Sarah Palin's documentary / travelogue / reality / biopic shattered TLC ratings records Sunday night.  

The debut of Sarah Palin's Alaska delivered a whopping 5 million viewers.

The first episode of the eight-part series was the most-watched program launch in TLC's history.

Some are calling the series a 2012 campaign ad, while producer Mark Burnett has defended the show as "completely non political."

Tim Goodman's THR review said both Palin's fans and critics will find what they're looking for in the show.

TLC has hit bigger numbers over the years for non-premiere episodes, with Jon & Kate Plus Eight pulling about 10 million for one episode during the peak of its tabloid headlines.