Audience numbers for the first few episodes of the show were a fraction of ratings for the 8 p.m. competition on MSNBC and Fox News, Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly. "We weren't in this for the first night. We're in this to launch and to let it grow," a vice president of programming at CNN told The Wall Street Journal. Ratings for Parker Spitzer already started to grow by the end of the first week.

CNN executives are sending notes every day to the Parker Spitzer production team about how to make the show better. One of the first steps was getting a bigger table for some of the segments. After the first episode, Time television critic James Poniewozik expressed concern about the initial size of the table on the show. "The new she-said-he-said show, Parker/Spitzer, opened last night with the two hosts and a gaggle of guests crowded together around a round table the size of a medium pizza and, ugh, it was just too close," he wrote.

The biggest change to show so far, however, has probably been the ouster of CNN U.S. president Jon Klein, who was taking a hands-on role with the launch of the show. Gabe Sherman reported last week that Jim Walton stopped Mr. Klein while he was on his way to watch a Parker Spitzer rehearsal at the end of the summer and fired him in a five-minute conversation.

But one interview in the first episode is still moving the news cycle. Business Insider founder Henry Blodget admitted to Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker that his guilty pleasure is eating shredded wheat at night. The Daily News' Gatecrasher column followed up with Mr. Blodget on the matter:

We asked Blodget to elaborate on this revelation and, well, he sure did. "What I apparently neglected to mention on the show is that the shredded wheat I was referring to was the after-dinner shredded wheat, which I'm not supposed to be eating on account of already having eaten," Blodget wrote in an email to us.

"I'm nuts for the stuff," he admitted. "Something about the texture and temperature mix of rough dry wheat and cool wet milk. Sublime."

Which makes us think that "I'm nuts for the stuff" is an incredible thing to be able to say about shredded wheat.

Update: The Times reported this afternoon that ratings for the second episode Tuesday night climbed 13 percent.

If anything should be said after the first night, it's that Parker Spitzer will make good fodder for commentary. Last night after Jon Stewart was finished eulogizing Rick Sanchez's career, he cut to a clip of the Parker Spitzer promo. "Johnny hungry!" he screamed.

Here's a roundup of some of the best reactions to night one of Parker Spitzer.

David Hinckley: On their debut show, Spitzer and Parker came off as slightly stiff pros who don't yet quite know how to talk to each other. Spitzer in particular tended to jump into everyone else's sentences, which was annoying, though not fatal. It takes any show awhile to find its rhythm. (Daily News)

Dan Kennedy: The programme – an hour-long talk show – presented a paradox that could only be explained by one of Einstein's equations about the time-space continuum. The segments between commercials were over in a flash, hurtling by so quickly that the guests barely had a chance to get in a few words. Yet, taken as a whole, Parker Spitzer felt like it was never going to end. (Guardian)

Steve Krakauer: Spitzer and Parker are both compelling television personalities, and with that foundation the show has a great chance to ultimately succeed. But one major area of concern is the taped nature of the show. None of it is live, which matches Bill O’Reilly but no other cable news prime time show. While O’Reilly is pre-taped, it doesn’t feel edited. Several time throughout Parker Spitzer, jump cuts are clear in the middle of interviews — it’s a jarring news viewing experience. Also, the program suffers from the new CNN theory of naming (and essentially branding) every segment. John King, USA does this too, and it hasn’t worked there. Why can’t an interview with Henry Blodget just be an interview with Henry Blodget? The content can stand on its own. (Mediaite)

Alessandra Stanley: But while the co-hosts worked hard to give off a loosey-goosey feel, the levity seemed a little forced. There wasn’t strong disagreement between the two anchors, perhaps because they didn’t address the same topics in the segment called “Opening Argument.” ... Mr. Spitzer tried to engage Ms. Parker at times, usually to override a point, but mostly they spoke on congenial but unconnected tracks. Mr. Spitzer is a CNN anchor on a mission, and there’s not room for two in his climb to redemption. (The New York Times)

James Poniewozik: CNN is devoted to the idea that Spitzer is a potential star and yet — his public-image liabilities being what they are — can't put him in an environment where he is what he is, which is prosecutorial. You get the feeling he might be better suited to a show on his own, as would Parker, who so far is being treated less like a cohost and more like a chaperone. (Time)

Foster Kamer: This is the 8PM News Show for Kids With ADD. At this pace, it'll make great background noise, but it's not engaging if you don't want to be watching. (Village Voice)

Tony Ortega: Getting a preview of Parker-Spitzer on CNN right now: Spitzer talks, Parker wears a look like she is suppressing serious intestinal trouble. (Village Voice)

Earlier: Yikes! Inaugural Parker Spitzer Segment is Live

h/t Steve Krakauer

The network introduced a promo for the show today with Mr. Spitzer and Ms. Parker playfully ribbing each other. The show's going to be real "cute."

The first episode airs four weeks from today, October 4.

Earlier: It's Spitz-o-phrenia!