'Cavemen' nets strong ratings despite poor reviews

By Stone Martindale Oct 10, 2007, 15:54 GMT

The GEICO Caveman arrives for the 17th annual Night of 100 Stars Gala celebrating the 79th Annual Academy Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California Sunday 25 February 2007. EPA/JOSHUA GATES WEISBERG

Even after being given poor critical reviews, ABC's new comedy series, "Cavemen" earned solid numbers with its October 2 series premiere. 

The show may have only drawn 9.2 million viewers, but it won its 8pm timeslot among men between the ages of 18 to 49, as well as men 18 to 34.

ABC noted that Cavemen attracted the network's largest number of 18 to 34-year-old male viewers in the timeslot in almost two years.

Among total viewers, the show placed second in the hour, trailing behind the CBS drama, "NCIS", which raked in 16.4 million viewers.

It beat NBC's "The Singing Bee," FOX's "Bones" and The CW's "Beauty and the Geek."

While the numbers seem encouraging, some attribute it to the huge promotional blitz that surrounded the series prior to its premiere. 

"Cavemen's" premise was distilled out of the popular string of Geico insurance advertisements. 

The show revolves around three friends, who happen to be cavemen living in modern-day San Diego.  They spend their days trying to lead normal lives navigating vexing discrimination.

The cast includes Bill English, Sam Huntington, Nick Kroll, Stephanie Lemelin, Julie White and Kaitlin Doubleday.

The pilot was reshot and will air later in the season to allow the program to better introduce its characters.

"It wasn't about covering up bad mistakes," co-director/producer Will Speck said of the switch, as told to USA Today.  "We needed to step back and let the concept and characters' back story unfold."

Speck is also aware of the heat the show has been taking from critics, as is English, who has expressed shock over all the negativity surrounding the series.

"I was amazed how seriously people took it," English told USA Today.  "This is a comedy. It's not a documentary.  We're not trying to change the world."

Speck is hoping viewers will remain open-minded.  “Just watch it," he said.  "We hope it's funny enough for a lot of people.  But if you want to hate it, hate it."

Cavemen airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on ABC.