Trade Roundup: Spats, Mall Cops, And Dad Brawls

· NBC angers its network rivals by working some technically allowed, but “morally” questionable, Nielsen voodoo by repeating its Heroes premiere on Saturday night and adding that showing’s ratings to the series’ original Monday night number. We think. This developing feud over ratings-reporting gamesmanship is as confusing as it is scintillating. [Variety]
· In simpler Nielsen-related news, House is still huge, averaging 18.1 million viewers in its best-ever performance not artificially enhanced by an American Idol lead-in [THR]
· Creative triple-threat Kevin James will write, produce, and star in Mall Cop. We’ll refrain from relating the logline and let your imaginations run wild with the comedic possibilities evoked by the combination of America’s most beloved schlub and that offbeat occupation. [Variety]
· Fox calls up Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy from its FX basic-cable farm team to their network major league club, giving a series commitment to Murphy’s female workplace drama Queen B. [THR]
· NBC will bottle up eight midseason episodes of Mark Burnett’s latest reality TV brain fart, My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad, which seeks to combine “the family fun and kid empowerment of ‘[Are You Smarter Than A] 5th Grader’ with the universally relatable concept of bragging that your dad is best.” It’s still unclear whether or not the proud fathers in question will be required to beat each other senseless at the end of each show to truly prove their paternal supremacy. [Variety]