The overnight ratings are in and Mediaweek’s Marc Berman (who is that publication’s “Programming Insider”) has dubbed Last Comic Standing one of Monday night’s “losers.”

NBC, in particular, was very disappointing because it was in all originals care of the two-hour season-premiere of Last Comic Standing (3.3/ 5 from 8-10 p.m.)

Back in ’07, we note that we posted that NBC was said to be “solid” on Wednesday with numbers that seem only slightly higher.  In 2007, from Berman again:

The Peacock was also solid Wednesday with “Last Comic Standing” (2.6/8 in 18-49, 6.39m)

Sure, two or three million viewers lost might constitute “loser” status in the unforgiving game that is network primetime television. But those other figures are from 2007! A lot has happened in three years… like networks (particularly NBC) have been hemorrhaging viewers. So they might settle for fewer eyeballs.

But the goal is not so much to capture eyeballs but to capture more eyeballs than the other guy. By this measure, NBC and LCS didn’t do so good. And LCS came in fourth in its timeslot. And it failed to improve on the show that occupied its slot last season. And it didn’t pull down the gaudy numbers that its reality TV cousin, America’s Got Talent, got last week.

It doesn’t help matters that so many reviewers in the dinosaur media trashed standup comedy in their reviews. People generally love standup comedy. But it doesn’t take more than a snide comment here or there to flip that TV-viewing switch in their heads.  In fact, we noticed a strange phenomenon when we monitored Tweets about LCS.  A  good number of those Tweets started off with  from people who liked the show or people who said they were planning to watch it were prefaced by an apology. ( “I’m sorry, but, I like the show…” or “I hate to say it, but I really liked it…”  “You may think I’m crazy, but…” Like that.)

NBC has been promoting the heck out of the show… but if you’re in fourth place among networks, your numbers are small to begin with… so promoting during poorly rated shows will only get you so far.

We’re convinced that the show is good for standup.  And we’re puzzled by the number of Tweets or Facebook comments or chat room postings that proclaim this comic or that comic to be “too good for the show.”  This is, of course, utter nonsense.  With few exceptions (and they’re pretty obvious), there are hardly any professional comedians whose reputations or fortunes would be damaged by an appearance on primetime network television.  Repeated appearances, we remind you.

It matters not that it’s on a reality series.  It matters not that the format is that of a contest or competition.  It matters not what happened in past seasons.  What matters is that your image is exposed to 3 or 4 million pairs of eyeballs on the most influential medium ever devised.

Were it a straight shot– just the comic, doing his thing, for 4:30, on, say, a variety show,  it would be the most sought after spot on television.  It’s value as a marketing tool would be eye-popping and many times more powerful than that of a similar late-night appearance.  Don’t get us wrong: A late-night appearance is prestigious, valuable, in many ways necessary.  But a primetime network appearance is (even in these deflationary times) tops.

We’ve always been of this opinion.

We’ve never said that such an opportunity was an automatic ticket to superstardom.  But it’s an opportunity.  And it’s an opportunity in a crowded field– a crowded comedy field and a crowded entertainment/media field.  To denigrate the potential value of such an opportunity (or to characterize this comic or that comic as being “above” appearing on the show because of principals or aesthetics) is ludicrous.

As it is currently configured, there are few professional comics who wouldn’t benefit from being associated with it. And, of course, the show would benefit greatly from association with those comics.  But we fear that the changes made to LCS may be too little, too late.  Had the producers decide in Season 3 or Season 4 to go to a straight competition and had they “made peace” with the comedy community and demonstrated an appreciation for exactly what it is we do and allowed us to do it, thereby widening the number (and upping the quality) of the potential participants, the franchise’s numbers might have rivaled that of AGT… or maybe even DOND.

We hope it’s not too late.

In the meantime, we will urge all to watch and enjoy.