CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- In a month full of records for the network, the premiere of Sci Fi Channel's "Tremors: The Series" set one of its own with its two-hour premiere on Friday night.

The series' back-to-back episode debut on March 28 averaged a 1.8 rating (2,429,000 viewers), increasing its audience from a 1.6 rating (2,224,000 viewers) in its first hour to a 2.0 rating (2,634,000 viewers) in its second. That 10:00/9:00c performance marks the most watched episode of any series on Sci Fi this quarter (which includes "Stargate SG-1," "Farscape" and "Tracker"), and the best performance for any program at 10:00/9:00c on Friday in the history of the network. It was also 67% above the time period average for the quarter (1.2 rating).

In total the series' four airings (including the two encores) on March 28 drew an aggregate audience of 7,166,000 viewers.

Also adding to the record books was Sci Fi's original movie "Riverworld" which drew a 2.2 rating (2,735,000 viewers) on March 22 making it the most-watched original movie the channel has ever aired on a Saturday night, exceeding the time period average for the quarter by 86%.

Combined with the last two parts of "Children of Dune" (which averaged a 2.4 in households), the movie helped Sci Fi Channel deliver its best 1Q week ever, with a 1.34 household rating (March 17-23).

More importantly, such a stellar close to the first quarter also helped Sci Fi end the quarter with a record 1.0 average rating in primetime, up an astonishing 33% from last year. It also helped Sci Fi extend its 11-month streak of building on year-to-year averages, the longest by any network, broadcast or cable.