NBC’s ‘Hawaii’
audience falls
to a new low

NBC's cop drama "Hawaii" drew just 6.7 million viewers last week, a new low for the freshman series. But there's not a whisper by producers or network execs about its cancellation. It seems, sources confirmed, that with two other new NBC series underperforming -- "LAX" and "Medical Investigation" -- and because some network suits like "Hawaii," there's little chance the series will be pulled for at least a month.

The decision on whether "Hawaii" will be picked up for another nine episodes won't be made until late this month or early November. The drama may be moved to Monday from its current Wednesday slot --where it's up against ABC's blockbuster "Lost." That move would give the state prime-time network exposure on three weeknights, including "North Shore."

"Lost" last week pulled in a 6.2 rating/17 share with adults 18 to 49 (16.5 million viewers overall), slipping by just 5 percent but again dominating Wednesday's opening primetime hour in all key ratings categories. "Lost" was also the night's No. 1 program with adults 18 to 34 (a series-high 5.1/15) and most male demographics.

Star Dominic Monaghan won his role despite it being originally conceived for an older actor to play a has-been rocker whose band had fallen off the map some 15 years earlier. Co-executive producer/creator Damon Lindelof says Monaghan's audition had a "great sense of humor to everything," so the character was recreated to be part of a one-hit wonder, though the character just doesn't realize it yet.

Monaghan had never seen co-creator J.J. Abrams' show "Alias," so he rented the DVDs, then met with the producer, who persuaded him to work on the show.

The actor has several film projects in the works: He'll play a loser in the crime comedy "Spivs"; a rock 'n' roll performer in the drama "Shooting Livien"; and the kung fu movie "The Purifiers," based on the 1979 cult classic "The Warriors." He's also co-writing a screenplay with his "Lord of the Rings" co-star Billy Boyd about the discovery of America, in which they'll both star ...

Lead roles in the $1-million indie pic "Tides of War" that starts filming Monday through Nov. 5 are Mathew St. Patrick ("Six Feet Under"), Adrian Paul ("Highlander") and Katherine Dent ("The Shield") ...