CBS' new drama "Under The Dome" has notched up impressive ratings on its debut on Monday. According to E! News, the show drew 13.1 million viewers for its first episode and got a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49. For a debut in the summer, those are considered to be pretty good numbers.
Based on a novel by Stephen King, "Under the Dome" falls in the science fiction/horror genre. The plot of the show revolves around a small town that is cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious transparent dome.
When asked if he was nervous about "Under The Dome" premiering in the summer, executive producer Brian K. Vaughan (who also wrote the pilot) told Huffington Post that it was quite the opposite. "It doesn't scare me at all. It's exciting," he said. "And I know with [a deal CBS cut with Amazon.com], episodes are going to be available online [starting] four days after they air. I think all you can do is make a good show and hope that the things work out."
Reviews of the pilot episode have been more than encouraging. "I'm not going to call 'Under the Dome' excellent or anything, but I sure enjoyed watching the premiere for what it was. I'm a sucker for domes, I guess, and all that comes with them," wrote Tim Surette on TV.com. "From the pilot, it appears the show knows exactly what it wants to be: a forward-moving, no-nonsense drama about a town imprisoned by a magical barrier. So far, so good."
"The first episode is the easy one. It sets Mr. King's dandy premise - the small town of Chester's Mill is sealed off from the rest of the world by a mysterious clear dome - and does so with one cool special-effects flourish after another. The real test of this series will be whether it can sustain interest as Chester's Mill gets past the initial shock and confusion and settles into its new normal," opined Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times.
"'Under the Dome' feels like summer, in the best possible way," proclaimed Tim Molloy on The Wrap.
