• by Wayne Friedman , March 19, 2008

TV consumers have started coming back to network TV--for laughs.

CBS' comedies returned to nice ratings Monday, most hit season highs. CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" at 8 p.m. scored a nice Nielsen preliminary 3.7/11 rating among 18-49 viewers, which was 22% higher than its average share numbers of last fall.

In its new 9 p.m. time slot, CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" hit a season high with a 4.3/11. "Two and a Half Men" grabbed a 5.4/13 and "The New Adventures of Old Christine" took a 4.3/11. Both shows earned their best numbers of the season.

But all CBS' efforts could not best ABC's usually top-rated dance competition show "Dancing with the Stars," which grabbed a 5.5/15 for its 90-minute debut. One downside: the "Dancing" debut was down 14% versus last spring's, but almost identical with the show's fall season debut in September 2007.

NBC trailed both CBS and ABC, thanks to a low-rated reality show debut "My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad," which posted a 1.5/4. After that, the network's "Deal or No Deal" tried to pick up the pieces with a 2.9/7.

Despite decent reviews, Fox's "Canterbury's Law" failed to grab any meaningful audiences in its second week, only getting to a 1.7/5. "New Amsterdam" did a bit better with a 2.3/6 in 18-49 viewers.

Averages for the night put ABC on top with a 4.4/12. CBS, was next, at 3.9/10; NBC, 2.5/7; Univision, 1.5/4; and CW, 0.7/2.