Terra Nova proved a roaring success with its debut on Sky1 on Monday evening, while Doc Martin again helped ITV1 dominate primetime, according to overnight data.
Terra Nova, the Steven Spielberg series about an ordinary family who journey back to prehistoric Earth to save the human race, launched with 962k (3.9%) in the 8pm hour. However, a second episode* dropped to 722k (2.9%) from 9pm.
Doc Martin averaged a healthy 8.52m (34.2%) for ITV1 in the 9pm hour and 260k (1.5%) on +1, easily outperforming Motorway Cops's 2.87m (11.6%) on BBC One.
Bang Goes The Theory deduced 3.14m (14.2%) on BBC One from 7.30pm and Little England had 2.93m (12.1%) on ITV1 from 8pm. Panorama mustered 2.57m (10.4%) on BBC One from 8.30pm. A Question Sport fetched 2.39m (17.1%) from 10.45pm, while Exposure: The Factory was seen by 840k (6.8%) on ITV1.
Dispatches averaged 1.26m (5.2%) for Channel 4 from 8pm, and Embarrassing Bodies educated 1.73m (7%) in the 9pm slot and 452k (2.5%) on Channel 4+1. Rude Tube amused 1.26m (7.3%) from 10pm and 311k (3.5%) on timeshift.
Coast enthralled 1.53m (7.2%) on BBC Two in the 7pm hour. University Challenge and Home Cooking Made Easy captivated 2.83m (11.7%) and 2.11m (8.5%) respectively in the 8pm hour. Dragons' Den had 2.25m (9.1%) from 9pm and Have I Got Old News For You amused 1.41m (7.3%) from 10pm.
Channel 5's Celebrity Wish List captivated 209k (0.9%) from 7.30pm, and The Gadget Show switched on 973k (4%) in the 8pm slot. The new series of The Hotel Inspector booked in 1.04m (4.1%) from 9pm. Big Brother appealed to 1.3m (7.5%) in the 10pm hour, before Big Brother's Bit On The Side entertained 549k (6.2%) from 11pm.
Overall, ITV1 dominated primetime with 27.4% (+1: 0.5%) against BBC One's 17.5%. BBC Two scooped third with 8.3%, followed by Channel 4's 5.6% (+1: 0.8%) and Channel 5's 4%.
Elsewhere, Hell's Kitchen USA continued with 434k (1.7%) on ITV2 from 9pm. Victoria Coren's Only Connect quizzed 718k (2.9%) on BBC Four from 8.30pm and The Truth About Child Brides captivated 462k (1.9%) on BBC three from 9pm.
*The first two episodes of Terra Nova were shown as a single feature length episode on Fox Network last week. The sole purpose of the show seemed to be to fill the gaps between commercial breaks and forthcoming programme announcements.
