'Atlantis' - Overnight ratings ep 13

[gealach_ros]

The Atlantis finale ended on an all time low when episode 13 aired at 8.15pm.

DigitalSpy: Death Comes to Pemberley concludes with 4.4m on BBC One
Atlantis dropped 1.9m viewers from last week, with the season finale attracting 3.67m (15.8%) at 8.15pm.

S1DateOvernightAud. ShareFinalLive +7*

01.01Sep 295.62m26.2%7.36m8.4m

01.02Oct 055.05m21.4%6.

Comments

[sallyna_smile]

Oh wow...

[oriane_34w4]

I feel a bit sorry for them this time because yesterday's episode was quite good, with a very unexpected twist.
The article on Digital Spy is very accurate about that episode and the whole season of Atlantis. ("Atlantis episode 13 review: Strong finish to an uneven first series" : http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s230/atlantis/news/a540772/atlantis-episode-13-review-strong-finish-to-an-uneven-first-series.html)

[gealach_ros]

I've given up on reading Atlantis related articles because basically they always say the same: "the show should/could be better, needs (much) more character development/less fart jokes and Jack Donnelly isn't the most skilled actor (apart from the fact that he'd not been given much to work with in the first place)".

IMO somehow the Js managed to take everything that wasn't good or even really bad about Merlin, fleshed it out/increased it to REALLY BAD and in addition they didn't have the same luck with their casting like they did the first time round. Not sure they'll manage to make things better in S2 because they never truly understood what made Merlin so successful. Hint: it was not their story telling ~skills~ and most certainly NOT the CGI...

[oriane_34w4]

I stopped reading articles too, but I just happened to find that one yesterday, and it was a good summary of my feelings about the show.
It looks like from time to time - and it was the case yesterday - Howard Overman remembers that he's got the skills to write something good... unfortunately I think that there have been only 3 episodes that were correct out of 13. :(

I agree about the fact that compared to Merlin the quality of the series tends to decrease most of the time and that they could not rely on the casting to save the day.

If the poor audience is taken as a wake-up call, maybe there's something to be saved, otherwise, Jason is going to wave goodbye after two series, and he won't be missed.

[nimueh123]

So true! And LOL. to your last comment.
The two Js will never get it. :)

[gilli_ann]

Whatever happened on December 21? Was there no competition and nothing interesting on other channels? As the first in a two-parter finale that episode very obviously didn't create tension or interest enough to make people tune eagerly in for the resolution...

[gealach_ros]

Last week Atlantis was sandwiched between two Strictly Come Dancing live shows (the finale). People probably just didn't bother switching channels at the end of live show one and waited till Strictly part two aired.

[gilli_ann]

Thank you for explaining. I know it sounds petty, but I was disappointed in the strong episode 12 ratings. I want the Js to fail and go away.

[sallyna_smile]

LOL that's what my friend said XD

[archaeologist_d]

I've been very underwhelmed with Atlantis so far (only seen 5 episodes in the US). I feel kind of bad for the actors. It's pretty clear that they don't have much to work with. Mark Addy is marvelous when they give him something to do. Even Jason and Pythagoras are good enough at times but oh the mind-numbing Oracle (someone else might have been much better in the role) and paucity of plot isn't helping.

[nimueh123]

I think it is rather telling and a little bit sad that Robert Emms is encouraging people on twitter to watch the how!

[msdrieg]

I have always wondered how they compile the "viewing" figures. How the population is sampled and how they then produce the "final" viewing figures for the whole population. Do they phone a balanced selection of the public? If they do a 50:50 male and female sample but a programme appeals to say mostly either women or men, then can they underestimate the viewing figures? If they choose an even age spread and a programme appeals to a wide age range then the figures could be quite accurate but if it appeals more to a particular age range, there seems a potential to underestimate viewing figures.

[msdrieg]

Answering my own comment! I turned up this:
"In the UK audience figures are calculated by BARB. BARB randomly selects around 5000 homes around the UK to which it gives a special electronic box which records who watches what and when in the house.

Although there are only around 5000 homes, they are selected in a way (although random) that they statistically represents the demographic make-up of the country. They homes involved are also constantly changed so that the survey sample still represents the UK population accurately."

If this is how it is done, I wonder just how accurate it is when a show appeals to a particular fan audience. So eg when Merlin was on earlier, it could have dominated as adults "let" younger people choose what to watch but in a later time slot would have much more competition from programmes others in the family wanted to watch.