Cancellation Watch: Under The Dome Gets Renewed, Siberia Could be Headed for Exile

This week, CBS announced that new series Under The Dome would be returning for a second season which I have been predicting for several weeks seeing as it has been one of the biggest hits of the Summer season in quite some time.  They also indicated that Stephen King, who's book the series is based on, would be writing the premiere episode for the show's second season.  The success of this show may prompt the other broadcast networks, who have mostly given up on genre scripted programs during the off-season of late, to try and throw in an entry of there one that might score similar ratings success.  As for Under The Dome's most current numbers, it remained steady pulling a 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 11.41 million total viewers this last Monday.  For last week, the series tied with NBC's America's Got Talent for the top show in the 18-49 demo and it won the week in total viewers.

NBC has not been as lucky with its original genre programming this Summer as Siberia sunk yet again this week to a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demo with only 1.93 million total viewers.  That show started out with only moderate numbers, though if it had held onto its original 1.1 rating or even slightly improved it (and also generated some social network buzz like that network's recent entry Hannibal) then it might have been considered successful enough for a Summer series.  But it has sunk pretty much each week since its debut, and it wouldn't surprise me if NBC were to kick this one to a cast-off slot on Friday or Saturday night (perhaps when Do No Harm finishes its burn-off run) or if they yanked the show altogether.  At any rate, I am moving this one to the highest Cancellation Alert status now.

As for the cable shows, MTV's Teen Wolf continues to hold steady, pulling another 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demo on Monday with 1.77 million total viewers.  On Sunday night, True Blood reigned supreme again with a 2.4 rating and 4.36 million total viewers.  That made it the top show for the evening among cable and broadcast offerings.  On TNT, Falling Skies dropped notably with its second to last episode of its third season, pulling a 1.0 rating with 3.05 million total viewers.  That show, like most of the non-burn-off Summer genre offerings, has already been renewed.  On Friday, Continuum continues to hover in the same range pulling another 0.4 rating with 1.33 million total viewers.  And on Wednesday, Futurama heads toward its series finale (baring a change of heart from Comedy Central or another venue picking up the show) pulling a 0.7 rating with 1.2 million total viewers.

Both of the Saturday burn-off shows improved their numbers this past weekend, for all that really matters.  ABC's Zero Hour pulled a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo with 1.91 million total viewers, and NBC's Do No Harm had the same score with 1.56 million total viewers.

And for those interested, Syfy's Sharknado improved its numbers yet again with its second encore airing this last Saturday.  It's total viewers increased to 2.1 million and the network was the third most watched in the 9-11 PM EST hours among cable and broadcast.  And if you still haven't caught this creature-feature that has caused such a stir on the internet, Syfy has it scheduled for one more airing on August 22nd.

This column is running usually once a week in the Summer on Wednesdays (and sometimes Tuesdays).  Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for quick updates on the ratings numbers, and you can see the full schedule of Summer science fiction and fantasy shows at this link and see the Cancellation Alert status of these shows at this link.

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New in Comics: Captain Midnight Returns

A few choice selections from the comics due out July 31st (Note that the release dates are tentative on some of these titles):

Captain Midnight #1
Dark Horse

Description: On the run from the US government after fleeing custody, Captain Midnight has been labeled a security risk. In the forties, he was an American hero, a daredevil fighter pilot, a technological genius . . . a superhero. But since he rifled out of the Bermuda Triangle into the present day, Captain Midnight doesn't know what or who to trust!

* A key title in Dark Horse's new superhero initiative!

By: Joshua Williamson, Fernando Dagnino, Ego, Felipe Massafera

Planet of the Apes Spectacular One Shot
Boom! Studios

Description: With time quickly running out, Alaya faces execution for her crimes against ape kind, while Sully begins to realize that the enemy of her enemy is not necessarily a friend either... It's Apes vs. Apes vs. Humans, as Daryl Gregory's epic continues in the PLANET OF THE APES SPECTACULAR!

By: Daryl Gregory, Diego Barreto, Paul Azaceta

Tom Strong And The Planet Of Peril #1 (of 6)
DC Comics, Vertigo

Description: At last, it's the return of Tom Strong--too bad he's powerless! The lives of his daughter Tesla and her unborn child both hang in the balance, and there's nothing Tom can do to save them. . . until he remembers the one thing that just might. To find it, he and Val Var Garm must journey to the far side of the galaxy, and the mysterious world known as. . . TERRA OBSCURA !

By: Peter Hogan, Chris Sprouse

Collider #1
DC Comics, Vertigo

Description: It started small: temporary gravity failures, time reversal loops, entropy reversals. With much fanfare a new government agency was formed with a mandate 'to prevent and protect.' Its official title: The Federal Bureau of Physics. Humans, if nothing else, adapt to the changing parameters of their existence. What was extraordinary soon became ordinary, a part of people's daily lives. They move on and do what people have always done: survive. But even that new status quo is now under threat. Things are getting worse, and it falls to Special Agent Adam Hardy and his FBP team to figure out what's going on, before it's too late

By: Simon Oliver, Robbi Rodriguez, Nathan Fox

Knightingail Shadow Divisions #1 (of 6)
Big Dog Ink

Description: Knightingail: Shadow Divisions picks up the Knightingail saga where the first volume left off. Knightingail assaults the captured city of Suscitatio to rescue Carver families imprisoned in the vast gem mines underneath the city. However, she is not alone in her fight. Each of her mystical powered Centurion tribesmen - Kaeli, Daniel, Maragus, and Purefire - join her along the way. It's a supernatural power fight with surprises never before seen in comics.

By: Wayne Gardiner, Mell Joy San Juan

More of This Week's Comics at This Link 

New on DVD: Star Trek TNG Season 4 Blu-ray, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and More

DVD/Blu-ray Releases Due Out On or About July 30th:


More New and Recent Releases at This Link

Cancellation Watch: Under The Dome is Still Holding Steady, Sharknado Encore Airing Posts Higher Ratings

Under The Dome, based on the Stephen King book of the same name, improved on its numbers from last week and appears to have leveled off for now.  The most recent episode posted a 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic--up from the prior week's 2.7--with 11.6 million total viewers.  The show appeared to be on a downward trend after opening very strong with a 3.3 rating, but it steadied its number at the 2.7 mark and has now improved them slightly.  Those ratings would qualify this show as a success during the regular season, so for the Summer months this one definitely has been a huge win for CBS.  I expect a renewal announcement from the network at any time now.  Over on NBC, Siberia got bumped from the schedule for special coverage of the the royal baby which was the first slap in the face for the show.  The second was that the "news" special posted better ratings than that series has had the last few weeks.  Not a good sign, and hopefully it won't prompt NBC to yank Siberia from the schedule altogether.  Also on Monday, MTV's Teen Wolf posted another 0.8 rating with 1.78 million total viewers.  Good numbers for that network which has already announced the 4th season renewal for the show.

On Sunday, HBO's True Blood continues to dominate the evening, posting a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demo with four and a half million total viewers.  Once again it outpaced all of the cable shows and fell just one tick short of Big Brother's 2.5 score from winning the night overall.  On TNT, Falling Skies continues to do well pulling a 1.3 rating with 3.7 million total viewers.  On Friday night, Syfy's Canadian import Continuum pulled a 0.4 rating with 1.2 million total viewers which are decent numbers for that show considering that it likely costs them less than their home grown original scripted programing.  And on Wednesday, Futurama continues to do well in its final season as it pulled a 0.7 rating with 1.1 million total viewers.  And for those interested, the encore airing of Syfy's Sharknado this past Thursday actually outpaced the movie's premiere the prior week, pulling a 0.6 rating with 1.89 million total viewers vs. the 0.4 rating and 1.37 million total viewers it had with its initial airing.  Apparently all of the internet buzz drove some curious viewers to the networks

The burn-off shows are starting to wind down as just ABC's Zero Hour and NBC's Do No Harm are left, both with air on Saturdays.  The former scraped up a 0.3 rating with 1.79 million total viewers this past weekend and the latter had the same ratings score with 1.63 million total viewers.

This column is running usually once a week in the Summer on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.  Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for quick updates on the ratings numbers, and you can see the full schedule of Summer science fiction and fantasy shows at this link and see the Cancellation Alert status of these shows at this link.

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New on DVD/Blu-ray:

Cancellation Watch: Sharknado More Twitter Waves than Ratings Bite, HBO Renews True Blood for Season 7

Taking a slight detour from the weekly ratings for the current sci fi/fantasy shows, I wanted to throw in a comment on the ratings of Syfy’s latest critters-run-amok film--which has received a ton of attention on the internet--Sharknado.  For those not familiar with it (which would only be possible if you've been living under a rock the last few weeks), this latest creature-feature cheapy comes from Asylum (best known for mockbusters like Transmorphers, Almighty Thor, and just recently Atlantic Rim) and it involves water spouts that emerge from a hurricane that hits the coast of California which pick up thousands of sharks only to deposit them on the unsuspecting citizens of Los Angeles (no really).  What little I saw of this one would assuredly put it high in the running for the honor of worst movie ever (which is likely what they are going for), but the film has stirred up plenty of buzz on the social networks and brought a sizeable amount of attention to Syfy (much mores so than their usual outpouring of this type of movie such as Chupacabra vs. the Alamo, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, Dinoshark, etc.).  However, that has not necessarily translated into strong ratings for the network.  The initial airing of the movie pulled a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic  with 1.37 million total viewers which is about what the typical Syfy creature-feature averages, if maybe a little bit lower.  Of course the extended attention the movie has received on the internet, particularly Twitter where it had over 386k mentions on the night it aired, has prompted the network to queue it up for a quick rerun this coming Thursday, so that represents additional revenue potential from the bonus add-time they will sell (and the social chatter may get them a slighter higher rate).  Plus, there’s already talks of a sequel.  But The Hollywood Report wisely asks whether the attention that Syfy is getting from this movie is what the network really wants when they are also trying to push more serious genre entries like Defiance and the upcoming Helix.  Of course sci fi fans have been rather disenchanted with the network for quite a while with their preponderance of reality shows, sci fi lite entries (Warehouse 13, Haven, Being Human), wrestling broadcasts, and the creature-feature cheapies like those mentioned above.  From what I have seen on the social networks, the core fanbase has strong doubts about the network and has shown a reluctance to buy into some of its newer offerings (which is possibly why the promising Alphas never managed to develop much of a following and got the axe after only two seasons last year).  Syfy had distanced itself from more serious science fiction output over the last few years, though they appear to want to head back in that direction to some extent.  But the image cast on the network by movies like Sharknado and some of its other output will make it harder to lure fans back to tune in for shows like Defiance and Helix (and the former experienced a notable drop in its ratings after getting off to a strong debut in April).  And really, Syfy has become much better known for their Sharknado/wrestling/reality output which makes it that much more difficult for them to find success with genre-centric shows like Defiance, Helix and previous franchises like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate.  They can tread the line between the two types of output for only so long before they have to make a decision on which path they will ultimately follow and Sharknado seems to be pushing them more to that side.

Now back to our regularly scheduled column:

On Monday night, Under The Dome remained steady for CBS, pulling another 2.7 rating with 10.8 million total viewers.  Expect a renewal announcement for this show at any point now as it has been one of the biggest Summer successes for the broadcast networks in a while.  Over on NBC, Siberia slipped to a 0.8 rating with right at two and a half million total viewers.  Expect this one to air out its remaining episodes then disappear into TV Limbo.  On MTV, Teen Wolf held steady with a 0.8 rating and 1.82 million total viewers, strong numbers for that basic cable network.  On Sunday night, True Blood again won the night among cable shows with a 2.5 rating and 4.54 million total viewers.  That also placed it well above all of the offerings over on the broadcast networks, though those were mostly repeats.  And coming as no surprise, HBO has announced that True Blood will be returning next year for a 7th season.  On TNT, Falling Skies remained relatively stable pulling a 1.1 rating with 3.33 million total viewers.  On Friday, Continuum improved from the prior week with a 0.4 rating and 1.26 million total viewers.  On Wednesday, Futurama pulled a 0.7 rating with 1.43 million total viewers.

As far as the burn-off shows, The CW’s Cult went out with a whimper, pulling a 0.2 rating with only 0.54 million total viewers in its first hour last Friday and then delivering only a 0.1 rating with 0.4 million total viewers for its series finale.  That likely rates as one of the lowest ever finales for a broadcast network show.  On Saturday, Zero Hour scraped up only a 0.3 rating with 1.86 million total viewers and 666 Park Ave managed only a 0.4 rating for its series finale with 1.53 million total viewers.

This column is running usually once a week in the Summer on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.  Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for quick updates on the ratings numbers, and you can see the full schedule of Summer science fiction and fantasy shows at this link and see the Cancellation Alert status of these shows at this link.

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New in Comics: Batman and Robin of 1960's TV Returns to Comics

A few choice selections from the comics due out July 17th (Note that the release dates are tentative on some of these titles):

Batman 66 #1
DC Comics

Description: Put on your go-go boots and get ready to "Batusi" back to the Swingin' 60s as DC Comics reimagines the classic Batman TV series in comics form for the first time! These all-new stories portray The Caped Crusader, The Boy Wonder and their fiendish rogues gallery just the way viewers remember them. In this first adventure, The Riddler's out to steal some valuable artwork from under the noses of Gotham's police. But Batman gets help from an unlikely source: a certain femme fatale dressed in feline finery!

By: Jeff Parker, Jonathan Case, Michael Allred

Star Wars: Dark Times - A Spark Remains #1
Dark Horse

Description: Reunited with the ragtag crew of the Uhumele, Jedi Dass Jennir is surprised to find them plotting with another Jedi to take down the iron fist of the new Galactic Empire-Darth Vader himself! Having only just found love and a reason to live, Jennir is reluctant to join-but their plan may be too good to pass up .

By: Randy Stradley, Douglas Wheatley, Dan Jackson, Benjamin Carré

Red Sonja #1
Dynamite Entertainment

Description: THIS IS IT. Red Sonja gets a fresh new attitude by the dream team of writer GAIL SIMONE (Batgirl, Birds of Prey) and artist WALTER GEOVANI (Prophecy, Witchblade), on the book they were born to create. Sonja pays back a blood debt owed to the one man who has gained her respect, even if it means leading a doomed army to their certain deaths!

This thrilling new series features covers by the top female artists in the industry, including Nicola Scott, Colleen Doran, Jenny Frison, Fiona Staples, Amanda Conner and more. You do NOT want to miss this re-introduction the She-devil with a Sword!

By: Gail Simone, Walter Geovanni, Amanda Conner

Mysterious Strangers #1
Oni Press

Description: Protecting the world from the strange is what Verity, Michael, and Sandoval do best, and on the island nation of Hidalgo, things have been getting very strange indeed. The president has declared martial law, sending everyone to excavations in the jungle. But the strangest thing of all is the involvement of the mysterious organization O.C.C.U.L.T. What could they want with an island with no strategic value? It's up to the Strangers to find out!

By: Chris Roberson, Scott Kowalchuk

The Strain: The Fall #1
Dark Horse

Description: Dr. Ephraim Goodweather's failure to kill the Master-the ancient vampire behind the epidemic infesting New York City-has led the former alcoholic to relapse as the city burns around him. It's the end of the world, but Eph, beaten but not dead, has still got to protect his son Zack from his mother, who's now a bloodthirsty vampire that craves her child more than any artery.

* From the mind of visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and novelist Chuck Hogan.

* Ongoing series continuing the story of the critically acclaimed comic The Strain.

By: David Lapham, Mike Huddleston, Dan Jackson, E. M. Gist

Five Color Comics #1
Art of Fiction

Description: All new, original characters from The Art of Fiction featuring art by some of the greatest names in the comics and animation industries. 48 pages of action and adventure with pirates, zombies, jungle girls, and a giant ape!

By: Erik Warfield, Troy Nixey, Bruce Timm

More of This Week's Comics at This Link 

New on DVD: Alphas S2, Doctor Who Revisited, Evil Dead, and More

DVD/Blu-ray Releases Due Out On or About June 16th:


More New and Recent Releases at This Link

Cancellation Watch: Defiance Ends First Season Up but Not as High as it Started

Syfy's new flagship series Defiance wrapped up its first season this past Monday with an improvement on the ratings it had seen the previous few weeks.  The season finale pulled a 0.7 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic and 2.2 million total viewers.  That's up from the season low of a 0.5 rating it hit back in mid-June, but not nearly as good as the 1.0 score it pulled with its premiere in April.  Syfy still has to consider this one a success and it is the highest rated scripted show the network has had in quite a while.  But a continued ratings erosion may make the network reluctant to agree to a third season.  And considering the fact that the sophomore year for the show will not bow until June of next year, that may be a big enough gap for fans that were already grumbling about the progress of the show (unfairly in my opinion) to lose interest by the time it returns.  Still, the network will continue to tout this one as a win and may run a few marathons in the interim to keep interest in the show from waning too much.  And there's the online game as well that should continue to attract new viewers to the series.

Also on Monday night, Warehouse 13 wrapped up its fifth season pulling a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demo with 1.4 million total viewers which is right about where it was when it returned in April.  Over on MTV, Teen Wolf improved its numbers to a 0.8 rating with 1.9 million total viewers.  That show has been having its strongest season thus far ratings-wise.  On Sunday, HBO's True Blood won the night among cable shows again pulling a 2.3 rating with 4.1 million total viewers.  That actually topped all of the offerings that the broadcast networks had on their schedules (which were mostly repeats) making it the most watched show for the evening in the 18-49 demo.  And on TNT, Falling Skies improved to a 1.2 rating with 3.5 million total viewers.  That show's numbers are down a bit from last season, but it is still performing well for a basic cable series and TNT has already renewed it for a fourth season.

I will probably return to just the one post next week if the ratings numbers finally catch up, but in the mean time keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the quickest ratings updates and any breaking news. 

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New in Comics:

Grimm #3
Dynamite Entertainment

Description: Nick, Hank, and Monroe quest to destroy the Coins of Zakynthos, but are caught in the middle of a centuries-long Wesen war. Surrounded by players with unclear agendas, the gang forges a reluctant alliance, as Kelly makes an escape from her captors!

By: David Greenwalt, Jose Malaga, Lucio Parillo

George RR Martin Skin Trade #1
Avatar Press

Description: GEORGE RR MARTIN returns to comics with Skin Trade, the World Fantasy Award winning story that combines Martin's unique creative voice into a powerful vision of horror! Private investigator, Randi Wade sees the ravaged remains of innocent victims that have been savagely murdered and skinned. As the mysterious secrets of the Blackstone Manor begin to be uncovered, she gets ever closer to the monstrous truth. . . werewolves are real!

George RR Martin combines his unmatched creative vision with the visceral illustrations of horror master Mike Wolfer to create something intensely unsettling. The first chapter of a new horror masterpiece is unveiled with Regular, Wraparound, Grisly and Skinned Retailer Incentive covers by series artist Mike Wolfer.

By: George R. R. Martin, Mike Wolfer


Avatar: The Last Airbender Volume 5 TPB - The Search Part 2
Dark Horse

Description: In search of their long-lost mother, Fire Lord Zuko and his deadly and insane sister Azula have brought Avatar Aang and his friends into a mysterious forest, but what they discover within may be more than they can face. Will they too be lost in these woods forever?

* Perfect companion to Legend of Korra!

* The official continuation of Airbender from its creators.

"A fantastic glimpse into the post-series universe . . . " --Bleeding Cool

By: Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Gurihiru 

More of This Week's Comics at This Link 

Cancellation Watch: Under the Dome and Siberia Slip Again, But Not Much

The only two sci fi/fantasy shows on the broadcast networks both slipped a bit in the ratings this week, but not by much.  The CBS series Under the Dome dropped to a 2.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 10.57 million total viewers based on the preliminaries.  That's one tick down from the 2.8 it had in the preliminaries last week, though two ticks below the 2.9 that it ended with when the final numbers came out.  That number is of little concern, though, because that will still probably land it in the top 5 broadcast network shows for the week.  On NBC, Siberia slipped to a 1.0 rating with with 2.7 million total viewers based on the preliminaries.  Those are not particularly good numbers, though, and it doesn't seem to help that the network is not doing much to promote this show.  I'm bumping up this one's Cancellation Alert status to Medium, and if it slips any more in the ratings then that will go higher.  

The ratings numbers have been delayed because of the ripple effect from last week's holiday, so no information to report yet on the Sunday and Monday cable shows.  I will get those numbers posted to the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site once they finally get published and will likely update this column as well. [Update: the Monday and Sunday cable shows are covered at this link]

Last week, Futurama was on break on the Wednesday before July 4th and Continuum took a hit to its numbers on the Friday after.  That show slipped to a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demo with just a touch over one million total viewers.  It has already been renewed in Canada, though, so no reason to fret about the drop in the ratings.

As for the burn-off shows, The CWs Cult doubled its ratings from the prior week with its two Friday night episodes.  Of course when you consider that it went from a 0.1 score to a 0.2, it puts that in perspective and unfortunately the network will not be reconsidering its cancellation decision.  On Saturday, Zero Hour pulled a 0.4 rating with 1.95 million total viewers, 666 Park Ave had a 0.5 score with 1.89 million total viewers, and Do No Harm managed a 0.4 rating with 1.6 million total viewers.

This column will continue to run on Tuesdays (and sometimes Wednesdays) throughout the Summer in order to catch the numbers for the Sunday cable shows and the preliminaries for Under the Dome and Siberia. And keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for quick updates on the ratings numbers, and you can see the full schedule of Summer science fiction and fantasy shows at this link.

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Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

New on DVD: Warehouse 13 Season Four, Trek Nation, and More

DVD/Blu-ray Releases Due Out On or About July 9th:


More New and Recent Releases at This Link

Cancellation Watch: Siberia Starts Soft, Under the Dome Drops from Debut Numbers, Falling Skies Gets Renewed

NBC’s mock-reality “Lost meets Survivor” series Siberia had its debut last night and didn’t make much noise in the Nielsens.  The series premiere pulled a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 3.2 million total viewers, which aren’t disastrous numbers for a Summer series but which also doesn’t give the show much leeway.  If this one were to hold onto that 1.1 rating for the rest of its Summer run (or even improve on those numbers), it might stand a chance at a renewal.  But more likely than not its numbers will follow the typical trend downward over the coming weeks which will result in this being the show’s only season.  I’m sure this was planned as a limited run “event” series to begin with and it has a conclusion built in to its Season 1 finale (especially considering its mock-reality series format), but I’m also sure they had plans in place for a continuation if it does well in the ratings.  That looks unlikely at this point, but we will have to track it over the coming weeks to know for sure.  At least it’s not in danger of getting yanked from the schedule at this point.

In the same hour over on CBS, Under the Dome dropped from the stellar premiere numbers it pulled last week, but still delivered very strong ratings for a Summer series.  It posted a 2.8 score in the 18-49 demo with 11.5 million total viewers, which would be more than enough to keep a show going during the regular season.  This show may still drop more over the coming weeks, but it would have to fall pretty darn far for CBS to consider not bringing it back for a second season.

Most of the Summer cable shows remained relatively steady over this last week.  HBO’s True Blood held even with a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demo and just under four million total viewers as did TNT’s Falling Skies which pulled a 1.1 rating with 3.2 million total viewers.  And coming as no surprise, that series received a 4th season renewal announcement today.  Continuum pulled another 0.4 rating on Syfy on Friday with 1.2 million total viewers, though Futurama on Comedy Central slipped a couple of ticks to a 0.6 rating last Wednesday. 

As for the Friday/Saturday burn-off shows, Cult returned to air its final episodes beginning last Friday a pulled what I believe may be among the lowest numbers ever for a scripted series on the broadcast networks (why does this show get no love?).  Two episodes ran with each pulling a 0.1 rating and the second hour dropped to only 440k total viewers.   On Saturday, NBC’s Do No Harm returned but only managed to scrape up a 0.3 rating with 1.8 million total viewers.  666 Park Ave can consider it the winner among the cast-offs as it managed to rise all the way to a 0.5 rating with 2.1 million total viewers.  Surely that has ABC reconsidering their decision to cancel the show (not!).  And Zero Hour threw in its two cents as well (which is about what sponsors paid for add time), pulling a 0.3 rating with 2.4 million total viewers. 

This column will continue to run on Tuesdays (and sometimes Wednesdays) throughout the Summer in order to catch the numbers for the Sunday cable shows and the preliminaries for Under the Dome and Siberia. And keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for quick updates on the ratings numbers, and you can see the full schedule of Summer science fiction and fantasy shows at this link.

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Cancelled Sci Fi Televsion Available on DVD/Blu-ray: