Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By John J. Joex

Will Dollhouse survive through a second season?

A new season is kicking off, so it’s time again for fans to start wringing their hands in anticipation as they watch the weekly ratings results and worry about the fates of their favorite shows. It’s also time for all of us all to start cursing the Nielsen ratings system again and insist that there must be a better way to determine the fate of the network shows. And who knows, after last season when we saw the unlikely renewals of shows like Chuck and Dollhouse, perhaps the networks are starting to consider other factors when deciding whether or not to keep a show around. But still, the Nielsens have the loudest voice (and a virtual monopoly), so we will keep watching their numbers while at the same time ruing their existence. So as the current season is just getting started, let’s take a quick look at the final ratings results from last season.

If you look at the final tally for the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows (available at this link), the most glaring thing you notice is that the show that ended the season ranked highest among the genre offerings is not on the Fall schedule. CBS’s The Eleventh Hour ended the season ranked 22nd out of over 200 shows and averaged over 12 million viewers per episode. But as I have noted multiple times over the last few months, the eye network is not where you want to be if you are a Science Fiction and Fantasy show. Ending in the Top 25 was not good enough for that network, so The Eleventh Hour got the boot.

Next on the list is ABC mainstay Lost, which ended up ranked 28th. That’s a notable drop for that show from the prior season where it ended in the Number 19 slot. But still it did well enough in the ratings and DVD sales to assure that it would return for its sixth and last season. After Lost, we find The Ghost Whisperer at the Number 34 slot. You may wonder why this survived when the higher ranked Eleventh Hour got kicked to the curb, but this is the one exception on CBS since it airs on Fridays (a night with lower ratings expectations) and almost always wins its timeslot. FOX’s Fringe follows at the Number 43 slot then we find Heroes at the Number 50 slot. That show took quite a tumble from the Number 21 slot where it ended after its second season. Still, NBC has been struggling of late so they decided to keep it around.

After that, most of the shows left in the rankings received an axe during or after the season. Medium, which landed on the 61st rung received its walking papers from NBC, but CBS snatched it up to pair it with The Ghost Whisperer this season. Chuck, which fell to the 73rd slot after finishing 63rd in its first season, managed to survive for another year, but like Heroes that is mostly because it resides on struggling NBC (and let’s give the show’s loyal, Subway-chomping fans some credit for making their voice heard as well).

Then you get to the bottom where you find Dollhouse and the CW’s offerings. Dollhouse, which ended up ranked 133rd and averaged a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic received the miracle renewal of the ages. The CW’s Smallville was next among genre shows at Number 155 and an average rating of 1.3 and Supernatural followed at Number 164 and an average rating of 1.1. The CW does not demand as high of an audience as the Big Four networks, so those shows survived (their numbers are also diluted some by extra repeat broadcasts factored into the average). Still, Reaper (174th) and Valentine (190th) slipped below that network’s tolerance levels and both ended up getting the axe.

You can see the final results for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows from both the 2008-09 season and 2007-08 season at our Ratings Tracker page. And stay tuned this coming season as I provide weekly ratings updates along with my predictions on which shows are in danger of cancellation.

Before the new season begins, get caught up on the episodes you missed. Order the prior seasons of Supernatural, Fringe, Dollhouse, Heroes and more on DVD now!