• by Wayne Friedman , March 2, 2011

Fox's "American Idol" was the strong story early Tuesday evening -- but it was a special ABC "20/20" with Charlie Sheen that was an eye-opener.

The 10 p.m. news show featuring the outspoken and controversial actor of "Two and a Half Men" provided more food for TV consumers' appetite, grabbing a big Nielsen preliminary 3.2 rating/9 share among 18-49 viewers and easily winning the time period -- scoring much higher than the "Detroit 1-8-7" numbers of recent weeks.

Other 10 p.m. shows that usually vie for the top spot on Tuesday night could only take a back seat -- CBS' "The Good Wife" was at a 2.2/6 (although up 10% from the week before) and NBC's "Parenthood" posted a 2.0/6 (down about 10% from the week before.)

Fox shifted this "Idol" performance episode to a Tuesday episode from its Wednesday night spot. It took in a 7.5/21, which disrupted CBS' "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" usual strong performances. "NCIS" was down to a 3.8/11 and "NCIS: Los Angeles" sank to a 3.3/8 -- both down around 15% from a week ago.

While "Idol" was down 5% from last Wednesday's show, the special hour-and-a-half show provided some big-time rocket fuel to its new 9:30 p.m. comedy "Raising Hope," which soared 40% over its recent original episode to a 3.4/9.

NBC's "The Biggest Loser: Couples" also suffered in the wake of "Idol" -- down to a 2.4/7. ABC's "No Ordinary Family" and "V" also dropped to a 1.2/4 and a 1.8/5, respectively, versus the week before.

The CW's "One Tree Hill" and "Hellcats" continued to be uninspiring, with a combined 0.7/2 among 18-49 viewers.

For the night, Fox was at a 6.5/18; CBS scored a 3.1/9; NBC earned a 2.3/6; and ABC took a 2.1/6.