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May sweeps cap a year of turnarounds
![R &B superstar Ashanti makes her leading lady debut as Dorothy in \"The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz,\" May 20 on ABC. ABC](http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/images/photos/2005/05/04/f3e9oj0.jpg "R &B superstar Ashanti makes her leading lady debut as Dorothy in \\"The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz,\\" May 20 on ABC. ABC")
R &B superstar Ashanti makes her leading lady debut as Dorothy in \"The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz,\" May 20 on ABC. ABC
May 4, 2005
Elvis Presley vs. ‘‘Desperate Housewives.’’ Donald Trump (unauthorized) vs. Rob and Amber’s wedding (authorized). The ‘‘American Idol’’ finale vs. the Amber Frey movie.
Prepare to make some tough, tough choices for the next few weeks as the television networks take one last stab at boosting ratings for the 2004-05 TV season. But when it’s over, it’s over: May sweeps also marks the end of the network TV season, meaning no new ‘‘ERs’’ or ‘‘CSIs’’ until September.
The season that will wrap up May 25 has been interesting, to say the least. It was the season in which ABC made a surprise turnaround, thanks to ‘‘Lost’’ and ‘‘Desperate Housewives,’’ and brought some much-needed buzz back to network TV.
It was also the season in which NBC, after years on top, sank to a shocking fourth place with viewers 18 to 49 — while CBS, ‘‘the geezer network,’’ stood a real chance of finishing No. 1 with that advertiser-coveted demographic.
May sweeps opened with CBS battling Fox, the ‘‘American Idol’’ network, for the first-place crown. ‘‘Idol’’ will air its finale on the final night of sweeps, but competitors (except for NBC) aren’t rolling over in the face of expected huge ‘‘Idol’’ ratings.
CBS offers Janel Moloney (‘‘The West Wing’’) in ‘‘Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution,’’ the story of the Scott Peterson murder trial as told from the side of his mistress.
ABC counters with the twohour season finale of ‘‘Lost,’’ which no regular viewer would be happy to miss.
NBC? Two ‘‘Law & Order’’ repeats, followed by the season finale of ‘‘Criminal Intent.’’
Also on NBC’s sweepsmonth calendar are a magic special and two installments of ‘‘Most Outrageous TV Moments,’’ plus an ‘‘ER’’ goodbye to its last remaining original cast member, Noah Wyle.
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