Supernanny? You're fucking kidding me, right?

Fast national ratings are in for Friday's FOX block of sci-fi goodness, with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the premiere of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.

Sarah? Not doing so well. The show hit an all-time low, with 3.7 million viewers total, 1.3 in the 18-49 demo. In total viewers, it got beat by Jennifer Love Hewitt's ghostly whispering hooters, Howie Do It (?!), and something called Wife Swap. It was third among in the demo, and (silver lining!) first among men 18-49 and 18-34.

Dollhouse? Perhaps best categorized as "eh, okay." Did 4.7 million viewers total, which was a big build on the T:TSSC lead in. That was behind the Canadian cop show starring Keith Mars (Flashpoint) and fucking Supernanny. Say that again. Supernanny. This show had around 6 million viewers. Do we want to live in a country where Supernanny draws a million more viewers than a new Joss Whedon show? How is this even possible? Dollhouse did bring in 2 million in the 18 - 49 demo, which puts it at No. 2 for the hour.

So what does all this mean? Well, Dollhouse is a not a runaway ratings blockbuster out of the gate. The lead in is not helping it. And I think we can all be glad that it was moved out of the harsh spotlight of airing after Idol, where similar numbers would have made it decidedly DOA. However, it's doing better than any scripted shows on FOX have done on Fridays. And all 13 eps of the first season have already been produced. We'll have to see when final ratings come in. We'll also have to see how it everything shakes out when you consider iTunes purchases, Live + DVR viewing and online streaming. Plus, according to most early reviews, the show only improves in quality over the next couple of episodes. So, stay tuned.

Sigh. Fucking Supernanny. Time to mix a drink.

Ratings Round Up:

AICN
EW
TV Week
TV By The Numbers
Mediaweek
The Live Feed