Terminated

Do we really want to live in a world where “Deal or No Deal” can crush cyborgs previously thought unstoppable? Yes, “Deal or No Deal” had 15 million viewers last night, while the second episode of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” had only 10 million, down more than 8 million from its Sunday debut.

Worse, in its first half hour, “Terminator” was also beaten by a repeat of “2.5 Men” and the last bit of “Dance Wars.” It handily beat “Rules of Engagement” and “Notes from the Underbelly” in its second half hour, but then, those shows are so lame that any series that can’t beat them deserves instant cancellation.

You’d expect better from one of the most expensive shows on TV to produce. Especially up against cheap reality programming. Based on this head-to-head battle alone, here’s guessing that even if the writers strike is ever resolved, there’s going to be less and less swinging for the fences with big scripted shows, because why bother if dumb reality crap can beat it without breaking a sweat?