'30 Rock' premiere falls sharply; 'Vampire' rises

Where's Sarah Palin when you need her?

The fourth-season premiere of NBC's Emmy-winning "30 Rock" was down a steep 27% in the adult demo from last fall, when star Tina Fey was generating national buzz for her "Saturday Night Live" parody of the Republican veep candidate.

"30 Rock" returned to 6.3 million viewers and a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49, falling 25% from its "Office" lead-in.

Meanwhile, ABC's "FlashForward" (9.1 million, 3.1) stopped its ratings descent, reversing for the first time to climb a tenth of a point. ABC just picked up the drama for a full season, so this apparent settling should come as a relief for the network.

ABC's fortunes shifted at 9 p.m., with the evening's top-rated show "Grey's Anatomy" (13.6 million, 4.9) dropping 9%, and for the fourth week in a row, to post its lowest rating ever. Despite its falling lead-in, "Private Practice" (10.4 million, 3.9) was up 8% (though there's a minute of "Grey's" overrun in there helping a tad). 

Elsewhere, the CW's "Vampire Diaries" (3.9 million, 1.8) rose 6% from its previously settled number to post its best demo rating since its premiere

ABC won the night. CBS was second, with "Survivor" (11.9 million, 3.5), "CSI" (15.1 million, 3.6) and "Mentalist" (14.4 million, 3.4) all up 3%.

Fox and NBC tied for third, with Fox's "Bones" (9.1 million, 2.6) down 10% and "Fringe" (6 million, 2.2) up a tenth. 

NBC's "Community" (5.1 million, 2.0) was up a welcome tenth, with "Parks and Recreation" (4.7 million, 2.0) down a tenth to match it. "Office" (8.1 million, 4.0) understandable dropped 17% from last week's one-hour wedding episode. "Jay Leno Show" (5.2 million, 1.8) was up a tenth.

On the CW, "Vampire" was followed by an on par "Supernatural" (2.6 million, 1.2).