Johnson's much-hyped "The Magic Hour" appeared in syndication four weeks ago to bad reviews and mediocre ratings. After its so-so premiere week, the show plunged 17 percent to settle in on a basement-scraping 1.5 national Nielsen household rating. One ratings point equals 1 million households. On July 2, Johnson scored his first three-pointer by booking shock jock Howard Stern, one of the former b-baller's most outspoken critics. Since "The Magic Hour" premiered, Stern's radio show has ragged almost daily on Johnson's stiff personality and weak interviewing skills (one of "Magic Hour's" more embarrassing segments actually allows audience members to take over the interviewing task). The Thursday night show featuring an expectedly crude Stern drew "The Magic Hour" its highest ratings. Thursday's 4.2 rating represented a 110 percent jump from the show's average weekly performance. Producers were hoping that Stern would become Johnson's "Hugh Grant." A 1995 post-prostitution arrest Hugh Grant became Jay Leno's first ratings win against former late-night king David Letterman. That interview turned the tide, and Leno frequently out-aces Letterman in the ratings game these days.

Unfortunately, ratings for "The Magic Show" have not performed up to the Stern level. As a result, producers have dropped the show's stand-up comedy intro (not a role Johnson was born to play) and fired Johnson's wisecracking sidekick, comedian Craig Shoemaker (who never seemed to do much anyway). I don't think that's gonna help.