TV ratings: Every fall sci-fi show compared by number of viewers

So the new fall season is under way. All the new (and old) shows have a few episodes under their belt giving the viewers time to decided should they stay or should they go? Ratings have been gathered for the 2009 television season (thus far), listing the shows by number of viewers from most to least. But numbers aren’t everything. ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox need more live viewers than The CW and Syfy for their shows to be considered successful.

Number 1: FlashForward (ABC)

Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET
Last week’s ratings: 8.98 million viewers

FlashForward is the closest thing we have to a hit on network TV these days. After initially dropping their ratings seem to have stabilized, plus strong DVR +7 (people who do not watch shows live but DVR and watch within 7 days – I’m in those numbers) numbers add close to 2 million additional viewers to the show’s ratings. If FlashForward stays strong dramatically it has the potential to be the next Lost. Expecting to see good things come from FlashForward, ABC has extended the show’s episode commitment to 25.

 

  Number 2: Ghost Whisperer (CBS)

Fridays at 8 p.m. ET
Last week’s ratings: 8.28 million viewers

With Fridays being saturated with good shows this fall, it ahs been tough, even for veteran Ghost Whisperer, which still manages to win the night. These winning ratings may not be good enough for CBS after this year, even with the time shift putting ratings up over 1 million additional viewers. There’s a chance that next season CBS will revamp their entire lineup and move their stronger shows to Friday night, especially since it’s been reported that this is NUMB3RS‘ last year. I don’t think that’s a good move, but time will tell.

 

Number 3: Medium (CBS)

Fridays at  9 p.m. ET
Last week’s ratings: 7.69 million viewers

Medium finally found a good home between Ghost Whisperer and NUMB3RS.

 

 

Number 4: Fringe (Fox)

Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET
Ratings before baseball: 5.96 million viewers

I’ve always said it’s bad karma to move a hit show to a new timeslot. Fringe is the best new show on TV and has definitely taken a hit going up against CSI and Grey’s Anatomy who are comfortable in their timeslots. Despite that, Fringe is one of the top shows to gain time shift viewers (to the tune of about 2 million a week). Fringe has a 22-episode order, and is doing the best they can hope for in a terrible, terrible timeslot.

 

Number 5: Heroes (NBC)

Mondays at 8 p.m. ET
Last week’s ratings: 5.86 million viewers

Is the end of Heroes near? Heroes was the biggest hit for NBC in their first season where we were all snagged with the catch phrase “Save the Cheerleader…Save the World.” NBC went to the top with an average of 14 million viewers, but have spiraled downward ever since. I blame it on the writing. They sucked us in and then got lazy on us. (Some people think ‘too complicated’ rather than lazy.) Even though decent time-shift ratings add another 1.5 million viewers or so, the ratings still are not good enough. Heroes’ 19 episodes will be shown, which will complete this year’s volume, “Redemption.” After that it just might be the end of our Heroes.

 

Number 6: Eastwick (ABC)

Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET
Last week’s ratings: 5.06 million viewers

Eastwick should have a better shot than others at making the but. Just the fact that it airs on Wednesday’s when there is hardly anything else watching is a step up from other shows that have to go up against established shows. Eastwick is a fun show to watch with three strong actresses and a couple of hunks to boot. Sadly, Eastwick has not quite caught on yet. I thought it might have gotten a ratings boost during Halloween since it is about 3 women learning about their newfound witching abilities. Eastwick won’t be the first series canceled (that honor goes to The Beautiful Life), but it is one of ABC’s biggest problems. (Psst…ABC, how about promoting the show??)

 

Number 7: The Vampire Dairies (The CW)

Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET
Ratings two weeks ago: 4.19 million viewers

It’s no surprise that The Vampire Diaries is off to a biting start and is the best decision the CW has made this season. They must be riding the coat tails of the Twilight fever, plus Halloween and the new movie The Twilight Saga: New Moon coming out November 20th can’t be hurting the ratings. The DVR +7 ratings bring the series up to over 5 million viewers, many of them female in the CW’s prime demographic.

 

Number 8: Supernatural (The CW)

Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET
Ratings two weeks ago: 2.88 million viewers

Despite the big guns (Fringe, CSI, & Grey’s Anatomy) in this heavily saturated Thursday night timeslot, Supernatural continues to keep their loyal viewers onboard. And thanks to The Vampire Diaries, they have added a new following of female viewers. Pairing these two shows seems to be paying off for The CW.

 

Number 9: Smallville (The CW)

Fridays at 8 p.m. ET
Last week’s ratings: 2.60 million viewers

While ratings aren’t as bad as they seem with the series getting a decent DVR boost, the move to Fridays has been a tough one for Smallville. While the producers would be thrilled to have a 10th season, if it is the last year, nine seasons ain’t bad.

 

Number 10: SGU: Stargate Universe (Syfy)

Fridays at 9 p.m. ET
Ratings from week two: 2.4 million viewers

Stargate Universe is trying to stay off the bottom floor and has been beating Fox’s Dollhouse in the ratings some weeks. The time-shift numbers are excellent, too, and Syfy considers this new Stargate one of its hits. Syfy can “consider” SGU a hit, but the numbers tell the real story. If they don’t get some action going on the show, then I expect those numbers to keep dwindling. The series is headed toward a big hiatus after episode 10, and it won’t return until spring, which is going to hurt it even more.

 

Number 11: Dollhouse (Fox)

Fridays at 9 p.m. ET
Ratings two weeks ago: 2.15 million viewers

Fans were shocked when Fox decided to pick up Dollhouse for a second season. But the ratings for Dollhouse have been so bad, even with the time-shift viewing, that Fox has decided to pull the series for November sweeps. Dollhouse is scheduled to return December 4, with two episodes airing each Friday. It’s not looking good for a third season of the Joss Whedon series,even with the help of Summer Glau.

 

Number 12: Sanctuary (Syfy)

Fridays at 10 p.m. ET
Season premiere ratings: nearly 1.9 million viewers

Sanctuary is doing well when it comes to the time-shift audience and it is very compatible with Stargate Universe. (Which has nothing to do with the  fact that former SG star Amanda Tapping plays the lead role in Sanctuary.) That isn’t bad for a series that once only lived on the Web and is still mostly virtual.

 

What’s your take on the new season?

[Source: SciFi Wire]