Stargate Universe Ratings Thread!

[Checkmate]

The ratings drop probably has to do with people getting tired of SGA floundering around after the second season and rehashing old stuff a lot.

Or the fact that both SGA and SGU started off terribly and, as a result, people didn't bother to even try to watch it. God forbid the blame be put on that. No, better to find anything and everything else to put the blame on. That's the way of the modern era! It's never your fault, it's always someone else's!

 

[Saquist]

Stargate Atlantis did very well on it's pilot and it's widely considered the best pilot of the series. While SGU's was extremely mixed and now those reviewers are silent.

 

[Checkmate]

Stargate Atlantis did very well on it's pilot and it's widely considered the best pilot of the series. While SGU's was extremely mixed and now those reviewers are silent.

Tell yourself what you need to. It's everybody else's fault, dammit!

 

[bullethead]

Stargate Atlantis did very well on it's pilot and it's widely considered the best pilot of the series. While SGU's was extremely mixed and now those reviewers are silent.

Tell yourself what you need to. It's everybody else's fault, dammit!

Right... so the 3 million+ people that watched Rising were just a fabrication of SciFi's.

 

[Jax]

The ratings drop probably has to do with people getting tired of SGA floundering around after the second season and rehashing old stuff a lot.

Or the fact that both SGA and SGU started off terribly and, as a result, people didn't bother to even try to watch it. God forbid the blame be put on that. No, better to find anything and everything else to put the blame on. That's the way of the modern era! It's never your fault, it's always someone else's!

SGA early ratings are some of best from the franchise on SYFY. Overall critical reception was probably at the highest levels in season 1 of SGA compared to the 4o ther seasons so your personal opinion aside SGA started well.

SGA main problem was the ones SG-1 and BSG suffered from, SYFY idiotic idea to break up the must see friday lineup.

 

[Saquist]

Stargate Atlantis did very well on it's pilot and it's widely considered the best pilot of the series. While SGU's was extremely mixed and now those reviewers are silent.

Tell yourself what you need to. It's everybody else's fault, dammit!

Right... so the 3 million+ people that watched Rising were just a fabrication of SciFi's.

3.2 Atlantis :Season One
1.7 SGU: One


Twice the ratings... Clearly better.

 

[Harvey]

STARGATE ATLANTIS's first season was widely considered to be the best year of the show, I thought? It's certainly the only year of the series that I really enjoy from start to finish.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Tell yourself what you need to. It's everybody else's fault, dammit!

Right... so the 3 million+ people that watched Rising were just a fabrication of SciFi's.

3.2 Atlantis :Season One
1.7 SGU: One


Twice the ratings... Clearly better.

Now ratings determine how good a show is?

American Idol must be the most brilliant show on television, then.

 

[bullethead]

Now ratings determine how good a show is?

American Idol must be the most brilliant show on television, then.

Nah, I'm just shooting down Checkmate's assertion that SGA started off badly. Ratings generally correlate more with the entertainment value people get out of show than the quality of it. Hence reality TV doing so well, since people apparently enjoy watching that kind of crap.

 

[Mr Awe]

So, according to the graph, SGA's core audience was 1.25 million in its final season while SGU's core audience this season is 1.00 million. So, the core audience is down by about a quarter million, not the 2 or 3 million that Saquist suggests.

ETA: Actually, that chart is inaccurate too, at least for SGU ratings for this season. SGU was consistently right near 1 million, sometimes slightly above, some times slightly below. The chart shows SGU as always being being below 1 million, sometimes significantly below 1 million. I'm not sure how much I trust that chart now.

Mr Awe

 

[Mr Awe]

3.2 Atlantis :Season One
1.7 SGU: One

Twice the ratings... Clearly better.

More accurately,

1.25 Atlantis: Season 5
1.75 SGU: Season 1

Ratings actually increased from the end of SGA going into SGU. No alienation occurred due to SGU. Get over it.

Mr Awe

 

[Robert Maxwell]

So, according to the graph, SGA's core audience was 1.25 million in its final season while SGU's core audience this season is 1.00 million. So, the core audience is down by about a quarter million, not the 2 or 3 million that Saquist suggests.

ETA: Actually, that chart is inaccurate too, at least for SGU ratings for this season. SGU was consistently right near 1 million, sometimes slightly above, some times slightly below. The chart shows SGU as always being being below 1 million, sometimes significantly below 1 million. I'm not sure how much I trust that chart now.

Mr Awe

DVR also wasn't as popular when SGA was on the air. Given how much live ratings have suffered since the move to Tuesdays, one wonders what the show's actual audience is if you factor in DVR viewing.

I know it isn't "millions" of people as some have said, but it is probably closer to SGA's final numbers.

Stargate is experiencing the same sort of franchise fatigue that nailed Trek. DS9 is often regarded as the best modern Trek series, but you sure wouldn't know it from its ratings. And regardless of Enterprise improving in quality in its final season, too many people had jumped ship by that point to care.

I suspect SGU alienated some long-time SG fans. The stark shift in tone guarantees that. But it has probably picked up viewers, too. I never watched SGA and didn't even watch SG-1 in its final years, but I am watching SGU. I suspect I'm not the only one in such a boat.

Regardless of how "good" or "bad" SGU is, it was just never likely to get very high ratings since it's on a niche cable network, is the third series in the franchise, and is being run by the same people who ran the previous shows. Despite the tonal shift and attempts at arc-based storytelling, SGU still takes place in its own incestuous little world, and that will inevitably turn people off who'd given up on Stargate years ago or never gave it a chance to begin with.

 

[Saquist]

3.2 Atlantis :Season One
1.7 SGU: One

Twice the ratings... Clearly better.

More accurately,

1.25 Atlantis: Season 5
1.75 SGU: Season 1

Ratings actually increased from the end of SGA going into SGU. No alienation occurred due to SGU. Get over it.

Mr Awe

Excuse you. My statement was factual and accurate.
You may SPIN nonequivalent ratings ALL YOU LIKE. But I'm afraid that it will not change the fact that the Shiney newness of SGU was never there from GO and and dropped off faster and lower than SGA ratings over a longer period of time.

I do not have any obstacles in my path.
But you may wish to consider your enjoyment of SGU may be hindering you ability to clearly define it's success as a series.

DVR also wasn't as popular when SGA was on the air. Given how much live ratings have suffered since the move to Tuesdays, one wonders what the show's actual audience is if you factor in DVR viewing.

DVR is almost irrelevant...no it is irrelevant.
DVR numbers will never keep a show on the air
As long as the commercials can be easily skipped Sponsors are not getting the money for the ratings if the audience is skipping their advertisements. SGU does repeat at 11:00 but not at the same deal persecond as the initial showing at 9:00 pm.

I know it isn't "millions" of people as some have said, but it is probably closer to SGA's final numbers.

Stargate is experiencing the same sort of franchise fatigue that nailed Trek. DS9 is often regarded as the best modern Trek series, but you sure wouldn't know it from its ratings. And regardless of Enterprise improving in quality in its final season, too many people had jumped ship by that point to care.

Most Accurate.
I was one of them. And I find that the latter seasons were much better than I thought they'd be but I only discovered that this year when I got cable and watched reruns. But gave up on the show after 6 episodes of Season One.

 

[Mr Awe]

3.2 Atlantis :Season One
1.7 SGU: One

Twice the ratings... Clearly better.

More accurately,

1.25 Atlantis: Season 5
1.75 SGU: Season 1

Ratings actually increased from the end of SGA going into SGU. No alienation occurred due to SGU. Get over it.

Mr Awe

Excuse you. My statement was factual and accurate.
You may SPIN nonequivalent ratings ALL YOU LIKE. But I'm afraid that it will not change the fact that the Shiney newness of SGU was never there from GO and and dropped off faster and lower than SGA ratings over a longer period of time.

I do not have any obstacles in my path.
But you may wish to consider your enjoyment of SGU may be hindering you ability to clearly define it's success as a series.

Huh? How is comparing the last season of SGA to the first season of SGU "nonequivalent"?! We're looking to see if there was any backlash going from SGA to SGU. Logically, you look to see how the ratings for SGA ended and SGU started. Clearly the ratings picked up for SGU. It's pretty straightforward.

I actually enjoyed SGA greatly. Lots of SGU not so much, although it seems to be getting better. I like what they're attempting with SGU, but the execution hasn't been that good much of of the time.

And, you are also incorrect that SGU has dropped more than SGA. SGU: 1.75 to about 1.00 million. SGA was about 3.2 to 1.25. Pretty straightforward numbers.

I understand you are upset, but there is no need to distort numbers to try make a point.

Mr Awe

 

[Robert Maxwell]

More accurately,

1.25 Atlantis: Season 5
1.75 SGU: Season 1

Ratings actually increased from the end of SGA going into SGU. No alienation occurred due to SGU. Get over it.

Mr Awe

Excuse you. My statement was factual and accurate.
You may SPIN nonequivalent ratings ALL YOU LIKE. But I'm afraid that it will not change the fact that the Shiney newness of SGU was never there from GO and and dropped off faster and lower than SGA ratings over a longer period of time.

I do not have any obstacles in my path.
But you may wish to consider your enjoyment of SGU may be hindering you ability to clearly define it's success as a series.

Huh? How is comparing the last season of SGA to the first season of SGU "nonequivalent"?! We're looking to see if there was any backlash going from SGA to SGU. Logically, you look to see how the ratings for SGA ended and SGU started. Clearly the ratings picked up for SGU. It's pretty straightforward.

I actually enjoyed SGA greatly. Lots of SGU not so much, although it seems to be getting better. I like what they're attempting with SGU, but the execution hasn't been that good much of of the time.

And, you are also incorrect that SGU has dropped more than SGA. SGU: 1.75 to about 1.00 million. SGA was about 3.2 to 1.25. Pretty straightforward numbers.

I understand you are upset, but there is no need to distort numbers to try make a point.

Mr Awe

And we should also avoid using ratings to gauge a show's quality. Terrific shows can get godawful ratings. Barrel-scraping horseshit can be #1 in the Nielsens. People just like to use ratings to validate their own opinions of a show. Lots of things impact the ratings. Quality is one of those things, but not the only one nor the most important. Marketing, timeslot, demographic appeal, star power, competition, etc. all play big roles.

I think, in addition to writing problems, SGU has suffered from poor marketing, exacerbated by its confused demographic appeal, and then there's the move to Tuesday nights that put it against tougher competition. Just bad news all around, really.

Caprica had similar problems but suffered from even more chaos in the writers' room, not to mention going through something like 3 executive producers in the space of one season. It also had a far longer break than SGU. The strain of all those things was just too much to sustain the ratings, and got it canceled.

 

[PsychoPere]

[...] Terrific shows can get godawful ratings. [...]

My beloved Terriers, for example.

Caprica had similar problems but suffered from even more chaos in the writers' room, not to mention going through something like 3 executive producers in the space of one season.

I'd say two showrunners in the course of one season. I don't think it's worth counting Remi Aubuchon's departure after the pilot, since it preceded production of the regular series by as much time as it did. Still, two in one season is still more than is ideal, certainly.*

(* Rubicon was one of those rare series that managed to make such a change work.)

 

[Dac]

There's another problem here no one is paying attention to. A LOT of people download the show illegally. Hell, im sure if you could take into account the seeders/peers of a show the day it comes out the audience would at least double. Its better than watching the show on TV in every which way, purely because of the nature of American TV (Adverts=your patriotic duty).

Besides, we're at the point now where science fiction television is no longer cost effective. Our fanbase has become too insignificant vs the cost of what it takes to make the shows.

I'll go on record here and say that Stargate Universe will be the last spaceship show with fancy sets and action oriented storytelling for years to come. At least on American TV. Startup costs for shows like this are big, and if every show like this fails, theyre not going to make anymore. Why do you think SyFy have started to make location based reality shows and science fiction that is nearly enitrely green screen sets and other money grabbing things? Blood and Chrome will be virtually all CG, you won't have a hangar deck with real Vipers in it, you won't have CIC, you won't have the myriad corridors and the like. It'll just be terribly fake looking CG sets. And when that fails, there will be NOTHING.

That will be it for the franchise until someone decides to remake it, probably as a movie. But that won't be for a long time, and it won't be the stargate you remember. SGU is different, granted, but it still references all the old shows that it came from. Call it what you want but its damned respectful for the shows that came before it, something a lot of so called fans refuse to realize.

 

[Saquist]

Huh? How is comparing the last season of SGA to the first season of SGU "nonequivalent"?! We're looking to see if there was any backlash going from SGA to SGU. Logically, you look to see how the ratings for SGA ended and SGU started. Clearly the ratings picked up for SGU. It's pretty straightforward

It''s pretty slanted.
New series always have a initial spike and decline.
It's not a logical comparison comparing new to old.

I actually enjoyed SGA greatly. Lots of SGU not so much, although it seems to be getting better. I like what they're attempting with SGU, but the execution hasn't been that good much of of the time.

It's full of contrivance that the former series have used and some really big contrivances that they wouldn't and did not do.

And, you are also incorrect that SGU has dropped more than SGA. SGU: 1.75 to about 1.00 million. SGA was about 3.2 to 1.25. Pretty straightforward numbers.

SGU dropped bellow 1 million...not about a million...bellow.
So you are in error.

I understand you are upset, but there is no need to distort numbers to try make a point.
Mr Awe

Not at all, sir.

 

[Mr Awe]

^^ Spike and decline?! It's stabilized right at 1 million for the entire past season! So, it started at 1.75 million and has been at 1 million.

But, the point is that there was no huge fan backlash, which was the point of comparing end of SGA ratings to beginning of SGU. If there was a huge backlash, it would've dropped a lot in between shows. But, it didn't, hence no large backlash. The numbers don't support your claim of a large backlash.

As for another point, totally agree that ratings doesn't indicate quality. But, the ratings would reveal a large backlash. If pissed of SGA viewers avoided SGU in large numbers, the SGU numbers would've been significantly lower than SGA's final numbers.

And, no, SGU has consistently been right at a million. A couple times slightly less but barely. And more often it was above. And, as I indicated in this thread, the SGU ratings in the graph are inaccurate. Please read more carefully.

I actually like SGA and SGU approximately equally but for very different reasons.

Mr Awe

 

[Saquist]

^^ Spike and decline?! It's stabilized right at 1 million for the entire past season! So, it started at 1.75 million and has been at 1 million.

Yes that is correct. Spiked and declined, just like every series does with a pilot. And instead of the next season starting out with greater or equal numbers SGU S2 Drops and continues to have unstable rises and declines due to elections, Baseball playoffs, network sweeps, etc and yet after all was said and done once in the clear SGU S2 gained no appreciable numbers after those events....meaning the viewers left and didn't care about the midseason finale or they timeshifted to watch it later on DVR even though nothing else was really drawing viewers away.

But, the point is that there was no huge fan backlash, which was the point of comparing end of SGA ratings to beginning of SGU. If there was a huge backlash, it would've dropped a lot in between shows. But, it didn't, hence no large backlash. The numbers don't support your claim of a large backlash.

The numbers do support a backlash.
You're just not looking for it. That backlash occured in SGA Season 3 where the show didn't get above 1.5 million ever and Season 4 continued to drop through Season 5.

SGU continues that decline.
Ignore the first 3 episodes of SGU. This is new factor for the pilot. After Episode 4 of Season 1 SGU NEVER gains above 1.5 million. They....we tuned in to see what the show was about. Skeptical fans likely never even saw the pilot and certainly the general audience paid little attention to the pilot which was apparently the target. Then the persistent decline indicative in almost every TV series have brought the ratings down to it's current level. Trend alone says all but the hard core fan will abandon the series by Mid-Season 3.

Caprica showed the same trend from BSG which ended on 1.3 million viewers and Caprica after an initial pilot spike descended into oblivion.

Only the obsessive few like this style of story telling and would tolerate it no matter what. It would take a monumental shift in style to resurrect...(really it was never alive) this series. It's not impossible but the ratings across history say once you've burned the audience...namely the fans ,this bad, there is little to recover. Again...the mid season finale shows no one showed up to find out what happened. This show is forgettable. No one cared and 4 months later people are going to forget this show existed, just like the previous mid season because nothing is happening. Blacklash indeed. I'm sorry, my friend the writing is on the wall.

Perhaps the same is true of Sanctuary too. I think it will last longer but if 1.5 million is stable...then by viewer atrophy it may be gone in a year maybe 2. It's a charming little show. I personally can't watch because of subject matter but I feel it's the kind of show I would moderately enjoy every once an a while. It's a bit corny.

I wonder why Sy Fy has such faith in these corny shows? Maybe their taking the quirkiness of Doctor Who too seriously and attempting to imitate it.