Well, the first night of the Fall 2009 television season kicked off last night, technically speaking.  Although the actual kick-off date isn’t until the 21st, when nine shows will premiere in one night, CW kicked things off last night with a second season of 90210 and a new version of Melrose Place. Early indicators are in, and the results are looking less-than-spectacular for the hopeful network.  The second season of 90210 debuted with a viewership of only 2.6 million viewers, compared to last year’s kick-off of 4.9 million.  That means just over half of the people who started out watching last year are still with the show, or even worse if they’ve managed to pick up new viewers (which doesn’t sound real promising).

 So what about the new-and-improved Melrose Place?  Apparently viewers were ready to give up on this one before it has really started, bringing in a measley 2.3 million eyeballs to televisions across America for the debut.  Maybe the abysmal downturn for 90210 is taking Melrose Place down with it?  According to the network, the show’s debut ranked second in the hour among its target audience, women 18-34, only behind Big Brother on CBS.  I’m not sure, but it might not be long before we can consider this new addition to the CW family dead in the water and bury it quickly before it does too much damage to the network’s image.  Just my two cents’ worth.