Heroes returned after its own seven-day hiatus (Saturday Night Live's election special took over its time slot last week) with only 7.9 million viewers, a 4 percent dip from its most recent airing.

Wow, i thought it would have gone up to 9m. instead, it went in the opposite direction.
If it continues to air on a monday night at 9 pm it's not going to get better.
They need a switch around. This sucks ya'll!

Now, the episode, i thought was brilliant!
It's so well tied into everything else, its great.
Elle+Sylar???? hmmm

i like your sig pic

thanks!

Imo the promo and the week wait did not help, same for this weeks promo doesn't look great but im sure it will be a good episode.

That's exactly how it's been lately.
I thought the week wait would have gotten people more anxious for it.
It got me wanting to watch it more then ever.

I know absolutely nothing about ratings. Is that bad enough for Heroes to be in trouble right now?

unfortunately-yes.
i thought i'd never see the day it would plummet under 8M

here is what i posted on my site today and the number is actually 7.83 so even lower than you posted...

http://heroesspoilers-odi.blogspot.com/2008/11/heroes-ratings-fall-to-another-series.html

Well fans, I don't know what to tell you all. I wish I had better news, but I don't and the ratings fell once again this week to an all time low of 7.83 Million viewers. Heroes returned after a week off because of the election with Episode 3x08 Villains a flashback episode that provided us with more of The Petrelli family history.

Last week, NBC let two popular writers of the show Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb go and perhaps they were hoping for some fans maybe to come back, but it seems like it had no affect and actually less fans tuned in. Of course the change if ANY with the firings will not be seen until Volume 4, because when the writers were fired, production was already completed on the final episodes of Volume 3.

As a fan this disappoints me, because I know at the end of the day, with a high production budget the show is getting very close to the point where the numbers will not match up. Heroes is not going any where this season, but could this be the beginning of the end!?

No matter how much I hate to say this, the answer is yes. As a fan we can not ignore what is happening and just say things like "No way this shows rocks!!"

Over the last several weeks, I have seen more and more negative comments from fans online and if the online fans make up a majority of the "hardcore" base, then how can we expect a casual fan to stay interested!?

Yes I know, there are the DVR numbers and the fans that watch online or download the show and yes those numbers provide the show with the biggest gain than any other show, but they do not translate to revenue the way traditional advertising does.

Ad revenue is usually based on a combination of a show's prior season's ratings or the potential ratings in an upcoming season. So if this trend were to continue that means a much smaller budget for the show.

However, the production costs for a show like Heroes are much higher than a traditional show and with an ensemble cast that will demand even more money next season, things will be even tighter.

So what is my point!? All I am trying to say is things do not look good and that fans can not ignore it. If they truly love the show then they need to be patient, enjoy the show and not critique every little detail, stop downloading or at least START watching it on NBC again, and go out and promote the show to all your friends and tell them to watch it!!

To the fans that are upset with the direction of the show, no I am not ignoring you. Yes I agree there are definitely some problems with the show, but they can NOT be fixed over night. I have voiced my fair share of criticisms of the show in various forums. However, they have already made the next 7-8 episodes of the season and well it takes time for things to change.

The next 3-4 episodes seem pretty good and it seems like they will finally tie in all of the various story lines together. I hope things change, because if they do not, a once great show will be history.

So go out and tell your friends to tune in!!

Problem that arose in season 2 is many fans just don't get it.
It's an intelligent saga and requires development.
This is the reason for so many story lines at once, new characters introduced each season, and 'confusing' timelines.
(Really, do a own string theory web and figure it out if you think the times were off in this episode.)
Let's just sit back and enjoy the story!

Here's the deal: it's struggling, but so is everything else. Shows across the board are feeling a slump, and Heroes still clocks in major numbers for NBC. I'd love to see Heroes with better numbers, but it's not on the verge of cancellation either.

What you are posting is called the Fast National, which is the electronic data only, not the final rating for the episode. Not all Nielsen families are given boxes, website surveys and mail-ins are also used so the data isn't just relying on the box. It will be a week or so before Nielsen gives it a final, which is the official rating, so, your live viewing number is going to go up.

Part of the reason NBC has developed its own rating system--TAMI, which Heroes leads--is because other methods are starting to matter; they're shoving commercials into the stuff now and people are paying for the episodes on iTunes more and more; it was No. 9 this week. Nielsen itself recently acquired a web-centric ratings company because of the trends in downloading and streaming videos, but they're not set up for that yet.

First of all, anybody who knows anything about television knows that the current ratings system is an outdated, inaccurate mechanism that has not adapted to the age of the internet, DVR, and DVD, among other things. The existing system of using this model to drive advertising revenue is archaic at best, and is heavily criticized across the board by network execs, show producers, advertisers, and viewers like us.

Yes, a dip in the ratings is a point of concern - to a certain degree. But it is important to remember that it isn't only which network wins the night or the specific timeslot that matters. Equally important, or possibly more so, are the ratings within the network. As long as Heroes continues to perform strongly compared to other NBC programming, the show will continue to be renewed for future seasons.

Now, all of this aside, we as viewers, so-called 'fans' of the show, need to get an effing grip and stop stirring up trouble. It is one thing to discuss the show and questionable plot decisions and the like, and another thing to bash the production staff, make sweeping judgements about the show's quality and direction, and spew toxic negativity in fan forums. It detracts from others' enjoyment of the show, and spreads like an infectious disease. Either get over it and chill out and let yourself be entertained for an hour a week, or change the channel and check out some of your alternatives. I hear Dancing With the Stars is pulling in some huge numbers, so I guess that means it must be good.

So you're allowed to judge other people for having a different reaction to the show than the one you yourself have?

Us 'so-called 'fans" of the show who think that things are turning to s*** pretty fast are just as much entitled to express our views as you are, so maybe stop whining like a little girl and deal with the fact that the show is loosing popularity fast, the ratings are going to continue to fall. If the show doesn't wrap up by Volume 4 there is a very real chance that it never will.

Oh and as far as your idea of "toxic negativity" is concerned, it's not just the fanforum types that are doing it, it's a general drop in interest in the show (Re: the ratings) and some of us that have heavily invested in the series just don't like to see s*** writing and a major lack of consideration for their own integrity as artists affect what has the potential to be a far better show than it currently is.

If you're so small that you can't enjoy the show while others loose interest, what does that say about you? You might want to look into growing a pair.

Going up against Monday Night Football -- Not smart.

I bet some Heroes fans are reacting to the fact that two writers were recently let go by NBC. I sure hope this isn't a sign that Heroes is jumping the shark.

They weren't let go, they chose to leave the project and the latest announcement was just NBC letting them leave legally.

yeah, true to all of that, but it doesn't matter. If all the shows are doing worse they'll get canceled.
So will heroes if the ratings don't improve. idk what else to do, the only logical thing to do would be to
move it to another night. Maybe Wednesdays? Theres like no good shows on, Americas next top model on the CW.
It'll annihilate it.

Does anybody know of ratings from other places such as the UK?

Pardon me, but I don't see how lobbing personal attacks that border on inflamatory sexism is warranted. Nor does it lend any credibility to your apparent stance in the ratings debate.

I am more than happy to engage in a respectful discussion about the central point of my original post. To be sure that my point is clear, here again is the abridged version:

Yes, ratings are down, and no, that isn't the best news. However, the ratings system itself is a flawed and outdated model that no longer accurately reflects a show's popularity - and it certainly is not effective at measuring a show's quality (see Dancing With the Stars, et al). That said, if we do look at traditional ratings as a way to predict the future of a show, we have to look at it from all angles, not just the most obvious network-to-network comparison.

Your response?

Firstly, "grow a pair" is a metaphor, a loose and obviously non literal link between testicles and courage, playing the sexism card just illustrates my point that you need to harden up.

Secondly, you clearly suggest that critics of the show's current display of inconsistent and unprofessional writing "need to get an effing grip and stop stirring up trouble" where maybe it is you that need to get a grip and realize that criticism, even "bashing" as you refer to it, is far more constructive than ignoring the fact that the writers seem not to care enough about their own work to make sure that these stupid and avoidable errors do not make it into the final show. As a writer and musician myself, and as anyone else who is in any artistic field will tell you, these sort of errors scream out that the writers just don't care about their art form and the fans who have invested so much time into it, they must severely lack passion for their work and the project they are involved in. Go and find any show out there with so many blatant flaws, i bet they are few and far between.

guys stop fighting iight? Or "having a heated conversation" lol.
We all want the best for our show, so lets just leave it at that.