• by Wayne Friedman , September 24, 2008

First blood of the new TV season, which started officially on Monday night, went to CBS in a close race with ABC, as many network shows debuted.

CBS' big highlight was "Two and a Half Men," tying ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" at a 5.3 rating/12 among 18-49 viewers for the best-rated show of the night--a nice 13% rise over last year's season debut. Better still, "How I Met Your Mother" was also up a bit, with a 25% hike to a 4.0/10 debut over last season's opening effort.

CBS was pretty even throughout the night. Its "CSI: Miami" even got the best of NBC's big "Heroes" at 10 p.m., winning that time period race with a 5.1/12 to a 4.9/12. The network's new comedy "Worst Week" performed decently with a 3.8 rating/9 share in its debut at 9:30 p.m.

ABC's two-hour special "Stars" helped the network to a second-place Monday night win. But "Boston Legal" at 10 p.m. couldn't keep pace, losing more than half of the "Stars" 5.3 rating to land at a 2.6/6.

CBS had a 4.5/11 share among 18-49 viewers for the night, and ABC was right behind at a 4.4/11.

NBC also loaded up for the season opener with its big show "Heroes." First, it launched a one-hour clip show at 8 p.m., which took in a 2.6/7; then a two-hour premiere, which averaged a 5.0/11 at 9 p.m. and a 4.9/12 at 10 p.m. All this gave NBC a competitive--but not top--4.2/10 on the night, coming in right behind ABC.

The troubling news? "Heroes" was 25% off its one-hour premiere of a year ago, with a 6.5 rating.

CW has answered its first big real question of the season. How would "Gossip Girl" fare against fresh episodes of its competitors? Pretty well. "Gossip Girl" earned a 1.6/4 among 18-49 viewers and 2.5/7 among its key 18-34 viewers, which the network says is the show's second-best results ever--as well as second-best-ever results against more specific young female demos.

Those younger viewers on Monday night, 18-34, all went to NBC because of "Heroes." It dominated with a 4.6/12. ABC was next at a 3.0/8, then CBS at a 2.9/8. CW tied Fox with a 2.3/6. Then came Univision at a 2.0/5.

While most networks could claim some victory on the night, Fox might still be looking for a good story to tell. "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles" earned a still weak 2.3/6--although it was up from the week before. "Prison Break" did a bit better at a 2.5/6. It left Fox with a 2.4/6 on the night, a distant fourth place.