Fringe Premiere Ratings So-So

The ratings for premiere episode of Fringe is in and its not looking so good. From TV.com:

In J.J. Abrams terms, the Fringe debut was a flop. Only 9.1 million people watched it, according to Nielsen, a number Fox was hoping would have a "1" in front of it. That breaks down to just above one dollar per set of eyes, if the alleged $10 million price tag for the pilot is to be believed.

The heavily hyped program was one of the season's most eagerly anticipated, or so we thought. By comparison, Lost, another J.J. product, debuted in 2004 to a whopping 18.6 million viewers. In fact, no first-run episode--season premiere or otherwise--of Lost has drawn less than 10 million (as The Washington Post points out), and that includes the numbers from season three, when the show was thought to have lost its way.

It's probably unfair to compare Fringe to Lost or assume that everything J.J. Abrams puts his name on is ratings dynamite, but something is amiss. People seem to like Fringe, and it currently holds an 8.0 rating on TV.com. Was it the less-than-stellar reviews? Was it the fact that it leaked online months ago? Is it those darned digital video recorders all you whippersnappers are using nowadays?

I have the deeling once DVR is added combined with online viewership, the numbers will improve. Probably the biggest hurdle is that "appointment" TV just hasn't geared up for most people. I still keep forgetting when new stuff is on because I am still in the summer viewing cycle. Another problem is probably the lack of buzz on the show. People simple where not talking about it before it came out and their really not talking about it after. If the episodes that follow are of good enough quality, the viewers will come. The real issue will Fox have the patience to wait and found out.