I'm not sure how a show that hasn't even premiered yet can have "devoted fans" already.

I'll be impressed if it gets above a 4.0 rating tonight, and I'm not saying that because I want to see Ms. Dushku fail for doing something non-Buffy, it's just a lack of faith in Fox marketing. The ads they had for it with some perverted guy moaning "Ooh, Eliza Dushku" were disgusting and insulting.

If it fails in this timeslot, Fox should give it a chance on Friday (likely) or on Monday or Tuesday in place of those flops Joe Millionaire 2 and Skin.

Speaking of those two disasters, do you think Joss called Gail Berman and asked "Are you licking YOUR wounds, now?"

prufrock | October 31, 02:49 CET

The one thing I have always wondered is why Fox bother to commission shows and then stiff them by putting them in horrific timeslots and promote them poorly. Surely they must lose money on this. I mean Tru Calling seems like a fairly decent show and give it a couple of seasons it'll probably get a reasonable audience. But that won't happen. The UK is going down the same road. Shows that get positive reviews but not the anticipated audience will get shunted off to the graveyard slot never to be seen again.

If TV execs had the same mindset in the 80s, we'd never have got 'Only Fools and Horses', 'Blackadder' or 'Red Dward' to name but a few. This shows might not mean anything to posters from outside the UK but they all got low ratings for the first couple of seasons and then got great ratings (and more to the point made pots of money for the BBC in terms of overseas sales, videos and DVD revenue).

Simon | October 31, 03:10 CET

I suppose the devoted fan base is Eliza's, and that probably goes without saying. I taped it, since we're doing Trick or Treating a night early here, so I'll have to wave judgement until I see it, probably sometime tomorrow.

I hope it's not the stinker everyone (the press) has made it to be.

The Lady Pele | October 31, 07:17 CET

Ratings are arguably meaningless nowadays, and the Neilsens are, generally speaking, an inaccurate representation of what's being watched by the viewers. That being said, they're the networks' barometer of choice. If a show tanks in the ratings, it's most likely gone. Write-in campaigns, fan support, and critical acclaim are almost never enough by themselves to keep a show afloat.

Which is a shame. Because it's not just in the UK where low-rated shows have gone on to be massive hits or produce terrific television. In the US, there's been "Cheers" and "Seinfeld", just to name two. I don't know what changed in the years since, but networks have been increasingly quick to dump a show if it doesn't perform phenomenally, impossibly well right out of the gate. There's almost no attempt to cultivate an audience -- perhaps because the ratings tell the networks that that audience will watch most anything. (How else can one explain something like "Fear Factor"?)

Of course, judging from tonight's episode, I'm not entirely sure "Tru Calling" deserves that much of a chance. I like Dushku quite a lot, and I can understand why she'd want to do this instead of a Faith spinoff (the characters sound alike on paper, but they're very different, and I respect that she wants to try different things). But the show itself, I thought, was kind of weak. Too much information, not especially well written, a not exactly interesting or memorable supporting cast, and maybe not the most well thought out premise. (The dead talk to her, or she relives the entire day. Doing both just seems like too much.) Fox could, and has, done a lot worse, but already I'm not sure I'm going to tune in next week.

But the show deserves at least some chance for the people who will tune in.

unreality | October 31, 08:09 CET

I just watched the show and it's really bad. What a waste of talent.

vpecoraro | October 31, 09:28 CET

I agree with unreality above... not the worst thing FOX has ever done, but not worth my support. I really, really like ED... but I really, really miss Faith.

If this thing survives where Firefly got the axe, I smell a killing spree in my future.

Haunt | October 31, 17:03 CET

I watched...
Plot:uber-predictable...even the with 26 "twists"
Eliza:Run, baby, run!
Supporting Cast: a blur, Eliza was running all the time(which begs the question: "Why didn't the creators take a cue from "Faith on a Motorcycle" and , um, give her one?)

protector | October 31, 17:46 CET

I saw the pilot months ago and thought it was depressingly bad, but the version they aired seemed a lot better. I'll give the second episode a go. Does anyone know why they changed the actor who plays the college professor boyfriend?

Eliza is a good physical actor, I think, but her facial expressions seem somewhat limited.

Caroline | October 31, 18:00 CET