'Merlin' outcasts 'Impact' in lackluster debuts

NBC's "Merlin" seemingly edged out ABC's "Impact" in the battle of low-cost summer event programming, yet repeats of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" beat both.

The two-hour premiere of the UK import "Merlin" (5.3 million viewers, 1.5 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) placed second in its time period starting at 8 p.m. "Merlin" ratings could shift as NBC's live coverage of the U.S. Open is impacting the numbers, though it's clear that "Merlin" beat "Impact" during their head-to-head hour.

At 9 p.m., ABC's German import "Impact" (4.8 million, 1.2) performed poorly with a plot that can be summarized by the words "moon attack." "Impact" did gather some slight ratings gain along the way, though. Fox won the night with cartoon repeats.