In spite of all the disruptions in TV schedules created by the heinous attack on the U.S., two of the most important television properties for pop culture retailers have done very well in their initial broadcasts.  Unlike the wretched, debasing, and utterly imbecilic reality shows, which appear to be fading in the ratings, both Enterprise, the latest Star Trek series, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer began their seasons strongly.  This is good news indeed for pop culture retailers since both Star Trek  (see 'Star Trek Soldiers On') and Buffy (see 'Buffy Flees the Frog') had some major questions to answer: was there any life left in the venerable Star Trek franchise, and could Buffy overcome the move to a new network?  Fortunately the answer to both questions is a resounding---yes!

The first episode of Enterprise did very well, as might be expected for an offshoot of one of the most popular science fiction franchises of all time.  A good portion of the fans for all the previous Star Trek series could be expected to tune in for at least one week to check out the new show, but would they come back?  The second episode did indeed fall off from the first, but the drop was considerably less severe than the one experienced by the previous Star Trek series, Voyager, which saw its second episode ratings drop off some 33% from the first.  According to Variety, Enterprise's second episode was only down 26% (in the face of much stronger competition).  The show still earned a 4.6 rating and a 13 share, attracting an estimated audience of 9.18 million.  This is a very strong showing for a program on UPN, a network which still does not have full nationwide coverage. Enterprise attracted more male viewers than any show on prime time last Wednesday, which bodes well for the property's continuing success in pop culture stores. It is still early, but retailers should keep an eye on Enterprise.  If it continues to perform like this, it could revive the Star Trek franchise in a major way -- and there is no lack of Star Trek merchandise available, including comics from DC and new action figures from Palisades (see 'Palisades Releases Images of New Star Trek Action Figures').

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's initial appearance on UPN was also an unmitigated success.  With a rating of 3.8 the show grabbed the largest Tuesday night audience ever for UPN, pulling in an estimated 7.65 million viewers.  Buffy did even better among the coveted 18-34 demographic, pulling a 4.8 rating and a 14 share.  This means that Buffy is much more popular with younger audiences, which explains why the property performs so well in pop culture stores.   With a new Buffy CCG game from Score, trading cards from Inkworks, comics from Dark Horse, and action figures from Moore Action Collectibles there are lots of reasons to be thankful that Buffy has survived the transition from the Frog to UPN without a glitch.