The Great Outdoors will be back in 2007. The Seven Network intends freshening up The Great Outdoors and returning it next year despite a noticeable drop-off in viewing. On Monday night, its audience fell below the million mark (thanks to not going to air in Adelaide, but even with it the audience would have struggled to reach 1.1 million or more viewers), when it was averaging well over 1.2 million earlier in the year. Nine’s Getaway has also been weak lately, struggling to regain the glory years but its average audience on Thursdays at 7.30pm remains higher than The Great Outdoors, which airs Mondays at 7.30pm. It’s likely Seven will anchor the new look program around Jennifer Hawkins, Ernie Dingo and Tom Williams and look for a couple of younger reporters to give it a more contemporary feel. The problem with both The Great Outdoors and Getaway is that both have been on for years and have covered much of the world. Both also face competition on pay TV, the internet and from within their own ranks with programs like the Postcards series on Nine and Sydney Weekender (and Coxy’s Big Break). But Seven is determined to keep The Great Outdoors and it will be back in 2007. — Glenn Dyer

Carlton-Fitzsimmons’ mixed message on swearing. Very early Monday morning, 5.43am to be exact, 2UE presenters Mike Carlton and Peter Fitzsimmons were reviewing one of the biggest weekends in Australian sport. Fitzsimmons said: “On Channel Ten in the (AFL) post-match interviews I counted three f-words in about 90 seconds and my boy and I were so appalled we replayed it four times. And yet there has been no particular outcry. And is that the way it is these days?” This morning, Fitzsimmons got his answer from Carlton. In a conversation about Sol Trujillo’s business past, a correspondent told the presenters that one of the most attractive aspect of Trujillo for Telstra was that he was available, to which Carlton replied: “I was available and I haven’t f-cked up another … err, umm, stuffed up another major intelligence company.” Yes Peter. That’s the way it is these days, at least on Channel Ten and 2UE. — Thomas Hunter

Last night’s TV ratings

The Winners: Tuesday night is dancin’ night, even if there are four hundred thousand viewers missing. Week two, series five of Dancing With The Stars and the audience numbers of 1.858 million are winners for Seven but, compared to series three and four, still light on for viewers. But it won the night, as did All Saints in second place with 1.450 million and Home and Away in third with 1.417 million. Nine News was fourth with 1.367 million, just in front of Seven News with 1.351 million. Today Tonight was next with 1.347 million and Nine’s Temptation was seventh with 1.322 million, ahead of A Current Affair with 1.321 million. Nine’s 20 to 1 at 7.30 averaged 1.310 million (much better than the derivative What A Year on Monday night) but the repeat of CSI at 8.30 pm faded to 1.191 million for tenth spot. Ten’s new Simpsons ep averaged 1.105 million and the 7pm ABC News averaged 1.001 million for 12th and final spot in the million viewer plus club last night.

The Losers: Nine’s The Closer at 9.30pm, another below par effort with 838,000 (well behind All Saints), Seven’s Deal or No Deal had 809,000 – a bit below average. Ten News had 879,000 and won the timeslot. Ten’s The Wedge (789,000) and Real Stories (785,000) Both are trying hard. The ABC’s Two Men in a Tinnie down to 782,000 which is a pity: it’s better than that.

News & CA: Nine News won nationally and in Melbourne and Brisbane, Seven News won Sydney, Adelaide and Perth but it wasn’t enough. Nine beat Seven in Melbourne by 100,000 viewers, Seven beat Nine in Perth by 128,000 viewers. Today Tonight was a narrow, 26,000 margin national winner. That was thanks to the 135,000 margin in Perth. ACA won Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane: TT won Adelaide and Perth. ABC News with a million viewers couldn’t help The 7.30 Report (it was up against Dancing with the Stars), it averaged 726,000. Early Sunrise with 245,000 viewers beat Early Today (145,000) and Today from 7 am (243,000). Sunrise from 7 am averaged 470,000.

The Stats: Seven won with 36.1% share (36.4% last Tuesday night) from Nine with 26.8% (26.4%), Ten with 19.1% (19.2%), the ABC with 13.4% (13.8%) and SBS with 4.6% (4.2%). Nine won Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Nine on Brisbane narrowly where Dancing with the Stars is not as popular as in other centres: probably a bit too girlie for viewers in the North! Nine leads the week 31.6% to 27.3%. In regional areas Prime/7Qld won with a share of 34.0% to 31.4% for Nine’s affiliates, WIN/NBN. Southern Cross (Ten) was third with 17.7%, the ABC was on 12.6% and SBS on 4.3%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Even though viewers have gone missing in the first two rounds of Dancing‘s latest series, it hasn’t hurt Seven. But all those celebrity programs are draining viewers of their eagerness to see these people perform. Nine is clearly husbanding resources, as it has been all year at 8.30pm Tuesdays with the CSI repeats which are dying. 20 to 1 did well, much better with Bert fronting the program than with Mike Munro and Megan Gale trying to tell us “What A Year” on Monday nights. Who cares. Tonight it’s Ten with Thank God You’re Here, House and NCIS. House and NCIS are repeats but will still do well. Seven has Forensic Investigators in the 8.30pm slot, CSI Miami is on Nine and the ABC has Spicks and Specks. McLeod’s Daughters should do well for Nine at 7.30pm.