AirLockAlpha.com

Fans may have been upset with how the second season of "Heroes" played out on NBC, but compared to other genre shows for the first 10 weeks of the season, it was still watched more than any other show.

"Heroes" earned an average of a 6.6 rating/10 share, based on Fast National ratings from Nielsen Media Research, and crunched by Airlock Alpha. That finished ahead of the 6.3/10 average "Pushing Daisies" received over its first 10 weeks.

The average for "Heroes" remained a ratings point and a half below its second season premiere, which was an 8.1/12 on Week 1 of the season. "Pushing Daisies" had premiered a week later, picking up a higher 8.3/14. However, its average is now two ratings point off from its series high, mostly in part to an uncharacteristic 4.7/8 clocked in the 10th week (that would later rebound in the 11th and 12th weeks, which were not included in this average).

"Bionic Woman" might be in ratings trouble right now, but the first 10 weeks gave it enough viewers to finish third among genre shows with a 5.5/9 average, enough some would say to keep the show on the air. But then again, these statistics don't include later weeks where the show continued to stumble in the ratings. "Bionic Woman" had the highest opening of any show new or old in the season with an 8.4/13 in Week 1, but its average number is nearly 3 points off that total, and its most recent ratings have been less than half of the original audience that tuned in for its premiere.

"Moonlight" was probably the biggest surprise of the season, finishing in fourth place with a 5.1/9, incredibly just a little more than half a ratings point off its series premiere of 5.8/11. Only "Smallville" and "Supernatual" on The CW have been able to retain that much of its premiere audience. "Moonlight's" lowest rating in the first 10 weeks was just a little more than one ratings point off its premiere. While the show is still not pulling in the numbers that its companion shows are for CBS Friday night, it does seem like "Moonlight" will be around for a while.

"Chuck" was another surprise, this time for NBC ... one of the few highlights on what turned out to be an extremely weak schedule for the network. The spy spoof that includes former "Battlestar Galactica" writer Anne Cofell Saunders among the writing team, averaged a 4.8/7 over the first 10 weeks, down 1.2 ratings points from its series premiere.

"Journeyman" averaged half a ratings point less despite having "Heroes" as a lead-in, and has already been cancelled by NBC.

"Smallville" and "Supernatural" continue to hold strong for The CW, averaging a 2.9/5 and 1.9/3 respectively for the first 10 weeks. "Supernatural" should be a bit concerned, however, as its losing a third of "Smallville's" lead-in audience, not the kind of retention networks typically want to see.

Overall, there's no doubt that "Heroes" and "Pushing Daisies" will earn pickups in the coming weeks if not renewals (all turned upside down by the Writers Guild of America strike), and "Moonlight" and "Chuck" also are expected to see longer lives.

It's not clear what NBC is going to do with "Bionic Woman" just yet, but even though it averaged somewhat decent over the first 10 weeks, it was a couple airings after that where the ratings are trending downward that are going to have a negative effect o the future of the series. But there is a chance that NBC may keep the show around for a little longer after the strike, to see if they can rebound the series and give it a chance.

Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that includes both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.