Nix | October 4, 2009
145 comments

SyFy Boasts About Stargate Universe Ratings, Dollhouse Beatdown

Sounds like SyFy is pretty happy with Friday’s two-hour premiere of their latest new show, Stargate: Universe. Besides trumpeting the “best franchise premiere performance in four years”, the channel’s press release also took time out to get a rib kick into Joss Whedon’s poorly performing Dollhouse on network (i.e. free) TV.

SYFY CONTINUES RATINGS ROLL AS STARGATE UNIVERSE POSTS BEST STARGATE FRANCHISE PREMIERE PERFORMANCE IN FOUR YEARS

SGU Outdelivers FOX’s Dollhouse at 9PM

New York, NY – October 3, 2009 – Following record ratings for Warehouse 13, Eureka, Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth during its most-watched third quarter ever, Syfy’s viewership surge since the July 7 brand evolution continued on Friday, October 2, when Stargate Universe premiered to the best franchise premiere performance in four years, drawing more than 2.3 million viewers – and besting FOX’s Dollhouse at 9PM (ET/PT).

Stargate Universe, which stars Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips and Ming-Na, grabbed 2.35 million total viewers along with a 1.7 HH rating, 1.32 million Adults 25-54, and 1.12 million Adults 18-49 during its two-hour debut episode from 9-11PM (ET/PT).

Stargate Universe Premiere Highlights

o This is the best performance for a Stargate franchise season premiere on Syfy since season 2 of Stargate Atlantis on 7/15/05.

o Among Adults 18-49, the 1.12 million viewers is the best performance for a Friday series premiere since Battlestar Galactica debuted on 1/14/05.

o Stargate Universe’s 2.3 million total viewers surpassed the 2.1 million total viewers that watched Dollhouse on FOX at 9 PM (ET/PT).

Edgier and younger in tone, SGU takes the franchise in a dynamic new direction, appealing to longtime Stargate fans and first-time viewers alike. The two-part premiere of Universe was directed by Andy Mikita (Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1) and lensed by Rohn Schmidt (The Shield, The Mist). The series also stars Alaina Huffman, Louis Ferreira, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Jamil Walker Smith and Brian J. Smith.

SGU follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an ancient ship, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth. Faced with meeting the most basic needs of food, water and air, the group must unlock the secrets of the ship’s Stargate to survive. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them.

Robert Cooper and Brad Wright, of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, serve as executive producers and writers. Stargate Universe is distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.

I’d say they’re pretty happy with the show’s premiere.

Stargate: Universe TV Series Cast Promo Images


Category: Dollhouse TV Series, Sci-Fi TV News, Stargate: Universe TV Series |
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  • http://xenoterracide.blogspot.com Caleb Cushing ( xenoterracide )

    Episode 6 has been the best so far as I was seriously getting tired of the “how’re we gonna survive this failing system”. Some of the differences are good, but I do think the show needs some comic relief, even if they didn’t have a villain having a funny guy with some charisma would be useful.

  • John Smith

    Anybody who likes this show must have an IQ of 50. This show is so slow that even an slug would get board. BTW, They are not telling us anything about anything in this show they just replaced action with sex and some idiots like it. If you want to watch sex there is plenty of stuff on the web.

  • FanBase

    I’ve also watched all the SG1 and SGA episodes, and I have to say that while the shows are *watchable*, it is at the end of my things-to-do-in-my-spare-time list. The very end, rock bottom if you will. I watched the last 6 episodes of SGU, and while the premiere left me with some vestiges of hope, I can say the the next few episodes destroyed it.

    First, the camera shaking annoyed me to no end. It’s as if the only purpose is to imitate BSG, and let me tell you, while it was nice for BSG, it does not fit SGU at all…

    Second, the random keynote clips (which were way too long), or minor and insignificant characters seemed utterly pointless. A significant portion should not be dedicated to random people staring into the camera reading scripts that were supposed to be “witty”.

    and Third, really the most important part, is that the plot is dead. The ice episode was incredibly reminiscent of the sand one (Oh look, supplies low, lets go get some from this planet, and it will be incredibly difficult!). There is a problem with plot progression, mainly that the only significant thing that has happened was Destiny’s recharge from the star.

    As for now, I’ve started watching house, and so it will be at least 100+ episodes before I even consider subconsciously thinking about SGU. I will try to repress these memories with happy SGA/SG1 thoughts, and pretend it never happened.

  • Bored as Hell

    I have watched Stargate Universe over the last few weeks, and i also find it so boring. The story about being on an ancient ship is a very good plot, but lets see more of the ship, not the relationships onboard. Who cares about the the ideas of the crew, and those scenes of them talking back to the Keno are boring. Lets see some action already. I’m pretty sure that us fans of the SG-1 and Atlantis can write a better story than the writers on this show. The Characters on the show are starting to come together, so lets now see them explore this ship. If this is really the Ancients “Destiny” then there should be more cool things on board for the crew to find, bring some of the Atlantis facts to it, or Rush finding some sort of database like when McKay found the secret lab. If the stories don’t get any better, SyFy is going to cancel this show. Just my Two Cents

  • Joost

    I REALLY love Stargate. I have watched all of SG1 and SGA, bought all the DVDS and watched the movies atleast twice.

    SGU is really boring to me so far. I have wathced 7 episodes and im still watching the show, because its labeled stargate but not because its good :(

    What do Stargate fans love? The techno-talk, the militairy action, the mean aliens, the humor of O’neal and Rodney, the sciene puzzles, but SGU has NONE of these as the other Stargate series had!!
    The actors are all depressed/bored with live, and the serie is like a kind of familie drama thing :(

    The characterbuilding thing is not the skills that these directors have. Just look at the quality difference with the pilot episode of V (2009).

    Just to the thing you are good in and start kicking alien ass and do the technobabble. Give the fans what they like and go for the high viewer ratings.

    Joost – the Netherlands

  • Joost

    Lol my posting is removed? How fair..

  • http://www.lordsofdeath.com John Coolhand

    I like SGU it is a great new spin.
    I would have loved a Friday night line up of:
    8-9 (SGA)
    9-10 (SGU)

    They are two different shows Robert Carlyle is fantastic actor.

  • M. Brian

    Here is a site I just found. I think this depicts the level of anger being portrayed by the majority of the fan base at what the Stargate franchise has offered as SGU. http://www.sgusucks.com/index.html

    This is hardcore sentiment, that I doubt Joe Mallozzi’s attack on the fans in his blog of October 31st http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/october-31-2009- or Brad Wrights attack on a critic Maureen Ryan “A ‘Stargate Universe’ producer takes issue with criticism of the show, Nov 8th. featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com ever thought their arrogant comments would come to. Mallozzi wrote a “rant” about fans

    But then that’s the nature of being arrogant, when you think you are untouchable!
    Reality generally comes up and slaps you in the face. If you care to read the entirety of Joe’s comments, the disregard for any fan sentiment is all too clear. I believe they have forgotten that without the fans there would be no franchise, and somehow they have accomplished all this on their own. So sad!

    Anyone wishing to express their disapproval with these comments by the show producers but still want to see where the disaster of SGU goes can watch the episodes on line, past seven days from airing here. http://tvshack.net/tv/Stargate_Universe/ This way you are not contributing to their ratings!

  • M. Brian

    I need to reply to my own post as it was made while being upset over observing the attitude of the show producers towards their fans, and the comments were not totally fair.
    In reality I don’t believe the producers knowingly tried to create a show that would irritate their fan base to this extent. I think they did it to try and attract a wider viewership, not realizing that their fan base would be turned off in such an impassioned manner.
    Then when reading of the fans disapproval, they have decided to strike back. But as the creator of a TV series which needs fans to support it, they should have realized you cannot strike back at the fans and then expect them to watch your show. Watching any show is voluntary and although Joe said that if the fans don’t like the aspects of their show currently they will be clawing their eyes out when they see what is coming and that they are in for a looooooooooooong haul because that is what their show is all about.

    Fans are never in for a long haul or will be clawing their eyes out since they will just switch channels. No different than patrons in a restaurant when the food goes bad, they don’t HAVE to stay for the long haul, they just don’t come back and if the producers don’t fix it soon enough, they will have to close the doors!

  • M. Brian

    I concede you are right on many points!
    My comments did become rude, and I will admit I get angry at people who have no respect for others and just call them belittling names! I slide into that too when I am insulted, but never referred you personally in any way.

    I didn’t call you dumb or a moron, I said the producers were targeting that audience by allowing so many plot holes to exist and emphasizing the sex component, and they claimed they were purposely targeting a different audience. If those flaws and characteristics are in the show and that is the audience they think will like it, what does it say about the audience who like it and who they are targeting???

    I have no angry opinion of the show, my opinion is that of sadness, that it has become what it has. My angry comments were directed at people like (the real dK) for attacking others, Read “the real dk” again: “now all you stupid people need to pull your heads out of you orifice” “really do not know anything because you are narrow minded suck holes who dont understand the pure genius that is the destiny!! you make me sad for the human race!” Saying this about people who are long time fans who were pointing out flaws and stating their opinion and disappointment, deserved a strong response, but I see you aren’t attacking those comments.

    You call me rude and angry, yet you don’t recognize “that” in your comments or that of dk’s.
    You obviously think rude comments and attacks are only OK when you or some one who agrees with you is making them, there is another name for that!

    If people want to like the show, that’s great, but when they attack others personally because they don’t agree with them, and they can’t see the flaws, then I do get angry. The statement about the show being “genius” needed the flaws pointed out to add a little truth to any counter argument!

    You are right I won’t change my view unless the show improves as that is what my view is all about as well as the attempt to pass this off as true science fiction, which it isn’t. See I agree with you on many points!

    Enjoy it while you can, at 60 million to produce the season and down to 1.626 million viewers already, most other series would not survive to a second season. Maybe there will be a miracle!

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