• by Wayne Friedman , March 8, 2007

There's more to idolize in Fox's house.

Fox's tag team of "American Idol" and "House" again crushed all comers on Tuesday. With most of the networks in rerun mode, the only other bit of interesting news was that CW's new "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll"--which looks like a spinoff of "America's Next Top Model" at times--had a good first night.

"Idol" grabbed a 10.9/29 and "House" took in an almost equally strong 9.6/24. All put Fox into a big number of 10.3/27, grabbing more ratings points than the rest of the networks combined.

Still, "Idol" was down a bit compared to the same night a year ago. "House," already a strong performer, improved 15% in ratings versus a year ago.

Most of the networks went into hiding --their usual stance with "Idol" in the way. But CW saw opportunity, especially against its key young female audience. CW's "Pussycat Dolls" matched or set time slot records, including adults 18-34 with a 2.0/6. The show was second to "House" with young adults 12-34, earning a 2.2/6--and young females 12-34, with a 3.4/9.

CW started the night with its still healthy "Gilmore Girls," which got a 2.0/5 in 18-49 viewers. "Pussycat Dolls" took in a good 1.7/4 in 18-49.

Overall, CW came in fourth for the evening, with a 1.9/5--just edging out ABC with a 1.8/5. ABC's best for a magazine show, "Primetime: The Outsiders," posted a 2.2/6.

This left NBC and CBS vying for that distant No. 2 spot to Fox. NBC grabbed a 2.3/6, with its best--a repeat of "Law & Order: SVU" getting a 2.8/8. CBS took in a 2.2/6 for the night, and its top show was a rerun of "NCIS" with a 2.6/7.