via press release:
FRIDAY NIGHT RATINGS RUMBLE!
SECOND SEASON PREMIERE OF SYFY’S SANCTUARY SCORES DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES, WHILE STARGATE UNIVERSE VIEWERSHIP SOARS IN SECOND WEEK
Stargate Universe Beats Dollhouse For Second Straight Friday
New York, NY – October 12, 2009 – Maintaining Syfy’s ratings surge, the second season premiere of Sanctuary leaped 18% in Adults 18-49 and 7% in Adults 25-54 versus last year’s average, while grabbing nearly 1.9 million viewers (1.85) on Friday, October 9, at 10PM (ET/PT).
Sanctuary, starring Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne, delivered nearly one million Adults 18-49 (946,000) — its second highest A18-49 delivery ever — along with 1.15 million Adults 25-54.
From 9-10PM (ET/PT), Stargate Universe improved on last week’s record setting performance (the highest franchise premiere mark in four years), by growing 22% in Adults 18-49 (1.37 million) and 13% in Adults 25-54 (1.49 million) – the best Stargate showing in these demos in four years – as well as garnering 2.4 million total viewers with a 1.8 HH rating.
For the second consecutive week, Stargate Universe bested FOX’s Dollhouse in total viewers and key demos head-to-head at 9PM (ET/PT).
Created by Damian Kindler (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis), Sanctuary is produced in association with Syfy and is distributed by Tricon Films and Television. Season 2 of the series will be executive produced by Damian Kindler, Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood, Keith Beedie and Tricon Films.
Robert Cooper and Brad Wright, of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, serve as executive producers and writers of Stargate Universe. Stargate Universe is distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
Great news for SGU!
Uhoh JBF Is not going to be happy
@Cody, “JBF Is not going to be happy”
Nonsense. Happiness is a JBF trademark!
I really can’t see how they got a few more viewers I thought it was boring. I can’t see watching it again I didn’t like it at all.
“I really can’t see how they got a few more viewers I thought it was boring. I can’t see watching it again I didn’t like it at all.”
Maybe that’s because one person’s opinion isn’t representative of that of the entire country?
Great news for SGU, I must admit I was expecting a drop-off, because, hey, it’s normal.
I enjoyed the new episode a lot although they will need to spice things up a bit soon for non stargate freaks like me I imagine. I think there might have been some foreshadowing for that at the end of the episode though. Great news about the ratings for sure.
All good for SGU. I hope the numbers will continue to rise through out the season. Feel slightly sorry for Dollhouse, it a OK show but it was never going to be a success on broadcast TV, especially with that type of story, I guess the embarrassment at loosing to SGU will probably mean Fox will pull the show pretty soon.
An congratulations to Sanctuary, a other one of my my favourite shows.
Spice?
Rhona Mitra will be reoccurring near the end of the first season, and potentially for the second season.
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this story was: What would the ratings be for the only two Science Fiction shows on Syfy if they were given a night during the week that actually has the audience they want at home so they could be available to watch the shows? The Friday night positions on the schedule according to everything I read from the folks on this website is the dumping grounds (so to speak) for dead or dying shows. Wake up Syfy put these flagship shows on during the week so they can grow an audience. Tuesday would be much better than a dead Friday.
I was not very excited about Universe after the premier ( it put me to sleep twice) but find myself warming to the show after the sunburn of Friday night. I love Amanda and will watch anything she does so Sanctury is only getting better with every episode. I anm very glad to see the growth.
Question to Bill Gorman
Do you have any numbers for the total viewers for SG: Universe for every replay of the show during the week?
I was just thinking the repeats at enough different times during the week may or should have given most everyone a chance to see the premier. I may not know what I am talking about but I believe replaying the show helps the show to grow.
I love the Friday night position personally. I realize I’m not the only person in the world that matters, but I don’t think I would be available to watch it other nights of the week. I am a grad school student and the only free night I have is Friday. I love SG so I am pleased.
I personally loved the first 2 hours I thought they were great and intriguing. I was a little disappointed with part 3 of Air, but I will continue to watch. It is a much better concept then I thought it would be and I am very excited to see how it goes.
RUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!!!!!!!!!!
2.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!KILLER RATINGS!
AND THEY BEAT DOLLHOUSE!!!!!THAT’S A REALLY GOOD ACHIEVEMENT!DOLLHOUSE IS SUCH A RATING SUCCESS I NEVER THOUGHT SOMEONE COULD BEAT IT!
I think as word spreads, they will continue to increase. This sort of happened to Battlestar. The first episode of their miniseries had ratings come in, and then the second episode of their miniseries bested their first night. I think sometimes people wait to hear reactions before tuning in. Fantastic. I can’t wait to see the rest of the season and also tuning into to Season 2 (which I am confident will happen). Keep it people. Keep spreading the word.
I refuse to accept the existence of a show called “Stargate Universe”! No one I know has ever watched even a single episode of this “Stargate” franchise! Since I have never seen the show, I can only say . . . . it does not exist! Because if a TV show is watched in the woods but I don’t hear the sound, it was never there at all!
Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse rules! This non-existent show whose name I don’t wish to repeat drools! Dollhouse!
I am glad that the Stargate is still relevant to the story. That was one thing lost to me on SGA the Stargate kind of took a back “wormhole” to the ships and ancient technology.
Once the 13 are finished Dollhouse is done with these numbers. If it weren’t for Firefly Dollhouse would have been canned a long time ago.
they need to ramp up the entertainment if sgu is going to keep the viewers… the walk across lots of sand with limited water episode was fairly boring for a second episode of a series.
In response to leo, they could have used a little more action in the second episode.
As for the whole “What night” discussion, anyone who would be watching Stargate in the first place (myself in the second category of course) would either:
a> Not have anything to do on a Friday night or
b> Have a DVR and know how to use it so it would not matter what night it is on, and will be watched regardless.
SGU is going to have a big drop off next week. I tune in in this episode just to see if they finaly go to some alien planet and to see those non human aliens they promised but nothing happend. It was boring and pale and it’s going to fall big very fast very soon.
I’m liking Stargate so far. Not really a big Stargate fan otherwise, I tend to like darker sci-fi and Universe seems to edge more in that direction. If it keeps up the quality it could turn out to be the best pure sci-fi on television right now, although the competition is almost nil, admittedly.
It should be noted that SGU’s audience stayed level throughout the whole hour. Considering that it dragged in the first half, the fact that audiences stuck around is admirable and may bbe a good sign for the future.
Igor an people said that last week, it did not happen, in fact the opposite happen.
The alien ship at the end will lure them back.
I thought the premier of sanctuary season 2 was fantastic, i watched it twice last night 12/10/09. Keep up the good work. I think the whole cast is awesome. Here’s hoping for a third season.
I think S G U will be a success cast is awesome.
I am really sad to see that this (SGU) is what people want in SciFi these days.
A cast of unlikeable incompetents shouting and threatening to kill each other for “drama”. It is like a scripted version of “Survivor” in space.
Ugh.
“SGU is going to have a big drop off next week. I tune in in this episode just to see if they finaly go to some alien planet and to see those non human aliens they promised but nothing happend. It was boring and pale and it’s going to fall big very fast very soon.”
Right, just like that was so obviously going to happen after the premiere, too. Riiight.
The one problem I see with Sanctuary is that it portrays men as bumbling idiots and women as the alpha males with all the brains. The same thing happened with Stargate SG1 initial episodes until they toned it down.
Amanda Tapping must be a woman that thinks “women are the smartest” type feminist because in both shows she plays the “brainy” scientist type while the male characters are portrayed as not being able to do anything right instead of equals.
So far SGU is pretty good however the story is unfolding a little too slow for my tastes.
@ScottyDog
You seem to be forgetting about one of SG1’s most brilliant characters: Daniel Jackson
SGU is clearly for a more sophisticated audience than the other two perhaps reflecting a theme thats relevant to right now……these are people stripped of everything, starting from scratch with nothing but themselves to offer……I think alot of people can relate to the idea of survival now more than ever………I enjoyed SG1 very much, Atlantis not as much but I think SGU will continue to reach depths and areas thus far unexplored in this franchise……..keep up the good work……….. need more
This show sucks. …saw the premiere and not watching anymore episodes. I hated that new BSG show, which this seems like an exact replica of…. no thanks.
Any update on Stargate Universe from this past friday? I really like the show, but I know a lot of old stargate fans are not enjoying the series as much. I think the drastic change in tone – from the humor that Richard Dean Anderson and (actor who played Sheppard in Atlantis) provided to the series and the less than serious tone that those shows have to the dark, extremely heavy and foreboding tone that Universe has – may hurt the show as it starts out.
As a fan of all Stargate, I find it acceptable and will keep watching unless it becomes unenjoyable- but it’s not nearly as exciting and engrossing as SG1 or SGA. They have cool premises, but need to move each episode along faster.
So far, though, there’s no character to really like in particular. Hopefully that changes.
Well so far none of the Syfy shows are worth watching. StarGate Universe is a total flop. It has bad acting, bad writing and bad tech. 3 strikes and you are out. It’s even worse than BattleStar Galatica was. I don’t understand why they try and take a good SciFi show and turn it into a soap opera. It just stinks.
Sanctuary isn’t much better. I thought I would like the show because of Samantha Carder, but she keeps trying to pull of the horrible accent. She seems to lose it every time she has to say something with any emotion. The dialog of the show could be much improved if she would just speak in her normal speaking voice.