TV ratings: Two-hour 'Dollhouse' block sluggish for FOX Friday

CBS' 'Ghost Whisperer,' 'Medium' and 'Numb3rs' control Friday night overall

TV ratings: Two-hour 'Dollhouse' block sluggish for FOX Friday

 Eliza Dushku of 'Dollhouse'

Credit: FOX
Fast National ratings for Friday, December 4, 2009.
 
The already-cancelled "Dollhouse" returned to FOX on Friday night with a two-hour block of episodes and the results were fairly predictable. While the first hour was up very slightly from the show's last airing, by the second hour, "Dollhouse" had fallen under 2 million viewers.
 
Fan reaction may have been extremely positive, but in the 9 p.m. hour, "Dollhouse" drew fewer viewers than The CW's encore of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." We assume we don't need a paint a picture of how that looks.
 
Of course, "Dollhouse" wasn't the only show airing on Friday night. Otherwise, CBS procedurals just dominated and that's not very exciting to relate.
 
Among adults 18-49, CBS won the night with a 1.8 rating. NBC's 1.3 rating and the 1.2 rating for ABC followed in the key demographic. FOX and The CW tied for fourth with a 0.8 rating.
 
Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 7.53 million viewers to go with a 4.8 rating/8 share. NBC and ABC tied for second with a 3.2/5, though NBC had the advantage in total viewers. FOX finished fourth with a 1.4/2. The CW's 1.2/2 trailed. 
 
In the 8 p.m. hour, CBS finished first with a 5.2/9 for "Ghost Whisperer," which also averaged a 1.9 demo rating, making it the night's most watched show and top show in the demo. ABC's "Dreams Come True a Celebration of Disney Animation" was a distant second, beating NBC's reairing of "A Muppet Christmas." The first hour of "Dollhouse" had a 1.5/3 and averaged 2.165 million viewers for FOX, with a 0.8 demo rating. [If you're forgetful, the season's last "Dollhouse" episode aired on Oct. 23 and averaged under 2.15 million viewers and a 0.8 demo rating.] The CW's "Smallville" repeat was fifth with a 1.1/2 and tied with "Dollhouse"  in the demo.
 
CBS stayed in first at 9 p.m., though "Medium" drew a low 4.4/7. NBC's "Dateline" was second with a 4.0/7. ABC's "Ugly Betty" had a 2.9/5 for third. Hour two of "Dollhouse" slipped to a 1.3/2, with only 1.94 million viewers and a 0.8 rating. The CW's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" was tied with "Dollhouse" in ratings, but averaged 2.2 million viewers.
 
"Numb3rs" finished the night in first for CBS, doing a 4.7/8. ABC's "20/20" had a 4.0/7 and tied with CBS in the demo. NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" was fifth.
 
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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  • Default-avatar

    Phoenix Umm, was anyone, even us fans, surprised by this? Even "Bones," a really successful Fox show, got crap ratings when it did a back-to-back two new episodes return from a hiatus. The really great thing about this, however, is that since the show has already been cancelled, there's absolutely no pressure for ratings, so all of us fans of the show don't even have to care anymore. Either way, the episodes were both really good last night.

    December 5, 2009 at 1:05PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Guest No, it's not a surprise the numbers were down. Let's see: Fox already announced the show was canceled, they did nothing to promote that it was back from hiatus (I only knew because I checked the listings), not even a commercial, and, oh yeah, in the second hour there was also the series finale of Monk, a very popular show on USA. So, yeah, I would say the low ratings were pretty predictable.

    December 5, 2009 at 2:32PM EST Reply to Comment
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    kym I agree with the other responders, well of course it didn’t do well the people that are fans mostly didn’t know it was back from hiatus and it’s a wonder. I had to catch up on the show on the Internet, speaking of when the ratings are calculated do they even bother to add in how many people now watch their programs on line? I doubt it since most TV exec’s don’t even have computers in their offices and usually get their secretaries to read and answer their e-mail.
    By the way what did Josh Whedon do to have the TV exec’s hate him so much? The concepts for his programs are really good but always get crappy time slots or just get canceled for no real reasons…gotta wonder

    December 5, 2009 at 11:24PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Linda I absolutely LOVE this show. It is just totally different and interesting. The characters are well developed and the story lines always keep me guessing. I hate it when I can predict what is gong to happen and get it right every time. I am so sorry to see it go. I wonder about Americans these days. If mindless reality shows, numerous shows about dead people (CSI, Bones,Cold Case, Ghosts Whisperer, Supernatural, and on and on) can stay on, why can't we have one decent show that is far from the norm? Is it too complicated for the Jersey Shores crowd or what? It seems that our country is truly filled with mindless DOLLS!

    December 21, 2009 at 1:18PM EST Reply to Comment
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