• by Wayne Friedman , November 16, 2012

CBS picked up the pace on a key November Thursday night, winning the night with every one of its shows.

The network's Nielsen preliminary average on the night was a 3.4/10 among 18-49 viewers, highlighted by its top-rated "Big Bang Theory" at 8 p.m., followed by "Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 p.m. "Bang" numbers grew to a Nielsen preliminary 5.5/17, up from a 5.1. "Men" inched up to a 4.1/12, up from a 4.0 rating. Both were the top two shows on Thursday night.

"Person of Interest" at 9 p.m. scored a 3.1/8, up from a 2.9 rating; "Elementary" at 10 p.m. continued to win the always-tough, time-shifted 10 p.m. time period -- this time at a 2.3/7, up from a 2.2 rating.

Fox and ABC vied for a distant second place -- both at a 2.2/6 Thursday night average.

ABC shows were generally down on the night -- "Last Resort" was at a 1.3/4, down one-tenth of a rating point. "Grey's Anatomy" -- its best-rated show -- slipped two-tenths to a 3.1/8. Only "Scandal" at 10 p.m. grew slightly, to a 2.1/6.

Fox's "The X Factor" grew one-tenth of a rating point -- a 2.4/7 -- while "Glee" was down nearly 15% to a 2.1/5.

Univision was next on the night, averaging a 1.9/5. NBC followed with a 1.4/4, and CW took a 0.9/3.

NBC's comedies mostly stayed the same -- except for its top Thursday show "The Office," which sank nearly 20% to a 2.0/5. The show had a big lead-on from "The Voice" a week ago.

CW's two Thursday dramas lost ground. Its big show "The Vampire Diaries" sank 20% to a 1.2/4 among 18-49 viewers, while "Beauty And The Beast" lost one-tenth of a rating point to a 0.6/1.

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