The DVR, the digital video recorder, is one of the biggest technological advancements in TV history, allowing viewers to easily control the TV schedule.

In the ultimate bit of personal liberation, it allows us to fast-forward past those usually annoying commercials.

But are we?

The New York Times' Bill Carter cites Nielsen Media Research statistics that show 46 percent of viewers in the key 18-to-49 year-old demographic that advertisers target are watching commercials during playback. That's up a bit from last year.

From the business end of TV, that's good news.

Advertisers were worried that the DVR would render their ads useless as a way to reach viewers.

But it does demonstrate the intrinsic passivity of TV viewing. Even when we can exercise more control over what we watch, many of us don't.

If your TV-viewing arsenal includes some sort of DVR, whether it's Time Warner's version or TiVo, are you skipping through the ads and enjoying the programming more? Or are you sitting back and letting it all just wash over you?

The Packers' defeat at the hands of Favre's Vikings averaged 29.8 million viewers, while the Yankees' win over the Phillies averaged 22.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen overnights.

And the portion of the game that ran after 6 p.m. central time brought in a playoff-level 39 million viewers for Fox

On TV: ABC's "V" remake, which launches tonight at 7 on Channel 12 and Fox's "Wanda Sykes Show," which starts at 10:35 p.m. Saturday on Channel 6, mark the final two broadcast network premieres of the fall season.

• Oxygen has picked up a second season of "Dance Your Ass Off."
• Michael Ausiello reports Adrian Pasdar has been dumped from NBC's "Heroes."
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is joining "Law & Order Criminal Intent."
• ABC says it will air five remaining episodes of "Shark Tank," but there's no word when.
• NBC's "30 Rock" premiered on German TV over the weekend, and pulled in a 0.0 rating. That means fewer than 5,000 households were tuned in. Perhaps a David Hasselhoff guest spot could help.