SGU – Air I and II (1x01-02) RATINGS

[Bluesteel]

I got news everyone. The ratings are in. Just remember this isn't the full rating according to gateworld. The DVR people will be added in the next 3 weeks. So that we can get a full picture. Either way unless the 2 million people have DVR'ed it these ratings tell us the story anyway.

New York, NY – October 3, 2009 – Following record ratings forWarehouse 13,Eureka,Ghost Hunters andDestination Truth during its most-watched third quarter ever,Syfy’s viewership surge since the July 7 brand evolution continued on Friday, October 2, whenStargate Universe premiered to the best franchise premiere performance in four years, drawing more than 2.3 million viewers – and besting FOX’sDollhouse at 9PM (ET/PT).
Stargate Universe, which stars Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips and Ming-Na, grabbed 2.35 million total viewers along with a 1.7 HH rating, 1.32 million Adults 25-54, and 1.12 million Adults 18-49 during its two-hour debut episode from 9-11PM (ET/PT).

For reference. When Atlantis aired on Sci-Fi. It's HH rating was 3.2 with 4.2 million viewers a record unbeaten for 5 years until Warehouse 13 came along and broke it last month. If my memory serves. SG-1 in it's early days on Sci-Fi had something around 2-3 HH.

The question for me is this. Can SGU survive? By that I mean at least give me a good 7 years of episodes at best 5 to beat Atlantis. If rumors of a new Trek tv show is true. I want to watch Stargate and Trek in my next 5 years of Uni.

According to Carlyle (a fantastic actor. A catch for the Stargate guys) each episode cost $2 million. How the hell does that happen? A show based on a ship is meant to have more then a normal amount of Bottle shows. Either way. Atlantis barely survived when it was hovering at 0.9 to 1.5 HH. The show better make strides soon.

 

[bigdaddy]

I think the episodes cost more than 2 million. Believe it or not most dramas now a days cost 1.5-2 million an episode, and I thought I heard Atlantis cost like a million more than Atlantis, so I was thinking Universe cost 2.5 million. It costs that much because they use more CGI (which I think they are getting screwed) and they film on location and not in pine trees.

And I'm sorry but "can it survive" doesn't mean 5-7 years. To me it means long enough to give the show a chance to have an ending, no matter how many years.

 

[Harvey]

Decent ratings for SyFy, but they're worrisome enough that they'll need to level off or better yet improve in the coming weeks. The series has 19 more episodes to prove itself with audiences, and since it is more expensive than Stargate Atlantis, it has a lot to prove.

 

[Peter the Younger]

It costs that much because they use more CGI (which I think they are getting screwed) and they film on location and not in pine trees.

It's hard to say, because as much as CGI costs seem to high, labor costs, transport, and permits have risen as well. I do think producers could be a little smarter when it factoring quality into the pricetag. SG has generally been okay, but some shows - Lost comes to mind - have some really atrocious CGI, and yet they are paying the same - or more - for the work.

And I'm sorry but "can it survive" doesn't mean 5-7 years. To me it means long enough to give the show a chance to have an ending, no matter how many years.

Agreed. I don't know what if sci-fi fans are spoiled by the history of Trek and SG, but for most television shows 4 years is considered a successful run. 100 eps is the magic number for syndication. Frankly, I wish more shows would just tell a story, set and end date, and stick to it, instead of chugging along until they run out of creative steam.

 

[Jax]

While these ratings are solid they are nothing to write home about and not getting a 2.0 rating for the debut of a new SG show shows the franchise is suffering fatigue. I really must question the wisdom of a new show at this point despite personally finding it a decent start though not as fun as either SG-1 or SG-A pilots.

I think Universe is going to lack the popcorn fun feeling which makes SG enjoyable tv and not critically acclaimed drama like BSG and parts of ST were. I do feel the show may come off as too serious for a franchise which doesn't work in that way and these ratings could go under 2 million.

Skiffy may want to remember that SG-1 performed best at 8pm back in the old SCI FI friday night line up and would do well to move a SG show back to that instead of 9pm.

 

[bigdaddy]

It's Friday night and a lot has changed in 4 years. Warehouse 13 is on Tuesdays when people watched TV.

However I hope Universe last 3ish years, has an ending (they all die) and they take a break from Stargate!

 

[Brent]

My question to them is, do they have an ending? Do they know where SGU is headed in the long-run? That is one thing I liked about B5 for example, it had a complete story to tell, they knew where it was headed.

This was very much not the case with SG-1 or Atlantis, SG-1 drug on forever, until it was just canceled. Atlantis wasn't really going anywhere, except for maybe in the 5th season it had some of the focus back, then got canceled. I wonder if they have SGU planned out this time.

It would be cool if they would just lay it down and say ok, we are going to have 4 seasons of SGU, and we are going to end the story properly at the end of these 4 seasons.

 

[bigdaddy]

My question to them is, do they have an ending? Do they know where SGU is headed in the long-run? That is one thing I liked about B5 for example, it had a complete story to tell, they knew where it was headed.

This was very much not the case with SG-1 or Atlantis, SG-1 drug on forever, until it was just canceled. Atlantis wasn't really going anywhere, except for maybe in the 5th season it had some of the focus back, then got canceled. I wonder if they have SGU planned out this time.

It would be cool if they would just lay it down and say ok, we are going to have 4 seasons of SGU, and we are going to end the story properly at the end of these 4 seasons.

They need to get a second season before worrying about when to end it.

As they said last fall in an interview, it was going to be a SGC / SG-1 DVD movie dealing with the 9th Chevon. Obviously a lot had to be changed, but they should have some basic idea where it's going, more so than they did with Atlantis.

 

[Bluesteel]

I'm not sure about you guys but I'm young and I still have several years before I reach 25 and officially become old. My personal hobby of mine is to chart my life using TV shows I watch obsessively.

 

[rafterman1701]

Do ratings even matter anymore? Whose TVs are they checking? I'm not worried about the ratings at all. They're just numbers and nothing on any channel gets very good ratings these days. SGU beat Dollhouse and a lot of the Friday night programming on the networks.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

And I'm sorry but "can it survive" doesn't mean 5-7 years. To me it means long enough to give the show a chance to have an ending, no matter how many years.

Agreed. For example, I still find it amusing when people declare Enterprise to have been "a failure" when, by virtually any reasonable television industry standard, a show that lasts for four seasons is unquestionably a success, regardless of what you may think of the show's quality. That's why people like Brannon Braga and Manny Coto continue to find steady work in Hollywood - they can point to Enterprise as a successful gig on their resume.

If SG:U lasts four seasons, it would be unquestionably a successful run.

 

[backstept]

they should have aired W13 with SGU on fridays . . . Warehouse 13 had great ratings, so if it were SGU's lead-in the numbers might look better
oh well

 

[John Clark]

they should have aired W13 with SGU on fridays . . . Warehouse 13 had great ratings, so if it were SGU's lead-in the numbers might look better
oh well

Over here, they're going to clash, at least for the pilot episode of SGU

 

[SmoothieX]

It would have been great, if they had ever 'Air'ed PArt II.

 

[bigdaddy]

And I'm sorry but "can it survive" doesn't mean 5-7 years. To me it means long enough to give the show a chance to have an ending, no matter how many years.

Agreed. For example, I still find it amusing when people declare Enterprise to have been "a failure" when, by virtually any reasonable television industry standard, a show that lasts for four seasons is unquestionably a success, regardless of what you may think of the show's quality. That's why people like Brannon Braga and Manny Coto continue to find steady work in Hollywood - they can point to Enterprise as a successful gig on their resume.

If SG:U lasts four seasons, it would be unquestionably a successful run.

Enterprise was a creative failure (more like a disaster) at the very least, and I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did.

However it also didn't have a true ending, and Star Trek shows are expected to last 7 seasons, it's some type of rule.

 

[AJBryant]

It would have been great, if they had ever 'Air'ed PArt II.

What, you didn't get a two-hour film block? There was no cut in it for credits -- both parts ran as a single block.

 

[Captain Shaw]

It would have been great, if they had ever 'Air'ed PArt II.

What, you didn't get a two-hour film block? There was no cut in it for credits -- both parts ran as a single block.

Somebody said that a station messed up somewhere and showed part 1 twice

 

[bigdaddy]

It would have been great, if they had ever 'Air'ed PArt II.

What, you didn't get a two-hour film block? There was no cut in it for credits -- both parts ran as a single block.

Somebody said that a station messed up somewhere and showed part 1 twice

Yep, Boston. It's a fucking dumbass town.

 

[Bluesteel]

Boston? Isn't that the place with all the Irish? Someone probably did a Fry and spilt beer on sensitive equipment.

 

[kdalton_69]

Friday nights in the US are local football, hence a lot of people probably DVR'd it.

Also, SG1 had a following five seasons long before it went to Sciffy.

But I think the ratings could have been higher if they had advertised somewhere else ... but most of NBC Universals channels are in the ratings toilet anyway, so I don't know how much good it would've done putting ads on "must not watch" TV.