'Prison Break' return disappoints

Maybe Fox should renew Dollhouse after all.

Despite significant promotion, Prison Break returned Friday night and received a disappointingly low rating.

The launch of the veteran Fox drama's final episodes was seen by 3.4 million viewers and drew a 1.2 preliminary adults 18-49 rating.

That's below the time period average of Dollhouse (-25%) in same hour and comes despite usual night-leader CBS airing repeats.

The performance helps reiterate how tough this time period is for male-friendly action dramas. An encore of Break warmed up the night.

The comparitive weakness of Break isn't necessarily good news for Dollhouse fans, however. Break will shift to 8 p.m. and serve as the Dollhouse lead-in next week, and Joss Whedon's drama could use a push.