430. The X Factor

After all the hype, Fox's The X Factor debuted to a relatively underwhelming 12.1 million viewers with an 8.7 household rating and a 4.2 among 18-to-49-year-olds, preliminary Nielsen data show — far shy of American Idol's numbers for its Season 10 opener.

X Factor creator Simon Cowell previously stated that he wanted the US version of The X Factor to perform better than American Idol in the ratings, but the first show attracted only about half the audience numbers of the rival talent show.



(tags: Entertainment Series, Television, Reality TV, Reality TV, Simon Cowell, X Factor, Paula Abdul, American Idol)

429. 9/11 Tribute

WASHINGTON — Undaunted by talk of a new terror threat, New Yorkers and Washingtonians wove among police armed with assault rifles and waited with varying degrees of patience at security checkpoints Friday while intelligence officials scrambled to nail down information on a possible al-Qaida strike timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

(tags: Political Series, Obituary Series, Holiday, nine-eleven, 9-11, World Trade Center, New York, Terrorism, Al Qaeda, War)