• by Wayne Friedman , January 4, 2008

Sure, the legendary NBC show "Law & Order" debuted last night for its 18th season. But don't overlook ABC's "Supernanny."

On the night back from the holidays, much was made about the return of "Law & Order" on NBC--as it earned a nice 3.8 rating/10 share among 18-49 viewers for its two-hour debut from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

But ABC's somewhat lower-profile reality show "Supernanny" surprised in its two-hour premiere--matching "Law & Order" with a 3.8 rating/ 10 share over the same time period. The steady feel-good reality show also won the 10 p.m. time slot, moving to a 4.0/11. Overall, this helped ABC to a second-place 3.7/10 share for the night.

Fox took top honors on the night with its Fiesta Bowl game between West Virginia and Oklahoma, which earned a 4.4/11. Fox was first for the night among 18-49 viewers, with a 4.1 rating/11 share.

The good news for "Law & Order" was that its numbers were 6% higher than the 3.6 number a year ago. It helped NBC grab a 3.6/9 for the night. The network's "Deal or No Deal" also contributed, with a 3.4/9.

CBS more or less sat out the night--just starting one fresh episode from the debut of a new reality show, "The Power of 10," which earned a weak 1.7/4. CBS also went with repeats of "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: New York," earning a 1.9/5 for the night.

Univision was fifth at 1.5/4, and CW came in sixth at 0.9/2.