Fox wins week with quick baseball action

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - A four-and-out World Series carried Fox to a second consecutive primetime weekly victory, according to Nielsen Media Research data issued Tuesday.

If the Boston Red Sox's dismantling of the Colorado Rockies didn't spill into a second week to boost Fox's fortunes, it did give Fox a rare early season win. Meanwhile, ABC's "Samantha Who?" rocked for another week, and Fox's "House" topped ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" as the top-rated drama, said Tuesday.

Last Monday, ABC danced up a storm with "Dancing With the Stars" (21.4 million, 5.5 rating/13 share), followed by "Samantha" (13.7 million, 4.5/10), beating CBS for the nightly win. CBS did take 10 p.m. with "CSI: Miami" (15.7 million, 4.6/12), ahead of ABC's "The Bachelor" (8.9 million, 3.3/8) and NBC's new drama "Journeyman" (6.1 million, 2.4/6).

On Tuesday, a day before the World Series started, Fox got a head start for the eventual primetime victory thanks to "House" (18.1 million, 7.6/18), which came out ahead of "Dancing" (18.1 million, 4.5/11) and everything else. ABC's "Cavemen" (6.2 million, 2.2/6) turned to stone as CBS' "NCIS" (17.3 million, 3.8/10) won at 8 p.m. NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" (12.3 million, 4.7/13) won at 10 p.m., but a special edition of ABC's "20/20" on the Southern California wildfires (10.4 million, 2.7/7) gave ABC its best ratings for the show in months.

Wednesday's opening game of the World Series averaged 16.9 million viewers and a 5.8/16, leading Fox to its second nightly primetime victory of the week. ABC's "Private Practice" (11.9 million, 4.5/11) improved week-over-week, as did CBS' "Kid Nation" (7.9 million, 2.5/7). NBC's "Bionic Woman" (7.8 million, 3.3/8) was about even, while CBS' "Criminal Minds" (15 million, 3.9/10) was a solid performer. CBS followed it up at 10 p.m. with "CSI: NY" (13.8 million, 3.9/10), ahead of ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" (8.3 million, 3.1/8) and NBC's "Life" (6.9 million, 2.5/6).

Game 2 of the World Series (16.9 million, 5.3/15) led Fox to another win, though it was unable to dislodge ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (18.2 million, 7.4/18) as the top show of the night. "Grey's" romped thanks to a repeat "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (15 million, 3.9/9). NBC's "The Office" (9 million, 4.7/11) was up slightly and the final season premiere of "Scrubs" (6.9 million, 3.8/9) was up compared with last year's season premiere.

Friday went to CBS, with "Ghost Whisperer" (10 million, 2.7/10) beating the competition at 8 p.m. and "Moonlight" (8.4 million, 2.4/7) edging out ABC's fellow freshman drama "Women's Murder Club" (8.9 million, 1.9/6) at 9 p.m. CBS' "Numbers" (9.7 million, 2.6/8) won against NBC's "Las Vegas" (8.2 million, 2.4/8) and ABC's "Men in Trees" (6.4 million, 1.7/5).

The World Series moved to Colorado on Saturday, though the results didn't change as the Red Sox went up 3-0 in a game that lasted past midnight EDT. The game averaged 14.1 million viewers and a 4.3/14 in the demo, doubling up on ABC's "Saturday Night Football" matchup of Penn State-Ohio State (7.4 million, 2.6/8). The only other original was CBS' "48 Hours Mystery" (7.6 million, 1.8/6).