Dollhouse opened to solid but unspectacular ratings for its timeslot and dramatically improved Fox’s numbers from the lead-in show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but as the varying remarks below indicate, these numbers can be skewed all sorts of ways.

The Dollhouse pilot episode, “Ghost,” brought in 4.73 million viewers, nearly a million more than Terminator: TSCC, but significantly less than similar shows like Lost, which brought in its fewest amount of viewers of the season this week (9.7 million) and still doubled Dollhouse’s showing.

But then again… Lost airs on Wednesday night, and everyone knows Friday night is a death slot for TV shows.  Fox has not had a successful show air on Fridays since the X-Files.  So Fox executives had to be happy with Dollhouse’s initial efforts, finishing in second place among the key demographic of adults ages 18-34.  Dollhouse also finished first among men in that same age group.

What I think is key though is that these numbers do not take into account those people who DVR’ed the new show.  Except for a couple of key TV shows, that’s how I do all of my television watching, and it’s a trend that is increasing exponentially — especially among younger viewers — Dollhouse’s key demographic.  I expect Dollhouse to receive maybe a bigger percentage boost from DVR rankings than perhaps any other show — certainly higher than any show on Friday nights.

Here is what some of the other sites had to say about Dollhouse’s initial numbers…

Entertainment Weekly

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.

Read the full story from Entertainment Weekly

ScreenRant.com

The early numbers for Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse premiere had an estimated 4.7 million viewers.  These numbers are a lot higher than I expected, I’m glad it at least brought that many viewers in.  On the somber side, FOX usually brings in 5.5 million viewers on Friday nights.

Despite this apparent disconnect in numbers, FOX was still 2nd on Friday night in adults 18-34 and first place across key male demographics.  Which isn’t surprising, considering the amount of skin and suggestive “Active’s” assignments they’re taking with the show.

Read the full story from ScreenRant.com

TheInsider.com

Joss Whedon’s new show, the Dollhouse, had good ratings Friday, increasing it’s numbers by 25+% over lead in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. We’ll see how viewers reacted to the storyline - and find out shortly if they’ll be coming back. The Dollhouse stars the yummy Eliza Dushka.

Read the full story from TheInsider.com

Indianapolis Star

The early ratings are in for the Friday debut of ‘Dollhouse,’ the latest TV show from Joss Whedon (’Buffy,’ ‘Angel,’ ‘Dr. Horrible’), and while it improved on its Fox lead-in, that’s not saying much.

During the 9 p.m. hour, ‘Dollhouse’ pulled in a 2.0 rating and 6 share, good enough for second in that time slot behind ABC’s ‘Supernanny’ (2.2/7). However, per the Hollywood Reporter, that was the second-lowest debut for a scripted series this season.

Read the full story from the IndyStar.com

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