1045 replies to this topic

[Glory]

Well... look at it this way, Fux would have to try pretty damn hard to schedule this worse than Drive. Cross your fingers for a strong opening night.

I know that more than a few people are hoping that Fridays become a strong sci-fi programming block. Here's to hoping.

[While A Coyote]

Heh. I used the subtitle "You've Got to Have Faith" for the Eliza Dushku topic. You could ALMOST use the same one here, that timeslot is so bad. Faith is probably about the only way to avoid outright despair.

And really it was a pretty shitty thing to do to SCC too.

[chesslover]

Tonight's episode is 59 minutes long. Not exactly the best way to start imo.

[Smokie Signals]

I'm more optimistic. I already am a big fan of Terminator though that came as a surprise to me. I only watched it for Summer Glau and I became hooked. Fans of that show, many of which are fans of anything linked to Joss, just went though an eight week wait that finally ended tonight. And then we had Dollhouse. Two shows that are more than Sci Fi. Both are based on such strong women! And then right after that, for another month or so we get the last episodes of Galactica. When both Stargates were still on followed by Galactica on Sci Fi, they promoted it as "Sci Fi Friday." To me, this lineup is even stronger.

[MichelleAntonia]

Well, look at it this way- If SCC keeps the ratings that they had Monday nights, which were considered shitty then, they'll be a HIT on Fridays. And I'd be willing to be whoever is tuning into SCC will be tuning into Dollhouse.

I'm banking on more fans like me, who will watch SCC, Dollhouse, and then switch to SciFi for BSG.

[WAnglais1]

Let's not forget, this was the original "The X-Files" slot. Friday nights at 9. That did okay.

I'm a casual fan, and just wanted to check it out. I think it's going to be tough to sustain the premise. It's like "Alias" every week where Sidney doesn't remember.

I'll keep watching. I mean, what's it up against--"Howie Do It?"

[SpacemanSpiff23]

How long does it take for the first numbers to come in on how it did last night?

What ratings do you thing it will need to get to stay on the air?

[minneapple]

Berman:

Fox – Dollhouse (premiere)
Viewers: 4.73 million (#3), A18-49: 2.0/ 6 (#1t)

This is what he has to say:

I did not do an analysis because there is no PI on Monday. But here is the bottom line on the debut of Fox's Dollhouse:

1. It averaged 4.72 million viewers (#3 behind CBS' Flashpoint and ABC's Supernanny) from 9-10 p.m., with a second-place finish among adults 18-49 (2.0/ 6).

2. The positive news was growth out of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles of 1.01 million viewers and 43 percent among adults 18-49.

3. Given the hype, however, this was still nothing to boast about.

So not bad, not great, just eh. Room for improvement, I guess.

[Eegah]

I'll keep watching. I mean, what's it up against--"Howie Do It?"

Friday Night Lights.

[Zero Hour]

I'm not sure those numbers are going to be enough to keep this show on the air. Especially when you consider most shows tend to drop in their second week. It's just too bad Fox saddled this show with the already DOA T:SCC. Dollhouse would have been better off having a House repeat as its lead-in.

[cjuniverse]

Well this is dissapointing.

[millernate]

I don't know why Fox keeps trying to schedule Science Fiction on Friday. The ratings have never really been there to support a network series (they've done okay for Sci-Fi, but not networks). And I'm including the X-Files because, even though it was a success, it very nearly was cancelled following its first season (I can specifically remember Fox running an add showing the number of successful series that were nearly cancelled in their first seasons and drawing the comparison to X-Files), and if memory serves was moved to a different night from its second season on. I don't think this one makes it. Though it could get a pity run for some point next season from a partial pick-up.

[arzim]

Why would it be so hard to give Dollhouse a solid lead-in? I agree with whoever said that a House rerun would do better for it than TSCC.

I don't have Fox's scheduling memorized, but is there a way for it to be paired with Bones (a half-Buffy demographic thanks to David Boreanaz) or something? Run non-idiotic adverts about "a new show from Joss Whedon" and I have to believe it'd get more attention.

[cjuniverse]

And I'm including the X-Files because, even though it was a success, it very nearly was cancelled following its first season (I can specifically remember Fox running an add showing the number of successful series that were nearly cancelled in their first seasons and drawing the comparison to X-Files), and if memory serves was moved to a different night from its second season on.

Do you remember what the X-Files got in their first season and how much it grew in the 2nd?

[millernate]

Do you remember what the X-Files got in their first season and how much it grew in the 2nd?

I don't remember the exact ratings X-Files got, but I do recall that it was generally in around the bottom 1/4 of all shows being rated (this is when I lived on the Ohio/Michigan border and the Toledo Blade used to print the ratings list for every network program once a week). I can't recall how much it grew by in its second season but I want to say it scored in the mid-ranges by that point and was no longer in cancellation danger. I will say, though, that I was a mid-teen then and am considerably older now so trust my memory at your own judgement.

[Shattered Life]

I don't have Fox's scheduling memorized, but is there a way for it to be paired with Bones (a half-Buffy demographic thanks to David Boreanaz) or something? Run non-idiotic adverts about "a new show from Joss Whedon" and I have to believe it'd get more attention.

For that to happen, the show would end up going up against both CSI and Grey's Anatomy. God only knows what kind of numbers it would pull against those two.

Do you remember what the X-Files got in their first season and how much it grew in the 2nd?

According to this site it had a growth of about 2-3 million viewers. Although what really surprises me is the massive jump between Season 2 and Season 3.

I'm really surprised FOX didn't choose to just prop Dollhouse up behind American Idol for the duration of the season and then put it somewhere solid next year after the first season has aired. There's no doubt the show could have a strong core audience, but giving it Terminator's measly lead-in isn't helping. Regardless of the "High hopes, low expectations." line we got fed when the timeslot was announced, this isn't going to sustain the show. That demo needs to be at least half a point higher and I think the overall viewership needs to be up at at least around 6 million.

We'll see how things go next week, but this isn't a very promising start.

[kieyra]

How does this compare to Firefly's premiere?

[Shattered Life]

Firefly premiered to around 5.4 million, I think.

[Zero Hour]

I'm really surprised FOX didn't choose to just prop Dollhouse up behind American Idol for the duration of the season and then put it somewhere solid next year after the first season has aired.

I think there are a few reasons why this didn't happen. First and foremost it's pretty clear Fox does not believe in this show. I don't think they even particularly like it. I'm not bashing Fox, I think they have a right to hate the shows they pay for and toss them in crummy time slots (even if it drives me crazy), but it's been pretty obvious for awhile that they aren't particularly supportive of this show. From there perspective the Friday time slot is a win win. If the show does well suddenly they've revived their long suffering Friday night but if it does poorly they can be rid of a show that never really worked for them to begin with. Secondly Fox thinks Lie To Me is the best thing ever and they are totally invested in making Fringe a hit at this point. And lastly, putting Dollhouse in Lie To Me's slot would have meant Dollhouse initially running against Lost which probably wouldn't have been the brightest scheduling move for an aspiring cult hit.

[millernate]

The bad issue for this series is somewhat similar to the problem Firefly had 6 years ago. There's only so many slots and there's even fewer slots where a commercially shaky series would be able to make it and not get thumped by steamroller competition (you've got chances it'd be against Lost, or against CSI & Grey's Anatomy, etc.). Unfortunately one of the few slots for that is Fridays, which just never gel for Fox when it comes to Science Fiction (does someone want to post that ludicrously long and ever expanding list of dead shows from Friday?).

[beastie]

The difference between now and six years ago, though, is that a lot more people watch shows on other formats now. So I wonder if they'll take into account how many people DVRed it and/or watch it on line. I'm thinking especially about the on-line viewers, because they can still make those people watch commercials.

[killersharky]

I do have to give a boost to beastie here. Numbers seem to be down across the board this season as more people use alternate ways to watch their shows -- Tivo, online, iTunes, etc. -- so I don't think XF and Firefly are the best comparisons. I'm just hoping the networks are seriously taking that into consideration. I don't think I've seen anything anywhere yet that says they are.

Edited by killersharky, Feb 14, 2009 @ 5:08 PM.

[March301]

Some television monitoring groups do keep Internet viewing in mind, although I'd imagine it'd be hard to monitor unless you can count the hits on every website that has commercial internet viewing. And even then, did someone open the webpage and go, "Uh, I don't think so, I'm going to go watch porn instead," or did they watch the entire hour? How do you count that stuff? I don't know how it works.

[superglowy]

These ratings are actually really hard to read and get a good concencious. From the outset the ratings look bad, but it turned out it kicked ass in a lot of major key demo's so it's really a weird on-the-fence kinda show. If it starts to dip and fall then we're screwed, but if it holds solid where it is a 2nd season could be a real possibility if Fox feels it may have just got a bad lead-in.

If it can hold onto its current ratings and add a million more viewers it's guaranteed to be renewed.. Those 1 million could turn out to be VERY important.

Edited by superglowy, Feb 14, 2009 @ 8:47 PM.

[Teshi]

I like how the promos are all "Starring Battlestar Galactica's Tamoh Penikett!" and then they put it on opposite BSG.

Way to divide nerd loyalties, Fox.

[Zero Hour]

Where I live at least BSG isn't on until after Dollhouse.

[cutecouple]

Viewers Give Warm Welcome to Whedon's 'Dollhouse':

While "Dollhouse's" overall ratings were nothing spectacular, the show's 2.0 rating in adults 18 to 49 is a nice improvement over what Fox had been averaging in the fall with gameshow "Don't Forget the Lyrics." Most weeks last fall, "Lyrics" had been scoring between a 1.5 and a 1.7 in the demo.

"Dollhouse" also nearly doubled the ratings Fox averaged last spring with the Friday premiere of short-lived scripted drama "Canterbury's Law," which bowed to a 1.1/3. The early numbers seem to indicate that if Fox wants to program scripted series on Friday, genre fare such as "Dollhouse" is a much better option than a standard procedural.

Holding better ratings then predecessors is a good sign.

Where I live at least BSG isn't on until after Dollhouse.

Same here.

[Mack the Spoon]

Huh, I hadn't expected anyone to describe these ratings so optimistically. I hope the network sees this similarly!

[Shattered Life]

Yeah, neither was I, but then after a while I realised that the demo rating is actually really good for the amount of overall viewers.

Am I the only one who's cautiously optimistic about a slight rise next week? I mean, even the people who haven't liked it have said they're going to stick around for more. I think FOX really just needs to be patient here. Air all thirteen episodes, and let's see what happens.

[barnardgirl]

I have become so completely enthralled with Friday night programming. Sarah Connor, Whedon, Tami Taylor, and Frakking insanity all in one night. My cup runneth over.