Airlock Alpha reported today that the J.J. Abram's sci-fi mystery show
Alcatraz has debuted to stronger Monday night ratings than Spielberg's
Terra Nova did last year in its Monday night debut. The
Alcatraz debut garnered a 6.0 rating/9 share over
Terra Nova's 5.6/8 share.
Terra Nova's season high was a 6.3/9 share, which isn't bad, but that show costs a lot to produce, being a location show with heavy special effects, so Fox could just go with something cheaper instead.
At least, that's what some media outlets are suggesting. Here's what Airlock Alpha wrote today:
"The strength of the premiere could possibly spell the end of
Terra Nova. Fox said it was waiting to see how its mid-season shows did before making a decision on Steven Spielberg's expensive dino-drama, but because of the time needed to produce episodes, indicated it would have to make that decision sooner rather than later."
And here's what Vulture had to say:
"While it's too soon to declare
Alcatraz a hit, if the show can hold on to most of its premiere audience in coming weeks, Fox execs will be very happy and may feel confident enough about their Monday night prospects to move forward next fall without a second season of
Terra Nova."
To be honest, I would have room in my heart for
both shows, but there's only so much programming space and money on network TV. Could
Terra Nova be headed for extinction? Only time will tell.