Not just shit marketing. The Fox executive in charge of it hated Sci Fi. They kept moving around it a time slot and quickly put it into the Friday night death slot. Where it lived longer than most shows before being cancelled. They also aired the episodes out of order and with the Pilot episode last, after it was cancelled.

So it started with absolutely no character introduction and with absolutely everything stacked against it, and it still almost made it by the sheer will of the fanbase.