Axiom’s Edge Network Ratings Tracker

By John J. Joex

All eyes were on Friday night this week, especially Joss Whedon fans, but Dollhouse’s premiere pulled less than impressive numbers.  The debut episode pulled a rating of only 2.0 in the 18-49 demographic with 4.72 million total viewers.  That’s barely half of what I predicted it would get earlier this week and these overnights probably did not bring many smiles to the faces of FOX executives.  TV by Numbers pointed out the upside that the premiere did score well with male viewers and that it performed better than previous programming FOX has had in the 9 PM Friday night slot this year.  Perhaps that will be enough to keep the show afloat, but I would say that it can’t stand to lose even a fraction of that audience going forward.

The news was even worse for The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  It pulled only a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo and 3.71 million total viewers.  Of course it had to contend with CBS powerhouse The Ghost Whisperer (2.4 rating and 10.35 million viewers) and the fact that it is returning from an extended hiatus.  Still, I would say nothing short of a sharp upturn in the numbers will help Sarah Connor make it into a third season.

Lost slipped some this week, but then it had to face off with American Idol.  Expect to see its 4.4 rating and 9.7 million viewers go back up once Idol is not stealing away some of its audience.  Life on Mars can’t blame Idol for its rating slide, though, and the numbers just get worse each week.  We can pretty much write off any chance of a second season now and its few fans have to hope that ABC doesn’t yank it from the schedule.

Chuck got the boot this week by Obama’s press conference and Heroes took a hit as it dropped to a 3.6 rating and 7.9 million viewers.  It’s definitely not heading in the right direction and it even lost out the top spot in the 18-34 demographic (where it had previously ruled) to The Bachelor of all things.  On a good note, it did beat out FOX’s 24 in the 18-49 demographic.  Medium slid also, dropping to a 2.7 rating and 7.93 million viewers.  Not encouraging numbers for either, but I’m not going to raise the alert level just yet.  If things don’t turn around soon, though, they could face some tough times ahead.  Meanwhile, NBC’s other genre entry, Knight Rider, continues to run on fumes as it chugs to its February 25th finale.  Don’t expect to see any new episodes of this one after that date.

The Mentalist returned this week with a new episode and its total viewer numbers went back into the stratosphere with over 19 million.  Fringe still beat it in the 18-49 demographic, though.  A new episode of The Eleventh Hour did not score as well previous episodes that have aired in 2009, pulling only a 2.7 rating and just over 11 million total viewers.  The CW was all repeats this week.

Ratings Results:

The Timeslot Rank, and % Change from Prior Week and Lead-In columns are based on the rating in the 18-49 demographic.  The Cancellation Alert column is based on season to date performance and my assessment of how likely the network is to cancel the show.  TVbytheNumbers.com also provides their Renew/Cancel Index which tracks the likelihood of cancellation on a weekly basis.

Recent Posts from Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy:

• Cancellation Watch
• Television Review – Lost Season 5
• Axiom’s Edge Flashback: Review of Lost from Season 1
• Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse Premieres this Friday. Here are Johnny Jay’s Ratings Predictions
• Briefs – Lost, Heroes, Life on Mars, BSG, and More
• Hulu Awards Week 13: Sam Christopher’s List
• Weekly Update – 3rd Winchester joins Supernatural; Chuck Eyes 3rd Season, New Direction; Reaper to Bow Sooner; Caprica to DVD