Ellen Gray: Daily News reader critics weigh in

IN A FALL TV season in which CBS finds itself not only the most-watched network but tops among viewers under 50, it's probably a good time to rethink any assumptions about who's watching what on television.

Not that I needed the Nielsens to tell me that: I'd already met the 17 members of this year's very lively Everybody's a Critic panel, who range in age from 24 to 69 but whose opinions and preferences aren't so easily categorized.

Survivors of the most rigorous process we've used in the years we've been inviting readers in to the Daily News to watch TV, these critics were making their opinions known even before they arrived, having written reviews of some of the new fall shows just to be considered.

Earlier this month, they joined me for pizza (and my traditional Everybody's a Critic chocolate-chip cookies) to talk about television, screen the pilot of Kelsey Grammer's new Starz drama, "Boss" - look for their take, and mine, in Friday's Daily News - and to answer a few questions, some more serious than others.

(Turns out nearly everyone had an opinion on exactly what kind of tree Barbara Walters should be turned into if such a thing were possible. Most frequent suggestions: bonsai and weeping willow.)

A few other stats from this completely unscientific poll, none of whose results broke down clearly by age or gender:

* Asked how many hours of TV they watch in an average week, the largest number - seven - checked off "between 5 and 15," a range that would put them well below Nielsen estimates. Six more chose 15-30 hours, and just four went with, "I have television pumped directly into my brain 24/7. It's a lifestyle."

* Half the group reported having DVRs (one person reported using a VCR). Of those, most say they remember life before time-shifting, though several agreed with the statement, "Yes, but it makes me sad just thinking about it."

* Seventy percent of the group reported having watched TV online at some point during the past six months, on Hulu, iTunes or online sites such as ABC.com and NBC.com. Six had watched TV shows through Netflix.

* Of the 10 who said they'd watched at least one network evening newscast within the previous week, two were in their 20s and a third was 30.

Something to think about the next time someone tells you "everyone" that age gets their news from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."