I'm not a huge fan of what I've seen so far of this series, but it doesn't deserve those figures. Maybe people aren't interested in getting involved with another long-running TV mystery, unaware it has a finite lifespan of thirteen hours? I wonder if it would have done better if NBC had marketed it as a miniseries? Also, I'm surprised by how many sci-fi fans I know who have no idea it's even on, so clearly NBC's marketing didn't find the show's natural audience.
Anyway, of the 1.4m who did tune into episode 1, they appear to be jumping ship it at an alarming rate every week, so the show is clearly not appealing to many people. I have to agree it's fallen way below my expectations given Christopher McQuarrie's involvement. I'm actually now relieved we never got to see McQuarrie's movie update of The Prisoner, if this show is effectively all his unused ideas snowballed into a project that doesn't tread on intellectual property.
I wonder if Persons Unknown will be left to reach its finale on Saturday, or if NBC will take the drastic step of cutting their losses if ratings worsen, forcing the fans it has to buy the DVD on 31 August just to see the remainder? I sincerely hope not.
