Is the Church of J.J. Abrams losing members?
Mike M
Ohmygodit'sJ.J.Abrams'snewseries! "Fringe," attracted only 9.1 million
viewers in its premiere Tuesday night.
Fox noted it was the network's most watched drama premiere in two
years, if you exclude most of its drama premieres of the past two
years. Actually, what Fox said was that "Fringe" was its highest-rated
drama series debut in two years "excluding premieres following sports
and 'American Idol.' "
Since September 2006, all but three Fox dramas ("K-Ville,"
"Canterbury's Law" and "Drive") have launched after a sports telecast
or "Idol."
The launch of "Fringe" did not score a bigger audience than the 2006
kickoff of Fox's "Standoff" -- you know, the drama about the really
hot police crisis negotiators who can't keep their hands off each
other, played by Ron Livingston and the inexplicably cast Rosemarie
DeWitt. But because that one debuted on Sept. 5 and "Fringe" debuted
on Sept. 9, "Fringe" squeaked in under that two-year cutoff.
Fox noted in its ratings news release that "Fringe" had debuted before
the start of the television season, when viewers aren't really so
focused on the new shows. Note that "Standoff" started even earlier
than "Fringe." That said, "Standoff" had the advantage of a "House"
lead-in. "Fringe" had to self-start at 8 p.m. without a lead-in
feeding its viewers because the TV God told Fox that if it did use a
lead-in, He would visit a plague of locusts on the lot to devour all
the expensive landscaping. Oh, wait, no He didn't! Fox came up with
the 8 p.m. scheduling all on its own!
Just for fun, let's compare the 9.1 million who gathered to watch the
first episode of "Fringe" with the numbers from some other J.J. Abrams
series unveilings, shall we?
When "Lost" opened on ABC in September '04, nearly 19 million tuned
in.
And let's not forget that at the time, ABC was the cellar-dweller, the
No. 4 network overall and among the 18-to-49-year-old viewers networks
target because advertisers covet them. Fox, on the other hand, is king
of the hill -- the country's No. 1 network overall and No. 1 among 18-
to-49-year-olds.
ad_icon
The second season of "Lost" opened with an average of more than 23
million tuned in. Its third-season starter logged nearly 19 million
viewers and its fourth more than 16 million.
In fact, no original episode of "Lost" has averaged as small a crowd
as did "Fringe" in its much-ballyhooed unveiling. The smallest
audience for an original episode of "Lost" to date -- 10.7 million
viewers -- was May 1 this year, when the networks were getting things
back in order after the writers' strike.
Getting back to our list, "Six Degrees" premiered on ABC in September
'06 to a crowd of 12.6 million. Granted, the show enjoyed a wonderful
lead-in in the form of the "Grey's Anatomy" season debut.
"What About Brian," unveiling on ABC in April '06, clocked 12.5
million viewers, with a "Desperate Housewives" lead-in.
"Alias" said hi to the country in September '01, logging more than 15
million viewers on ABC after "A Bug's Life" on "The Wonderful World of
Disney."
And way back in September 1998, on the new WB netlet, "Felicity"
copped 7.1 million viewers. "Fringe" beat that one.
In fairness, Fox had to stream the premiere of "Fringe" -- I did
mention it spent $10 million on the first episode, didn't I? -- on
college campuses, simultaneously with the television premiere because
the TV God warned that unless it did He would turn all the network's
suits with titles of veep and up into pillars of salt. Oh wait, He
didn't do that either! Fox came up with the college campus streaming
idea on its own, too!
Ratings-tabulating Nielsen Media Research has just started measuring
college student TV viewing in a very limited way, including students
who are members of Nielsen families but are living in dorms, in its
people-meter tabulations.
In fairness to "Fringe," the trade papers reported on their Web sites
yesterday that all the above-mentioned J.J. Abrams series launched
later in September, when people start watching TV more. Fox was
compelled to start "Fringe" this early in the month because the TV God
sent them a message via burning bush in which He threatened to . . .
ri...@home.com
4ea1-8006-f...@l43g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:
> Perhaps the most highly hyped new series of the 2008-09 TV season, the
> Ohmygodit'sJ.J.Abrams'snewseries! "Fringe," attracted only 9.1 million
> viewers in its premiere Tuesday night.
>
>
> Fox noted in its ratings news release that "Fringe" had debuted before
> the start of the television season, when viewers aren't really so
> focused on the new shows.
No shit I would have watched it if I knew it was on.
WTF were they thinking? Bad planning.
thinbluemime
A local public service announcement recommends I turn off my car when
sitting still. In other words to save the world, I should not idol.
Then with all the new shows coming out this fall, America's top rated TV
show is still, American Idle.
If I want an idol, who's to say I shouldn't idle?
All this conspiracy TV is too thought provoking, I just want to relax and
veg out.
Abrams ain't god. Abrams is a mechanic.
Mechanics fix things.....
"At Abram's Automotive....we won't leave you idle....."
--------
-not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and
the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants"--but to
inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities,
to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and
sometimes even anger public opinion."
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.lost/msg/fff5209815cd5a77
mutt...@gmail.com
the pilot??
I think the 2nd episode will be more telling...
-Matt
TJG
> Perhaps the most highly hyped new series of the 2008-09 TV season, the
> Ohmygodit'sJ.J.Abrams'snewseries! "Fringe," attracted only 9.1 million
> viewers in its premiere Tuesday night.
You should properly credit this to Lisa de Moraes of the Washington
Post...
http://snipurl.com/3ps61 [www_washingtonpost_com]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/10/AR2008091003822.html
David E. Powell
The robotic body part thing kind of threw me a bit. At least the guy
from Boston Legal got to have one hell of a turn on that show.
9.1 million isn't too bad for TV these days too. I think it will be
around a while, it reminds me a lot of the X files with a modern twist
and HDTV. (I wonder if HDTV will make actors with freckles or unique
complexions more popular.)
If it is sort of like the X files the suspension thing will be less of
an issue, though the gift of the X-Files, which was perfect for the
1990s, was that it was always able to just tickle that "what if"
factor just right. Like the scene where Scully swiped an "Alien
implant chip" she'd found somewhere on a Supermarket laser scanner and
the whole store's electronics just started going nuts. If they can hit
the balance the X-Files did (and to a lesser degree, "Invasion" and
"Threshold") it will do alright.
David
Deneph
wrote:
These numbers can only mean so much. I had never heard of Lost until
a friend had watched a couple of episodes and told how much she liked
it. I started watching on the 4th episode I think (though thankfully
reruns caught me up) and have been hooked since. Word of mouth can
help a show a lot if the networks don't yank after two weeks (like
Drive).