Now this is just one die-hard fan’s opinion and I may be proven wrong in the long run by “Big Business” in TNT-land, but I wanted to share some thoughts on our favorite show, overnight ratings numbers and the prospects for the return of SouthLAnd for a new season.

First off, we need to understand what everyone is talking about when they talk about these ratings numbers. What are we really counting? Contrary to popular belief, we are not counting actual viewers in the United States. Excuse me for a moment, but I have to use a dirty word here. We are talking statistics. That’s right, just like in polls, the Nielsen company is using statistical projections to calculate those numbers that are presented as “fact” to everyone. The reality is, there are only something like 25,000 households actually being counted (I could be wrong) out of the entire population of the US. That is a very, very tiny statistical sampling. How widely distributed is that sampling? Over what geographic area? What races, incomes, household types, etc., etc.,? Nobody knows – it’s a “trade secret” that is closely held by the Nielsen group. So where was the “dirty word?” Remember what Mark Twain said? “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” (continue reading…)