Coverage of the life and death of Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer, and rapper Kanye West, who made headlines by storming the stage at the Video Music Awards and grabbing the mike from singer Taylor Swift, bolstered the syndicated magazine shows in the week ending Sept. 20, although some other shows were bounced out of their time slots in some markets by U.S. Open Tennis coverage.

Magazine Shows

Magazine leader CBS Television Distribution's Entertainment Tonight hit its highest rating in eight weeks, running up 11% to a 4.0, while Entertainment Tonight Weekend jumped 25% to a 2.0, its best performance in 11 weeks.

CBS Television Distribution's Inside Edition surged 19% to a 3.2; NBCU's Access Hollywood and Warner Bros.' TMZ both advanced 11% to 2.1; Warner Bros.' Extra climbed 13% to a 1.7; and CBS Television Distribution's The Insider remained stable at a 1.6, although its The Insider Weekend soared 30% to a 1.3.

Talk Shows

In talk, CBS Television Distribution's Oprah's new season premiere week clocked a 6.1, its best numbers since March 2008 — up 39% from the previous week and a 30% increase over the same week last year, making it the week's No.1 show in syndication.

CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil was down 7% to a 2.5 as the U.S. Open washed out its season premiere; Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly was flat at a 2.3; but Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres continued to rise for the third straight week, improving 5% to a 2.1; and NBCU's Maury rose 13% to a 1.8.

The closely watched Sony's Dr. Oz entered the national ratings list with a 2.3 for its series premiere week, which was the biggest debut in syndication since CBS Television Distribution's Rachael Ray three seasons ago.

Court Shows

Among court shows, CBS Television Distribution's Judge Judy scored its highest ratings in eight weeks, jumping 5% to a 3.9 and was the only jurist to improve from the week before. CBS Television Distribution's Judge Joe Brown declined 10% to a 1.9; Warner Bros.' People's Court dropped 5% to a 1.8; Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis lost 6% to a 1.6; Twentieth's Divorce Court and its Judge Alex were both down 7% to a 1.3; and Warner Bros.' Judge Piero slid 10% to a 0.9 in its second week in syndication.

Game Shows

Game shows were all over the map. CBS Television Distribution's Wheel of Fortune added 9% to a 6.0; CBS Television Distribution's Jeopardy! jumped 11% to a 4.9; Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire and NBCU's Deal or No Deal were both unchanged at 2.2 and 1.2, respectively; while Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud flopped, sinking 15% to a 1.1.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Among off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men slipped 7% to a 4.1; Twentieth's Family Guy lost 5% to a 3.5; Sony's Seinfeld dropped 3% to a 3.0; although CBS Television Distribution's Everybody Loves Raymond was up 7% to a 2.9 and Warner Bros.' George Lopez Show was unchanged at a 2.5.

Weekend

Among the off-net weekly hours, CBS Television Distribution's CSI: NY came roaring back after being passed by NBCU's Law & Order: SVU in the prior week. CSI: NY rocketed 24% to a 3.1, while SVU tumbled 17% to a 2.4.

Another big mover was CBS Television Distribution's CSI: Miami, which shot up 29% to a 2.2.

NBCU's House saw its ratings appreciate by 17% to a 2.1; Warner Bros.' Without a Trace leaped 19% to a 1.9; and Disney-ABC's Grey's Anatomy debuted in syndication at a 1.6.