You said: “Yeah – Because Prison Break’s numbers didn’t drop as soon as TSCC left to go on hiatus”.

FOX aired a new PB episode on Christmas week and like “tvlover” said, many people were out at parties, shopping, etc. HOWEVER, PB had the most DVR viewers!

Here’s the link:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/01/15/prison-break-has-most-dvr-viewers-greatest-share-of-viewing-by-dvr/10892

Anyway. I’m excited to see the second DOLLHOUSE episode, and looking at the fact that there will be only a Flashpoint re-run next week, the numbers could actually be stable.

She has the range of emotions, but she can’t become different people. That is the trademark of people that have a long career has supporting roles. That they can deliver that one character they do all the time very well,and what most of the nominated for the supporting category in the Emmys have in common. They do the same character over and over, and if they land on an hit show they get the nod. That makes a technically competent actor, a great actor has you make a double take, and have a moment of discomfort when you first see them in a new role, because that is someone that you don’t recognize.

Now TSCC I like/hate, It goes too slow and explains little. I think the casting of Kyle was way off. He looks like he is fresh out of high school. That peach fuzz didn’t help either! The guy in the movie was much better. I love the girl with the red hair and that part of the story but Sara and John are just not that interesting. They slow down the show, more of Summer Glau would be better. All she does lately is stand around and say a few words. A whole episode of watching Sara get a bullet out of her leg? Come on! And I still don’t like Lena Heady as Sara, with skinny arms like that how can you expect me to believe the things she does. She is not interesting to look at, she has one emotion which is more like a robot that the Terminator. I think plastic surgery into a new actress is in store for her.

So in conclusion Dollhouse is perfect don’t mess with it, TSCC needs major over hauling or dump it.
Like anyone is going to listen to me. (Ha)

Yes, they spun the ratings nicely in their press release, but those are numbers you want to settle for after you lose all the people who tuned in for the first episode and decided it wasn’t their cup of hemlock. In my mind, however, those are not the numbers that you want out of the premiere of a show that was supposedly highly anticipated. They are not the numbers you want to be the bar from which you start falling.

BUT IT WAS FREAKING FRIDAY, SO WHAT THE HECK DID THEY EXPECT?????

Still don’t see why they wouldn’t air the damn premiere after Idol and THEN move it to Fridays. Not sure what the number would have been, but you would have at least gotten double that size to sample the damn thing. Probably triple. And, who knows, maybe a lot more than that. Obviously it’s not a show that will sustain those numbers, but we are talking about ONE airing, getting the biggest damn sample size you can trick into watching, then moving it to the Friday dumping grounds and letting it sink or swim.

But, hey, we are talking about network execs. It’s not like you actually have to be able to do your job well to rise to the top in that business. And now that I’ve seen the premiere, it’s not hard to imagine that Whedon had to rewrite the pilot with a network monkey sitting on his back the whole time. That thing had suit-speak all through it. And that is what I really don’t get. Either force him to rework it to your dim-witted specifications and give him a decent premiere time slot, or else let him do whatever the hell he wants and dump him in the Friday wastelands to die.

But, being FOX, and being brainless, they did both. Which is guarenteed to sink your ship before it even leaves the dry dock.

Personally, I think Dollhouse gets its 13 weeks (maybe), and we never hear from it again. Next week’s numbers will be more telling, but if they drop at all, then this show is not long for this world. They will have to hold steady at these levels, at worst, else Joss can move on to Dr. Horrible Part Deux.

As for the show itself? Meh! I’m probably more of a Joss-fanatic than most people, seeing as I think that Buffy, Angel and especially Firefly are three of the greatest shows in televsion history, so it is not a good sign that even I thought Dollhouse was b-o-r-i-n-g and, dare I say, more than a little silly (“What have we done?). In fact, seeing that it was bad enough that I felt compelled to actually spell out boring, that doesn’t bode well for continued watching by anyone who is not a certified Joss-o-phile.

So, no, I cannot imagine the show I watched on Friday is going to draw in anyone but people who are there soley for the Whedon (unless there are a few extremely obsessive/compulsive Tru Calling fans left alive somewhere in this world). I also cannot imagine anyone who just happened to watch it will be back again next Friday, unless of course they just happened to watch it because they are usually passed out in front of the tube ever Friday night at nine and cannot change the channel. Let’s just hope they pass out with the televsion tuned to FOX.

I’ll be back, but I’d be back to watch Whedon reinterpret the phone book, at least I will for thirteen weeks. So I don’t count, not in the least, and I know it. I represent no demo in which any network would be remotely interested.

I hear it gets better, which is good, but again that just brings me back to why FOX would foist this lousy pilot on us, knowing that first impressions are so vital on television.

Anyway, can’t wait for Doctor Horrible II. I imagine we have 12 more weeks until Whedon starts writing it.

I also don’t see how a show with only one episode aired can be less consistent than any show that has aired multiple episodes. There is nothing to compare it with. I have seen other episodes, so I know it gets better.

Still if anything the pilot was far from having any humor, and the worst aspect imho was Dushku freaking out as the Negotiator.

tscc is a great show but i think it is dead now. fox messed it up. tscc is a 9pm show and it performed well on mondays at 9pm last season, the move to 8pm lost it about 3m viewers and the move to fridays at 8pm seems to have lost it another 1.5m-2m viewers.

Basically Tahmoh is a good actor, but not most people’s dreamy cup of tea. And even worse for the show, was Joss tried to put in too much silliness and “Buffy-speak” shoe-horned comedy (as spoken by Topher in particular) – where this show has a darker and more mature vibe. It’s not about a bunch of high-schoolers, so I think it was inappropriate that Joss has made Topher to be so flippant and talk like a teenager. Don’t get me wrong, a little sprinkling of comic relief in a smart way now and then is needed. However, the heavy-handed way that Joss introduced it, threw me off and out of the moment and the vibe of the whole show.

It’s like this show has gone through certain concepts that isn’t right for it. Fox wanted the show more mature and a bit darker in tone and I applaud that fully. However, we still get promos that are silly with people speaking like valley teens and excerpts like “zombie slaves” – basically, not taking itself serious enough for the rest of the atmosphere. Given the circumstances, premise, most of the characters, the ages, etc – this show should be more La Femme Nikita and less Buffy 2.0 in regards to certain aspects.

I was very disappointed in the contrasting elements. When the show started to get a real hook in, then there was silliness to make it all seem like a joke. So. Not. Cool.

Also? Echo needs to have more of a defining original personality in-between mind wipes. Something so that the viewers can see the world through her eyes and care about her. I imagine this will happen tiny bits at a time, but a little more needs to happen soon, so that people can stay in touch with the character and not have another reason to give up on the show and tune out prematurely.

Terminator is a much better show in the consistency vibe and the last ep was a very good one with the iconic Kyle Reese character appearing with Sarah. But Fox has done a horrendous job of promoting it until the last minute.

I reaaaaally want to like DOLLHOUSE, I just hope Joss gets his creative sh*t together and makes up his mind on the vibe of the show. I hope it hits its stride soon.

I foresee a slight drop in viewership for DOLLHOUSE. However, the people who watched seem to have stuck around for it. It kept its numbers rather strongly.

It should be interesting to see how the media affects viewership. If there is a large drop it will likely be because people heard the show did poorly in ratings (I’ve seen those incorrect reports) and is likely not to make it. Viewers don’t like investing into TV shows that they hear will get canceled.

If Whedon and Dushku fans stick to it, the show should be fine. I don’t see worse than a 4M 1.7 from the show. That should be enough to keep FOX ok with it, and give it a chance to grow.

Going over your points:

1. That should be good enough. That likely means a 2.0 in C3 terms. Which is where they want to be. As long as it can hold that or even build on it, they’ll be happy.

2. Costs aren’t as extremely high as some might think. The most expensive thing they did was the set. It’s less expensive than most FOX shows. I think only TIL DEATH and TSCC are cheaper.

3. The game shows are most definitely cheaper. However FOX is excited that they now have a strong Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday is the best it has been since THE SIMPSONS aired on Thursdays. Their Saturday lineup is something they’re happy with as well. So Friday is their “dead night,” and they very much want to create a healthy Friday. DOLLHOUSE numbers are their best sign of life on a Friday in ages. There is a reason they are willing to let DOLLHOUSE play out. They really want a decent Friday.

4. Networks are scared of Friday. It’s that simple. So for FOX to be aggressive on Friday (all that promotion was aggressive) I don’t see them just laying down and letting it die. That is why TSCC is in trouble.

Dollhouse did worse than I expected in total viewers, but around what I expected for the demo. Even though I thought the show was pretty good, I expect it to drop next week. I don’t think it disappointed the fans, but I don’t think it will keep all the curious onlookers.

TSCC is gone. Depending on what else FOX has going, it might finish out the season, but it will definitely not have another season.

The drop for Flashpoint seems odd. Before it went to repeats, it was going up each week. This week, it got a lower demo than it got last week with a rerun. Did people not realize it was new?

Dollhouse performed well in the key demographics, by Friday night standards. Its limited commercial interruptions will make another interesting study for “Remote Free TV.” I watch with interest the effect that Dollhouse will have on Flashpoint. If, with new scripted competition in play, Flashpoint cannot get back up to its 2.4/7 in the 18-49 demographic, then CBS may prematurely drop another show for less-than-perfect numbers.

As for FNL, I am anxious to hear the DirecTV/NBC decision as to what to do there. With a shared price tag, maybe someone (other than NBC broadcast) can give us another 13 episodes. But it’s doubtful at this point. If FNL is done, I at least hope the awards snobs will finally recognize Britton and Chandler for three seasons of fantastic chemistry, genuine love, fear, and hope.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1648674096/bctid1668060859

Doesn’t sound “incredibly close” to me.

But I do agree on most of the other points you’re making, the numbers for Dollhouse are actually quite solid and look promising. Next week will be interesting to watch, since there’s no Friday 13th AND no new Flashpoint. I actually do see the possibility for the numbers to go up a notch, and even the most negative reviews (not to mention the network and the studio and the creators…) agreed that the second episode is very great TV and better than the pilot. If it can hold its audience on that high a note, it should be safe.

I also like the idea of a Dollhouse-”event” behind Idol. The Whedon-penned sixth episode is the one kicking off the serialized second half of the season, basically being a new pilot. It is scheduled to air on Mar 20 (the day of the BSG-finale, which will draw from Dollhouse-number inevitably, since it starts at 8pm), so pulling the sixth episode away from the competing BSG and onto that week’s Idol would seem like a clever move.

I’m pretty happy with the success. It means that Friday isn’t a place to put shows to die. FOX hasn’t promoted a Friday night show like they did for DOLLHOUSE in likely ever. DOLLHOUSE was heavily promoted last week. Just think if they had promoted a universally acclaimed show for that time slot?

FOX should be happy. BONES has shown it can compete on Thursday, and DOLLHOUSE may compete on Fridays.

The DH numbers didn’t look that good. I feel like they would have some margin for normal viewer shedding if they debuted higher. As it looks right now, they might survive if they hold these numbers, but there’s really no room to slip. The show itself wasn’t horrible… but it is alarming that no one “loved” it, even hardcore Whedonites. I agree with one review that DH does smell a little like My Own Worst Enemy, but hopefully it’ll pick up and have a better fate.

High point of the evening… those Summer and Eliza promos!

The most stunning thing to me in these results was the dip in Flashpoint ratings. It scored better when it was a repeat last week?!? Somehow, I think viewers must have thought last night was a repeat. Was there some last minute switching going on there? I guess we’ll know more when Flashpoint and Dollhouse have both aired more new episodes head-to-head in the time slot.

When Terminator/SCC when on hiatus in December, FOX continued to air Prison Break during Christmas week when everyone was out shopping and attending holiday office parties. Therefore PB’s ratings dropped that week, BUT Prison Break was #1 in DVR viewership Christmas week.

SARAH is not going anywhere for this season – FOX 9has their money and they will play out 8 weeks then PB for 4-6 weeks…I think DOLLHOUSE will play out for 13 – then FOX will make their final calls…I admit for ALL 3 it looks like SKYNET is taking over everywhere!