CBS' "The Elizabeth Smart Story" and NBC's "Saving Jessica Lynch" square off.

With ABC a laggard in ratings and ad revenue, it's not spending much on original movies. But it does have dough for interviews: The real Jessica Lynch talks to Diane Sawyer on Nov. 11, while Martha Stewart talks to Barbara Walters this Friday.

And on Nov. 20, ABC's Peter Jennings pursues an investigation of President Kennedy's assassination, 40 years later.

No sweeps month is complete without that television equivalent of a rubber chicken: awards shows. CBS airs The Country Music Association honors Wednesday, ABC has the American Music Awards Nov. 16, and UPN does the Vibe Music Awards Nov. 21.

Then there's the kind of ham you get at dinner theater: Britney Spears' Nov. 17 special on ABC, Justin Timberlake's Nov. 25 special on NBC and Shania Twain's Nov. 26 special, also on NBC.

Still, hardly anything promises to be less palatable than ABC's Nov. 26 show starring attention-crazed "Bachelorette" Trista Rehn and her wedding plans. It suggests the kind of repast where you stick your finger down your throat before eating.

Not all reality need be distasteful. There's CBS' still-great "Survivor," and there's NBC's new series "Average Joe," on tonight at 10 (KING).

In this variation on the matchmaking genre, a lovely gal gets to reside in an elegant mountaintop mansion and pick from a group of eligible young men.

What she doesn't know is that this group has been chosen with personality rather than looks in mind. It is, as the NBC intro dubs it, more like "beauty and the geeks."

The twist could have been cruel. But it isn't — in fact, it proves to make one of the catchiest and likable reality shows to hit TV in years.

The reason is the same as the concept: A group of men determined to win on the basis of character makes for a more emotionally engrossing plot. While the mechanics of selection and elimination are so familiar as to be dull, the energy is not.

As you'll see, these so-so-looking guys have been forced into a self-awareness that clueless hunks don't have. They're simultaneously more frenzied and more vulnerable at the prospect of winning a woman.

Aided by Kathy Griffin as the perfect hostess — she can be one of the guys and also a confidante to our princess charming — "Average Joe" breathes new life into the reality genre, along with a little soul. And they said it couldn't be done. GRADE: B

Kay McFadden: kmcfadden@seattletimes.com or 206-382-8888.

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