The second episode of season four didn't fare as well as the premiere, which also didn't have great ratings (vs. the whole cable universe, not the SciFi channel, mind you). The second episode lost about 16% of its viewers from the premiere falling to 1.801 million viewers (from 2.138 million for the premiere). I predict it will lose more, perhaps even me for the time being, although I'm sure I'll go back and binge on them when it winds up completing.
Before getting to the spoilers here are the first two episodes ratings in their debut airings. We don't even get the first Friday airings via Nielsen because they don't make the weekly cable top 40. I'd rate our odds of ever seeing any of the data for the subsequent airings as very, very close to zero..
| Date | Episode | HH Rating/Share | Viewers (millions) | 18-49 Rating/Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/04/2008 | He That Believeth in Me | 1.3/2 | 2.138 | 1.1/3 |
| 04/11/2008 | Six of One | 1.1/2 | 1.801 | 0.9/3 |
| 04/18/2008 | The Ties That Bind | 1.1/2 | 1.741 | 0.8/3 |
Spoilers below...
Whatever promise the season four premiere held, some of it waned for me in the second episode. It seems likely they will drag out going back to earth until pretty much the finale and I think I may just be at the "all right, already just go to earth, sheesh!" point. Maybe I just didn't like Number 6 (Tricia Helfer) with darker hair. Uh, no. She could dye her hair lime green and I'd still love her.
To be fair, last year there were episodes aplenty that were completely uninteresting to me. That was not the case with "Six of One".
The episode had a few things I did enjoy but they probably amounted to about 10 minutes of viewing. I enjoyed Starbuck pulling a gun on the madam President, but that scene went a little (ok, way too) long. I enjoyed Starbuck calling Admiral Adama the gutless coward that he was and I enjoyed that it seemed to have motivated him to not be such a gutless coward. I also enjoyed the Natalie model of #6 demanding that Cavil (model #1) stop the the "raider lobotomies" and I especially enjoyed her calling in two Centurions (after having removed their "higher brain inhibitors" and seeing all the other human Cylons (besides Natalie) gunned down by them.
So far, the story line around the newly found out four human Cylons, including Tory getting naked with Baltar (and crying during sex) is completely uninteresting to me. Still, Baltar's line that human's may have created the cylons but it was the "one true God" who gave them souls will surely be revisited.
If there is a Starbuck "what life on a sewage ship is like" episode -- so don't want to watch that. Which probably ensures that there will be at least two...
Am I being too harsh? Or will another 337,000 bail out on this week's episode. I'm guessing it will have fewer viewers than Six of One, but only by 150K-200K or about 1.6-1.65 million viewers. What do you think?
I think it will end with its ratings in the toilet. As it should. I have still not forgiven RDM for ripping apart a great show, jumping a year ahead, turning Baltar into a cartoon, and stripping Starbuck & Apollo of all that made them great and turning them into 90210 cheaters.
I think it will end with its ratings in the toilet. As it should. I have still not forgiven RDM for ripping apart a great show, jumping a year ahead, turning Baltar into a cartoon, and stripping Starbuck & Apollo of all that made them great and turning them into 90210 cheaters.
For the first two seasons of BG, I was famous for posting reviews and the infamous “Nitpicker’s Guide” to the series. I was willing to praise as well as criticise a show that has some passionate fans. However, by the time season 3 came around, I just couldn’t be bothered. The show wasn’t interesting enough for me to put in the time (and fight off the flames I would get).
My take is that BG will settle down in an episode or two more and the ratings will be steady. Season premiers always bring in the casual viewer, especially in light of the heavy (and generally ineffective) advertising the show got. Once these casual viewers fall away, BG will continue on until the season nears its end and casual viewers return to see them find Earth.
I don’t know what will happen with the prequel “Caprica”. My current guess is that ratings may be somewhat less than BG unless the action is increased. Way too early to tell.
For the first two seasons of BG, I was famous for posting reviews and the infamous “Nitpicker's Guide” to the series. I was willing to praise as well as criticise a show that has some passionate fans. However, by the time season 3 came around, I just couldn't be bothered. The show wasn't interesting enough for me to put in the time (and fight off the flames I would get).
My take is that BG will settle down in an episode or two more and the ratings will be steady. Season premiers always bring in the casual viewer, especially in light of the heavy (and generally ineffective) advertising the show got. Once these casual viewers fall away, BG will continue on until the season nears its end and casual viewers return to see them find Earth.
I don't know what will happen with the prequel “Caprica”. My current guess is that ratings may be somewhat less than BG unless the action is increased. Way too early to tell.
Oh cmon! The Humans and Cylons will live happily ever after on earth. Dontcha wanna see that? Millions will watch! There will be so many Nielsen’s people meters will break..you just watch
Oh cmon! The Humans and Cylons will live happily ever after on earth. Dontcha wanna see that? Millions will watch! There will be so many Nielsen's people meters will break..you just watch
some would argue they’re already broken.
some would argue they're already broken.
BSG and Lost have the same problem, but Lost has a distinctive advantage. First – the problem. There are too many scenes that are just filler scenes. The writers must think that they are still on strike, or in this case, were dreaming of the strike beforehand. Case in point, the Roslin/Adama scene went on way too long and really had no impact on the storyline or for that matter was just plain boring. Lost has similar issues sometimes. Both shows go on hiatus regularly. For BSG, a half season is shown at one time. Maybe this is because the writers suck and can’t keep any real action going. For Lost, forget this year’s writer-designed strike. Think the last few years where ABC kept taking Lost off the air for weeks on end for supposed holidays and other lame reasons. When shows in the 1980s were on the air, a season literally had 23 to 30+ episodes. Think of Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, etc. The reason Commander in Chief went off the air was because they kept removing the show from one time slot to another and taking it off the air for holidays and other lame excuses probably to stretch the show to May as they are trying to do with Lost. The execs at ABC also fired the original creator so that they could make it into NYPD Blue style. So far, NBC/Sci-Fi. has not fired anyone, but perhaps they should hire some new writers to add to the mix. Ron Moore, the guy behind BSG shouldn’t be praised. You don’t praise someone who can’t sell his product. Finally, ABC’s advantage is that it is a network that everyone can get and has been able to see for years. We develop an affinity to check out what is on the major networks more so than on a small cable station. That is the distinctive advantage that Lost has over Sci-Fi. Lost has been known for being slow, but with more people tuning in, it seems to do better.
BSG and Lost have the same problem, but Lost has a distinctive advantage. First – the problem. There are too many scenes that are just filler scenes. The writers must think that they are still on strike, or in this case, were dreaming of the strike beforehand. Case in point, the Roslin/Adama scene went on way too long and really had no impact on the storyline or for that matter was just plain boring. Lost has similar issues sometimes. Both shows go on hiatus regularly. For BSG, a half season is shown at one time. Maybe this is because the writers suck and can't keep any real action going. For Lost, forget this year's writer-designed strike. Think the last few years where ABC kept taking Lost off the air for weeks on end for supposed holidays and other lame reasons. When shows in the 1980s were on the air, a season literally had 23 to 30+ episodes. Think of Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, etc. The reason Commander in Chief went off the air was because they kept removing the show from one time slot to another and taking it off the air for holidays and other lame excuses probably to stretch the show to May as they are trying to do with Lost. The execs at ABC also fired the original creator so that they could make it into NYPD Blue style. So far, NBC/Sci-Fi. has not fired anyone, but perhaps they should hire some new writers to add to the mix. Ron Moore, the guy behind BSG shouldn't be praised. You don't praise someone who can't sell his product. Finally, ABC's advantage is that it is a network that everyone can get and has been able to see for years. We develop an affinity to check out what is on the major networks more so than on a small cable station. That is the distinctive advantage that Lost has over Sci-Fi. Lost has been known for being slow, but with more people tuning in, it seems to do better.
Robert, dont mention Nielsen meters being broken! You might end up getting bombed with peanuts from disgruntled Jericho fans. Believe it or not some of them are actually involved in something called “Nuts to Nielsen” to protest the ratings system.
BSG is definitely sputtering to conclusion, looks like Season 3′s decline was no fluke. Theres something about doing Iraq War allegories that is toxic to a show. Jericho’s ratings tanked when they did it. Though for BSG there are many other reasons already mentioned here as to why its not as popular as it was back during Season 1 and 2.
Maybe Caprica will bring back the magic. Then again Star Trek tried a prequel and we know how that turned out. Season 4 of Enterprise was actually pretty good but by then the damage was done.
Robert, dont mention Nielsen meters being broken! You might end up getting bombed with peanuts from disgruntled Jericho fans. Believe it or not some of them are actually involved in something called “Nuts to Nielsen” to protest the ratings system.
BSG is definitely sputtering to conclusion, looks like Season 3's decline was no fluke. Theres something about doing Iraq War allegories that is toxic to a show. Jericho's ratings tanked when they did it. Though for BSG there are many other reasons already mentioned here as to why its not as popular as it was back during Season 1 and 2.
Maybe Caprica will bring back the magic. Then again Star Trek tried a prequel and we know how that turned out. Season 4 of Enterprise was actually pretty good but by then the damage was done.
If it’s the actual peanuts and not just the shells, bomb away. I love peanuts!
I’m so apolitical I completely over look any allegories to political stuff in stories. And when you think about it, whatever the names of the players, the stories are always the same anyway.
People haven’t changed much. Whether Greek tragedy or Shakespeare, it’s all been done before with no knowledge of who would be president of the US in 2001. It’s just the greek playwrites and Shakespeare wrote better stories and characters.
If it's the actual peanuts and not just the shells, bomb away. I love peanuts!
I'm so apolitical I completely over look any allegories to political stuff in stories. And when you think about it, whatever the names of the players, the stories are always the same anyway.
People haven't changed much. Whether Greek tragedy or Shakespeare, it's all been done before with no knowledge of who would be president of the US in 2001. It's just the greek playwrites and Shakespeare wrote better stories and characters.
Robert – Um…….I think maybe you slipped up on the equal opportunity cheesecake picture for this post. Just saying. (Thanks for the post though. I haven’t watched since the beginning of Season 3. That season ruined it for me. Might watch the finale though.)
Robert – Um…….I think maybe you slipped up on the equal opportunity cheesecake picture for this post. Just saying. (Thanks for the post though. I haven't watched since the beginning of Season 3. That season ruined it for me. Might watch the finale though.)
Polly, Edward James Olmos is quite the hunk, I understand.
Polly, Edward James Olmos is quite the hunk, I understand.
@Polly awwwww you’re killing the dream here. As I move towards my “elder statesman” years, I need at least the illusion that women find Edward James/Admiral Adama attractive. And you just shattered that illusion into thousands of tiny pieces. Thanks!
I’ll use something more cheesecake-esque for next week’s post. To quote Mick Jagger: what a drag it is getting old!
@Polly awwwww you're killing the dream here. As I move towards my “elder statesman” years, I need at least the illusion that women find Edward James/Admiral Adama attractive. And you just shattered that illusion into thousands of tiny pieces. Thanks!
I'll use something more cheesecake-esque for next week's post. To quote Mick Jagger: what a drag it is getting old!