Despite featuring the can't-miss combination of Steven Spielberg (as an executive producer) and dinosaurs (as, well, dinosaurs), Fox's massively expensive new series Terra Nova struggled when it debuted last week. But unlike the usual trend for new shows, which can tumble precipitously after just one bad week, Terra Nova actually managed to dust itself off and improve in its second week. Deadline has the numbers from last night, and Terra Nova managed to improve from a 3.0 rating to a 3.1 this week, which is apparently the best retention from week 1 to week 2 for any new series this fall.
Fox seemed likely to hang on to the show anyway, given the big name involved and the massive investment in creating those dinosaurs to begin with, but this is a strong sign for a show that was struggling to find an audience in a season when all anybody seemed to want to watch was comedies. And speaking of those, the CBS Monday night comedy block-- always the dominant force of the night-- was still doing just fine, though Two and a Half Men declined for yet another week, with all the novelty of Ashton Kutcher's role on the show finally wearing off. Two and a Half Men is still a gigantic hit, but anyone hoping that Kutcher replacing Charlie Sheen would suddenly make the show culturally relevant again is probably going to have to admit that won't happen.
For now, though, we'll be keeping our eye on Terra Nova, which in a season when shows like Person of Interest are tanking, could be the last hope for people interested in sci-fi, mysteries, or anything other than sitcoms, apparently.
