It's Not Debatable: McCain-Obama Ratings Fall Far Short of Predicted Record

"Do Not Disturb" is officially the first cancellation of the 2008-09 TV season.

It is now safe for NBC to begin debuting the rest of its new series.

Fox yanked its new comedy series after airing just three episodes -- and just days after the producers sent a letter to some TV critics, asking to be forgiven "for being the perpetrators of such bad television," and sending an advance copy of another episode, asking the critics to give the show another chance.

The comedy starred Niecy Nash and Jerry O'Connell as the head of human resources and the sex-obsessed general manager, respectively, of an allegedly swank boutique hotel in Manhattan called the Inn.

Molly Stanton as an anorexic model, Jolene Purdy as a weight-obsessed reservations clerk and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as the gay head of housekeeping rounded out the stereotypes.

In its first broadcast, "DND" checked in only about 4.65 million viewers -- which is lousy but, if we're being fair, not nearly as lousy as the 6 million viewers enjoyed by its lead-in " 'Til Death" despite numerous plays in the post-"American Idol" time slot since its debut.

In its second week, "DND" fell to fewer than 4 million viewers and, last week, airing later than usual owing to President Bush addressing the country about the financial crisis, "DND" took another tumble, to about 3.6 million viewers.

Fox is the proud owner of four additional episodes of "Do Not Disturb."

O'Connell was scheduled to appear on NBC's "Tonight" show to plug the new Fox sitcom. He has cancelled, NBC reports, and was replaced by Robert Wagner. The Senior Lending Network's reverse-mortgage pitchman has been making the rounds, plugging his new autobiography, in which he reports having had an affair with Barbara Stanwyck when he was a lad in his 20s and she was recently divorced from Robert Taylor.

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Sean Puff Diddy Daddy and Mark Burnett will team for a reality series called "StarMaker," debuting in January, MTV announced late yesterday.

The show will differ from all the other singing competition series because this batch of aspiring solo artists will compete with the added pressure of . . . wait for it . . . living together!

Sean Puff Diddy Daddy's handpicked team of "star makers" will put contestants through the rigors of "StarMaker" boot camp, MTV said. They will be judged not only on how well they perform in front of an audience but also how well they handle photo shoots, deal with paparazzi, and drive a car away from a Hollywood nightclub while hammered. Okay, I made that last one up.

"StarMaker" is the latest "reality" TV series Sean Puff Diddy Daddy has executive-produced for MTV networks; others include "Making the Band," "Run's House" and "I Want to Work for Diddy."

Burnett's unscripted TV series include "Survivor," "The Apprentice," "Rock Star," "The Contender" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"