• by Wayne Friedman , October 11, 2007

Second-week episodes of new shows are nail-biting times. It's not a question of whether a new show will drop--it's a question of how much.

The verdict on ABC's new "Cavemen" is in: More than a 20% steep decline in ratings to a 2.5 rating from a 3.3 the week before. (These numbers are Nielsen preliminary live-plus-same-day program ratings.) ABC's other comedy "Carpoolers" drifted along the same lane--but the decline was as great--down 18% to a 2.8 from a 3.4 the week before.

Other news shows witnessed some of the same action: CBS's "Cane" was sent down again off its sugar rush to a 2.3 rating, its lowest number in three weeks. The better news for CBS came at the beginning of the night: "NCIS" took in a healthy 3.4/10.

On the more positive side of the ledger, Fox moved up with powerhouse "House" to a night-leading 7.3 rating from a 7.1 number the week before. NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" was also up to a 4.9 number, dominating its 10 p.m. time period. ABC's "Boston Legal" was a distant second with a 2.8 rating.

Higher ratings for some dramas may do well to disprove some analysts who say that viewers are time-shifting dramas to watch at another time. (There has been a decline in ratings of some dramas off their season premieres.) Still, others may note that "House" or "SVU" numbers may actually be higher--once all the DVR playback data is accounted for.

CW had a pretty good night of it. Its "Beauty and the Geek" took in a 1.5 rating up by 10% in this and other demos versus the week before. "Reaper," its new show, took in a nearly equal 1.3 number--although it dropped slightly from the week before. CW had a 1.4 rating/4 share for the night, tying Univision.

Fox led the night among all networks--a 5.2 rating/14 share. NBC was next at a 3.3/9, followed by ABC at 3.2/9, and CBS at 2.9/8.