There has been some talk that "Enterprise" has been slipping in the overnight ratings as of late, but the UPN show seems to be faring a lot more than Joss Whedon's answer to Star Trek -- which had a mediocre start Friday night.

"Firefly," the new science fiction series put together by the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," pulled in a 4.1 rating/8 share in the Nielsen Overnight Metered Market Ratings, helping it to finish dead last on Fox for the 8 p.m. hour, tying an NBC repeat of "Providence." That finish is actually lower than the UPN second season premiere of "Enterprise," which grabbed a 4.9/8 on Wednesday. "Firefly" was beaten by "48 Hours" on CBS (5.4/10) and "America's Funniest Home Videos: The Battle of the Best" on ABC (4.8/9).

The other Fox series to debut, "John Doe," did much better, grabbing a 6.0/11 and winning the 9 p.m. hour for the network.

Both shows did finish strong on a key demographic audience. Fox topped 18- to 49-year-olds with a 3.6, clobbering ABC (2.5), NBC (2.3) and CBS (1.8).

For the night, Fox finished last with a 5.0/9. It was beaten by NBC (5.3/10), ABC (5.10/10) and CBS (5.1/9).