Dollhouse

[Jean-Pierre Bazinet]

Did anybody watch the premiere of Dollhouse?

I thought it was just okay. But Whedon does have a tendency to start things slowly and ramp up his shows as they go along. (They get better as they go on).

Unfortunately, I don't know how long it will go on... 4.7 million people watched it. Wether that's good or bad... there are conflicting views.

Joss Whedon's highly anticipated new series Dollhouse got off to a sluggish start in the ratings on Friday night.

The show stars Buffy alumnus Eliza Dushku as one of several "dolls" whose memories can be imprinted with different skills and personality traits.

According to early figures, the premiere pulled in 4.7 million viewers in the 9pm hour on Friday for Fox. The ratings represent the second lowest premiere audience for a scripted series on a major broadcast network this season, behind only NBC's ill-fated adventure drama Crusoe.

Dollhouse was beaten in its slot by ABC's Supernanny, which drew 6.1 million for the hour.

More than a fair share of Joss Whedon fans tuned in Friday to see the premiere of Fox's Dollhouse. The mythological drama starring Eliza Dushku attracted 4.7 million viewers -- a pretty decent jump over the eyeball levels for The Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8 p.m. (which lured a mere 3.7 million), according to fast national ratings. In fact, Dollhouse helped Fox double its viewership levels among women versus Chronicles and helped the net finish in second place among adults 18-34 and in first place across key male demos for the night.

So what does this mean for Dollhouse's long-term prospects? Although 4.7 million isn't that great -- Fox typically averages 5.5 million on Fridays -- the Whedon drama has a better chance of making it over the long haul if it stays put on the night. In fact, network insiders have long cautioned that if the series were scheduled earlier in the week and ended up attracting these kind of (low) viewership levels, it would have been axed by its second or third airing. So relax, Whedonites -- Dushku and Co. appear safe for now.

[j7wild]

I hear 4.7 was the average for Firefly too before it was cancelled.

Maybe everytime people see the name Joss Whedon, they will always compare the show to Buffy?