As one of the stars of Grey's Anatomy, one of the most popular shows on television in the past year or so, Isaiah Washington seemed to have it pretty good -- until an incident in October of 2006 in which he reportedly used a homophobic slur against a fellow castmate. Still, he apologized (at the prompting of Touchstone Television) and underwent anger counseling. It might have been but a minor bump in Washington's career had he not continued to antagonize fellow cast members by such things as his flippant remarks about the incident at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in January of 2007.

Still, he went back to work on the hit show, amid speculation that the incident would influence impending salary negotiations. But by June ABC had had enough and cut Washington loose. Further accusations flew, and Washington threatened to sue, to leave the country to dedicate himself to charity work, and to focus solely on a career in independent film.

According to the latest Nielson ratings, network television has 2.5 million fewer viewers tuning in to the four major stations this spring than in 2006.

Early daylight-savings time, reruns, recorded or downloaded shows -- take any excuse you want -- people stopped watching. One reason at the top of my list: the creation of the middle-of-the-season hiatus. It truly was a horrible idea.

Despite every network's desire to increase public viewing, ratings are probably going to get worse. I think they will get worse for one network in particular: General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC.

Primetime hasn't been doing well at NBC for the last few years. The network had three consecutive fourth place finishes in primetime viewing since 2004, behind CBS, ABC, and Fox. Strangely enough, the powers that be continue to keep the people who bring the worst to primetime on their roster. Jeff Zucker, the former head of NBC television who presided over the decline, was promoted last October to President and CEO of NBC Universal. Kevin Reilly, NBC's President of entertainment since 2004 (note that he's been president for the same three years NBC's been in fourth place) had his contract extended in February.

Sounds about right.

As part of an ongoing effort to improve ratings, NBC is looking toward the past to improve its future. The network - a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE) - has been in fourth place among the major networks for the past three years and suffered a well-publicized swing-and-a-miss with this season's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

On Monday, when NBC reveals its schedule for the 2007-2008 television season, we might see a familiar title, with a new version of The Bionic Woman possibly on the schedule. The original version aired for three seasons in the mid-70s as a spinoff of The Six Million Dollar Man. It starred Lindsay Wagner as Jamie Sommers, the first female cyborg.

Other possible new offerings at the Peacock include Chuck, featuring a computer whiz who becomes a spy and Journeyman, a fantasy drama with time travel as its main premise. Shows already slated to return include 30 Rock, Heroes, The Office, and the ubiquitous Deal or No Deal.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.