CBS wins Monday; 'Big Bang' hits series high

Every major network whose shows improved from last week step forward -- not so fast, NBC.

In a rare display of general week-to-week growth, every Monday night show on CBS, ABC and Fox either matched or improved its previous performance in the adult demo. Yet the gains seemingly came at the expense of NBC, which saw across-the-board declines.

CBS led the way with its comedy block, starting with "The Big Bang Theory" hitting a series high with 10 million viewers and a 3.9 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. "How I Met Your Mother" (9.7 million, 4.1) matched its season-best rating. "Two and a Half Men" (14.6 million, 4.9 -- the night's highest-rated show) and "Worst Week" (9.6 million, 2.9) were both up slightly, with "Worst" climbing 12%. At 10 p.m., "CSI: Miami" (13.7 million, 3.7) finally halted weeks of declines, bouncing up a tenth and winning the hour.

In second, ABC enjoyed across-the-board gains with the evening's most-watched show "Dancing With the Stars" (18.6  million, 4.2) up 8%, followed by "Samantha Who?" (11 million, 3.0) jumping 25% and "Boston Legal" (8.8 million, 2.3) bouncing 28%. This is ABC's best Monday in five weeks.

In third place, NBC had a different story. "Chuck" (6.2 million, 2.3) fell 12%. A series-low "Heroes" (7.8 million, 3.6) dropped 8%. At 10 p.m., "My Own Worst Enemy" (4.3 million, 1.8), which had been eroding gradually, suddenly dunked below the waves in the demo, down 22% to a new low.

Fourth-place Fox's "Terminator" (5.2 million, 2.0) held steady, while "Prison Break" (5.4 million, 2.2) improved slightly.

The CW's "Gossip Girl" (3 million, 1.5) slipped a notch, but "One Tree Hill" (3 million, 1.6) was even.

With the ABC-CBS-Fox growth, are the networks getting a post-election ratings bump from viewers who were previously distracted by the latest political news? That the biggest beneficiaries last night were older-skewing programs suggest it's possible. But one evening of ratings hardly makes a trend and the numbers are offset by NBC's losses, leaving the overall ratings tally for the night about on par with recent Mondays.

MONDAY Nov. 3, 2008 Rate/share 8-8:30 8:30-9 9-9:30 9:30-10 10-10:30 10:30-11 3.4/8 Dancing with the Stars 18.6 mil, 4.2/10 Samantha Who? 11.0 mil, 3.0/7 Boston Legal 8.8 mil, 2.3/6 3.9/10 Big Bang Theory 10.0 mil, 3.9/10 How I Met Your Mother 9.7 mil, 4.1/10 Two and a Half Men 14.6 mil, 4.9/11 Worst Week 9.6 mil, 2.9/7 CSI: Miami 13.6 mil, 3.7/10 2.6/6 Chuck 6.2 mil, 2.3/6 Heroes 7.8 mil, 3.6/8 My Own Worst Enemy 4.2 mil, 1.8/5 2.1/5 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 5.2 mil, 2.0/5 Prison Break 5.4 mil, 2.2/5 No programming 1.6/4 Gossip Girl 3.0 mil, 1.5/4 One Tree Hill 3.0 mil, 1.6/4 No programming