• by Wayne Friedman , January 25, 2008

This is just what the writers union didn't want to hear: A new monster TV show has arrived--one that doesn't need writers.

Fox's new reality show "The Moment of Truth," where one member of a couple reveals something provocative or embarrassing, rocketed to a Nielsen preliminary 10.2 rating/24 share among 18-49 viewers. "Truth" did have the benefit of its 9 p.m. time slot, following "American Idol," which clocked its usual double-digit ratings at a 10.8/28.

While it's uncertain whether "Truth" can keep up the pace, the show retained 94% of "Idol"'s number, the largest ever for a show following Fox's perennial heavyweight show.

Previously, Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" notched an 11.2 in its debut in February 2007, also getting a big lead-in from "Idol." But the show didn't retain as much of the "Idol" audience as "Truth."

"Truth" tops Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" as the best new show debut of the season. "Connor" had a 7.6 rating, following a high-rated NFL playoff game. Up until then, the best new show was the debut of NBC's "American Gladiators," at 5.9.

With an image of how prime-time schedules might look in the coming weeks, all networks ran reality shows at 8 p.m. "Idol" did its usual dominating dance to lead. It was followed by NBC's "Deal or No Deal," which chimed in with a solid 3.7/10. "Deal" dwarfed other competitors: ABC's "Wife Swap" took a 1.9/5; CBS' "Power of 10" went smaller with a 0.9/2; and CW's "Crowned" took a 0.7/2.

After Fox's Wednesday night-leading average of 10.5/26, CBS was a distant second, with a 2.5/6. CBS ran two original episodes, "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY," which earned a 3.2/8 and a 3.3/9, at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.

ABC was next: At 9 p.m., "Supernanny" had a 2.7/6 and "Cashmere Mafia" earned a 2.0/5. ABC had a 2.2/6 for the night.

Univision had a 1.8/4 and CW, a 0.6/1.