Atlantis leads August 26 ratings

Stargate Atlantis surged ahead in the ratings race to take the crown for The SCI FI Channel on Friday, August 26. In a summer season where all three original shows have had their turn as the cable network’s number-one series, Atlantis‘s “Instinct” drew the highest numbers of the night with a 2.2 average household rating.

Stargate SG-1‘s “Ex Deus Machina” earned a 1.9 rating in the 8 p.m. time slot, staying even with the previous week’s episode.

Atlantis‘s 2.2 rating built significantly on the lead-in, with “Instinct” up 16 percent (0.3 points) from the previous week.

Battlestar Galactica held most of Atlantis‘s audience at 10 p.m., with “Home, Part 2” earning a 2.1 rating — even with the previous week’s “Part 1.”

The three original series’ late-night reruns fell slightly from last week, earning a 1.2 (SG-1), 0.8 (Atlantis) and 0.6 (Galactica).

SCI FI also aired the sixth episode of Firefly at 7 p.m. “Safe” earned a 1.1 rating, down one-tenth of a point from the previous week.

After a Stargate SG-1 marathon this week (due to the Labor Day weekend), new episodes continue on Friday, September 9, leading up to the cliffhanger mid-season finales on September 16 (SG-1) and September 23 (Atlantis and Galactica)!