Talk shows were hot as the November sweep got underway in the week ending Nov. 1. Meanwhile, magazines and court shows also rallied nicely.

Talk Shows

The top eight veteran talkers were all up from the week before and five of them set new Nielsen marks for the season in a session that included the first two weekdays of the ratings period.

CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil, which has just been renewed for the next five years, broke the 3 barrier with a 7% improvement to a 3.0, along with a 21% jump among women 25-54 for its best ratings performance in 24 weeks.

Also hitting new season highs were Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly, which added 8% to a 2.7; Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres, which jumped 15% to a 2.3; CBS Television Distribution's Rachael Ray, which scored its highest ratings since May with a 12% climb to a 1.9; and NBCU's Jerry Springer, which was up 8% to a 1.3.

Others on the move, but not setting season records, were CBS Television Distribution's Oprah, which inched up 2% to a 5.2; CBS Television Distribution's The Doctors, which clocked a 2.1, up 5% week to week and 40% year to year, the biggest gain from last season of any syndicated strip; and NBCU's Maury, which grew 6% to a 1.9.

Magazine Shows

Magazines, which took a breather in the previous week, continued to be one of the strongest genres. At the head of the class, CBS Television Distribution's Entertainment Tonight notched its highest numbers since February, running up 7% to a 4.6. ET's biggest draw was extended coverage of the celebrity-packed Ivanka Trump wedding, which gave the show a 16% increase to a 5.0 on Oct. 27.

CBS Television Distribution's Inside Edition was unchanged at a 3.1, NBCU's Access Hollywood gained 11% to a 2.1; Warner Bros.' TMZ advanced 12% to a 1.9; CBS Television Distribution's The Insider held steady at a 1.8 and landed in a tie with Warner Bros.' Extra, which gained 6% to a 1.8.

Court Shows

CBS Television Distribution's Judge Judy brought her gavel down on a new season high, banging out a 10% increase to a 4.5, her best numbers since March. CBS Television Distribution's Judge Joe Brown was up 5% to a 2.2; Warner Bros.' People's Court rose 5% to a 2.0 season high, while Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis, Twentieth's Judge Alex and Twentieth's Divorce Court were unchanged at 1.5, 1.4 and 1.4, respectively, and Warner Bros.' Judge Piero was far back at a flat 1.0.

Freshman Shows

NBCU's The Office continued to be the season's top new performer and the No. 9 strip in syndication with a 4% boost to a 2.9.

The next highest rated off-net, CBS Television Distribution's Everybody Hates Chris, was unchanged at a 1.8. Twentieth's My Name is Earl dropped 11% to a new season low 1.6; Disney-ABC's America' Funniest Home Videos was flat at a 0.7; and Trifecta's Cold Case Files plunged 25% to a 0.3.

Sony's Dr. Oz continued to destroy its first-run rookie rivals hitting a new season high 2.7, which was up 4% from the week before. Twentieth's Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?was a distant second, gaining 7% to a 1.6; Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams was flat at a 1.2; while Litton's Street Court recovered half of the prior week's loss with a 20% uptick to a 0.6.

Game Shows

Game shows were fairly quiet, although Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire was up 4% to a 2.5. CBS Television Distribution's Wheel of Fortune skidded 4% to a 6.8; CBS Television Distribution's Jeopardy! was unchanged at a 5.8; and NBCU's Deal or No Deal and Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud both remained flat at a 1.2.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Off-net sitcoms were led by Twentieth's Family Guy after Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men was reprocessed for the third week in a row. Family Guy was up 10% to a 3.3. Warner Bros.' George Lopez Show was flat at a 2.6; and tied Sony's Seinfeld, which was up 8% to 2.6; CBS Television Distribution's Everybody Loves Raymond added 4% to a 2.5; and Warner Bros.' Friends improved 5% to a 2.1, tying Twentieth's King of the Hill, which was unchanged at a 2.1.

Off-Net Weekly Hours

Among the off-net weekly hours, CBS Television Distribution's CSI: NY was on top, although down 3% from the week before. NBCU's Law & Order: Criminal Intent was up 7% to a new season high 3.0; CBS Television Distribution's CSI: Miami on the other hand, fell 9% to a new season low 2.1, tying NBCU's House, which was up 5% to 2.1; Twentieth's Bones was unchanged at a 2.0; and further down the list, newcomer Disney-ABC's Grey's Anatomy slipped 16% to a 1.6.