CBS improves Thursday ratings

CBS' shaken-up Thursday lineup seemed to pay off last night: "Big Brother" hit a season high and "Flashpoint" earned its best rating since its premiere.

"Brother" (6.5 million viewers, 2.3 preliminary adults 18 to 49 rating and an 8 share) filled a spot vacated by CBS moving "Greatest American Dog" to Wednesdays and "Flashpoint" (7.6 million, 1.8/6) had its second week in the former "Swingtown" slot.

Still, both were up merely a tenth of point from their most recent episodes. And "Brother" was a buzzed-about outing that included footage of the housemates being hit by the Los Angeles-area earthquake, which may have contributed to the bump.

Fox won the night overall with a special episode of "Don’t Forget the Lyrics" (5.9 million, 1.7/6) and an on-par "So You Think You Can Dance" (8.5 million, 2.8/9). CBS was second with reality and repeats. NBC placed third with outings of "Last Comic Standing" (1.9/6) and "Fear Itself" (1.3/4), both were up more than 10% from last week.