The Final National Ratings show 9.24 million viewers (#60) for the November 1, 2002 Hack Episode. Check the Hack Ratings page for complete ratings results to date. (11/6)

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting today that The Slaughter Rule will get a North American national release following a screening of the show on the Sundance Channel in late December. Slaughter will then be released on DVD and VHS on February 18, 2003. Not much of a release window but at least we'll be able to see the film. (11/4)

Here's a great story in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Gail Shister | With a show to carry, Morse is sweating the Nielsens. A quote from the story,

"CBS chief Les Moonves says Hack 'has better than a 50-50 shot' to return in the fall for a second season.

'I believe in the show. The stars are great. I'm very pleased with its performance in the time slot. If it continues to improve a little bit - we're not looking for miracles - it's got a decent shot.'" (11/4)

The overnight ratings are in for Hack's Friday, episode, scoring a respectable 7.0/11.

And this Mediaweek.com story about the overall network ratings so far this season mentions Hack saying:

"Strong performances by a number of new shows have greatly contributed to the overall ratings numbers. CBS' Without a Trace and Hack, for example, have improved the ratings in their time slots by 40 percent or more over last year." (11/4)

The fast nationals ratings are in for Hack's Friday, November 1, 2002 episode:

"Dateline NBC topped the 9 p.m. hour with an 8.3/14 as CBS' Hack landed in second with 6.4/11. ABC gave over the rest of the night to Part 1 of Russell Crowe's Gladiator (5.1/10 average from 9 to 11 p.m.), while FOX continued to look into the mystery of John Doe, 3.8/7."

You can check the Hack Ratings page to see how this compares with other Hack episodes. (11/2)

Interview show alert!

According to TVGuide.com, David is scheduled to appear on the interview program, The View, airing in my area (Seattle, WA) on the local ABC station (Channel 4) at 10:00 AM PST on Wednesday, November 6, 2002.

Thanks, Crystal, for the heads up! (10/29)

The Hack episode listings for episode 6, Slippery Slope airing November 1, 2002 and episode 7, Husbands and Wives airing November 8, 2002 have been updated.

Slippery Slope represents the first Hack episode created under the guidance of Robert Singer, who was brought in to helm the show as Executive Producer days before the series' premiere (replacing David Shore and David Koepp, with the latter remaining as creator and creative consultant. Gavin Pollone remains as the other Executive Producer). Singer also directs episode 6.

In a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article, Singer promised to inject some humor into the show and to lighten up a bit the dour life of Mike Olshanksy. It will be interesting to see what effect this change of creative direction has in this Friday's episode. (10/29)

Yoshiko of the DMFSJ had the opportunity to see Double Vision when the film was screened at the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival on October 25, 2002. Read her reactions to the film and additional comments about the upcoming release in Japan. (10/28)

A trio of stories, today, from the Philadelphia Daily News, Real cabbies take their 'Hacks' -- Philly series does get some things right, they say and this one Fare vs. unfair and Morse's Taxicab Confessions.

Finally Stu Bykofsky mentions a Hack shooting location saying:

On the town

David Morse visited Catholic War Veterans Post 652 (1524 S. 2nd) during a break from "Hack" shooting. The actor gladly signed autographs and posed for pictures after an extra, Tony Balkonis, commander of the CWV post, invited the star to swing by. The show was filming along Mountain Street and inside and outside of Dee's Place (1528 S. 2nd). (10/24)

Confused about these Hack ratings? Well, you're not alone. Ever since I've been following them, the numbers seem a mystery, to me.

But basically, I've discovered there's three kinds; the overnights, the fast nationals, and then, the final, weekly Final Nationals.

Click on this cheat sheet, for the lowdown, explaining the difference between these different types of ratings.

In a nutshell, here are the ratings, for Hack, for the first four episodes: You can also check out the complete Hack Ratings to date. (10/22)

This Philadelphia Inquirer story reveals more on the the people involved in the shake-up in Hack personnel that was announced before the series even premiered. Here's an excerpt from the story:

Happy Hack

Great news, Hack fans. The cloud will be lifting from David Morse's dour Mike Olshansky, a disgraced Philly cop-turned-cabbie vigilante.

Executive producer Robert Singer, brought in to run the new CBS drama a week before its Sept. 27 launch, acknowledges that Hack was "a tad dark," and adds "there's no reason we can't inject some humor." Read the complete story here. (10/22)

Mediaweek.com is reporting these Hack ratings in their October 21, 2002 Programming Insider column:

"CBS has a very disappointing Friday with week four of new 9 p.m. drama Hack at a series low (but still second place) 6.5/10. Even worse - much worse - was week four of lead-out Robbery Homicide Division also at an also series low (and third place) 4.4/ 7 - 32 percent below Hack. At 8 p.m., the tired 48 Hours Investigates came in third with a 5.4/ 9. Look for CBS to finish the night number four among adults 18-49." (10/21)

On September 9, 2002, David was awarded the David Bodian Memorial Award by the International Post-Polio Task Force for his efforts on behalf of polio survivors. He was unable to attend the ceremony, but you can view a Quicktime video of his acceptance speech right here.

You can also view David's Public Service Announcement for Post-Polio Sequelae. (10/20)