Millennium Ratings

[HighPlainsDrifter]

I recall a long time ago during the last year of MillenniuM or the following year on seeing the the ratings for Season Three. I recall the numbers not being off the chart good but it was better than the time slot of the other shows that where airing at that time.

[Guest Blueboy]

It's fairly obvious that something in the Pilot turned off a huge number of people checking out the show for the first time. Upon rewatching it I can see that rather than hone in on Frank Black and his abilities and family, a lot of time is wasted in the strip club with its tacky scenes and fake sexual slant.

In retrospect, although I think Milennium was a very good serial television show, the pilot left a lot to be desired as an introduction that had to bring the audience back the second week.

[Guest ZeusFaber]

I disagree with that assessment of the pilot. In my opinion, it's one of the finest one-hour template-setters in television drama, effective on multiple levels and achieving all the things a pilot has to achieve. The reason it didn't retain its audience was not so much in the content itself, but in the simple mathematics as commented on by the key players in the making-of documentary -- FOX essentially bought an audience with a massive advertising campaign, getting people to tune in simply from marketing, so it's inevitable that a percentage of that audience is not going to find something to their tastes when they actually sit down and watch the show. The wider you cast your net, the greater the percentage drop-off is going to be, it's just the nature of the business.

As Eth said, we're indebted to Libby for posting those Nielson numbers for the first two seasons, which are indeed interesting to peruse. It would certainly be great to have the third season figures to complete the package, if they're floating around out there somewhere, although I fear they may be lost in time.

[ethsnafu]

Greetings Blueboy,

I must say I find your post most intriguing in the positive sense of the word. I actually hold a contrary opinion to your own and believe the pilot to be not only one of Millennium's finest hours but one of the most successful, in its intentions, pilot episodes I have ever seen. We as a fanbase share little continuity with regards likes and dislikes and those much discussed 'best' and 'worst' polls serve only to highlight the incongruity between what we personally regard as good and bad yet the pilot is an ever present feature of these polls unifying many fans who hold disparate opinions. I would love to hear what you think of Millennium in its entirety, which episodes shine and which you think need a polish as I believe your own take on the series would be interesting and possibly radically different to the consensus many seasoned members have settled into.

Here's hoping you will drop by and give us a full-bodied assessment of the strengths and failings of the pilot, I know I would very much enjoy it.

Best wishes,

Eth

[Libby]

Well, I've just spent a lot of time today trawling through alt.tv.millennium via Googlegroups, and picked up the following figures. I think they're probably accurate, otherwise they would have been challenged. These are the final figures, not the overnights which are usually higher, the final figures being about 0.5 or so lower. Just for the record (and credit), the main suppliers of the figures were: Ouro1129, Dan Owen, and Daniel Vieira.

The Innocents: 5.2

Exegesis: 4.5

Teotwawki: 4.8

Closure: 5.1

Thirteen Years Later: 5.4

Skull and Bones: 5.1 (posted by Ouro1129, Dan Owen said 5.8)

Through a Glass Darkly: 5.1

Human Essence: 4.4

Omerta: 4.8

Borrowed Time: 5.3

Collateral Damage: 5.8

Sound of Snow: 4.7

Antipas: 4.6

Forcing the End: 4.1

Saturn Dreaming of Mercury: 4.2

Bardo Thodol: 3.8

Darwin's Eye: ?

Seven and One: 3.7

Nostalgia: ?

Via Dolorosa: 5.0 (I'm not so sure about this one, it could have been the overnight figure)

Goodbye To All that: 4.3

Eth: I don't have those books so if you could scan and post what you can, that would be very interesting indeed.

[Guest ZeusFaber]

Nice work, Libby! Take a well-earned bow.

[Libby]

Thanks, ZF. It wasn't a particularly pleasant task - usenet newsgroups can be great for information and so on, but I was reminded yet again why I don't get involved in unmoderated newsgroups.

But there are knowledgeable posters and in this particular case there was some good information about Nielson ratings and what they mean. In particular, ratings have to be seen in context. For example, for almost all of Season 3 MM was ranked higher than Buffy, but it isn't just the figures but also the network - Buffy being more useful to whatever network it was on, because that network was smaller than Fox. Also, there is the issue of what other shows were aired against MM on the other big networks, as well as the lead-in show. So even just comparing each season with the rest doesn't always give a true picture. I know you probably know this as much as I do or even better, but it's worth mentioning in a discussion about MM's ratings.

I wonder if there's any figures anywhere which show the downturn in TV viewership generally over the last decade or so. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the figures have declined, possibly because more people spend time on the internet, and possibly because people, particularly SF fans are fed up with shows being cancelled too quickly. And maybe, with the current credit crunch and oil prices, the numbers will go up as people find it more expensive to go out and about.

[Guest Laurent.]

I feel like I must had my own voice to the opinion of both Zeus and Eth: the pilot is not only one of the best episode of the series, but like Spotnitz said in the special features, Carter's best work and one of the most incredible hour in television history. It's probably the thematic and atmosphere of the show that was problematic, as Millennium obviously isn't written to appeal to the mainstream, or to a wide audience.

I think that the fans of the genre all felt that the quality of the pilot was not a problem at all. The storylines, atmosphere and characters were all perfectly introduced and layed out. I don't think they wasted time in tacky scenes, as future episodes spend even more times looking into the darkness than the pilot (which had more scenes in the yellow house in order to introduce the Black family).

[ethsnafu]

Hi chaps,

I don't want to detract attention for Laran's fine points but I did want to thank Libby for some sterling work on our behalf. Do you agree with me Libby that the figures for the Three Seasons needs to be placed in a closed and pinned thread where they can remain for future reference? As I promised I have scanned the opening pages of Genge's Millennium companion in which she briefly casts her attention over the arrival and reception of Millennium upon its airing. I do hope everyone can read it ok? I shall re-read the two volumes later and will scan any more pages relevant to this topic.

*round of applause for Libby*

Eth

[Blackoil]

Libby, thank you for the rating numbers! I've been curious about Season 3 ratings for years and now this mystery is solved (for me). Season 3 numbers weren't that bad, I think.

And thank you Eth for these interesting scans!