Prime-Time Metered Market Monday Ratings: ABC Dances to Opening Night Victory; NBC's Heroes Loses Considerable Steam (Mediaweek.com)

-Yesterday's Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Two and a Half Men (CBS), CSI: Miami (CBS)

-Disappointing:
Heroes (NBC)

-Yesterday's Losers:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox), Prison Break (Fox), Worst Week (CBS), Boston Legal (ABC)

----------

-Ratings Breakdown:
Well, folkset the 2008-09 games begin! On that noteÐABC danced to overnight victory on this first night of the new season, with a hefty 33 percent over second-place CBS. A disappointing third was a night of Heroes on NBC, followed by Fox and the CW. As always, I will remind everyone that these are the metered market results and should be treated as a precursor to the fast affiliate and final national ratings. The fast affiliate numbers (total viewers and key adults 18-49) will be posted at by approximately 12 p.m. ET.

A two-hour edition of ABC's Dancing With the Stars stood well above anything else on Monday, with a hefty 13.5 rating/20 share in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
8:00 p.m. 13.0/20 (#1)
8:30 p.m. 13.7/20 (#1)
9:00 p.m. 13.8/20 (#1)
9:30 p.m. 13.7/20 (#1)

The year-ago 90-minute season-opener of Dancing With the Stars scored a very similar 14.0/21 on Sept. 24, 2007. As for the new round of contestants, Lance Bass is the early standout. Sadly, it looks like my personal favorite, Edyta Slininska, will be departing tonight as a result of her clunky partner, comedian Jeffrey Ross. There was nothing funny about his performance last night.

Dancing With the Stars led into the season-premiere of relocated Boston Legal, which squandered the hefty support with a last-place 5.8/10 in the overnights at 10 p.m. Comparably, retention out of the last half-hour of Dancing With the Stars was just 42 percent. ABC was smart to announce this as Boston Legal's final season.

CBS featured four season-premieres last night -- The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami -- plus the series-debut of Worst Week. Here were the overnight results:

CBS/Monday
8:00 p.m. The Big Bang Theory: 5.6/ 9 (#1)
8:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother: 5.9/ 9 (#2)
9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men: 9.0/13 (#2)
9:30 p.m. Worst Week: 6.4/ 9 (#3)
10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami: 11.0/18 (#1)

The returning series were all close to year-ago opening levels, but Worst Week dipped by 20 percent from former occupant Rules on Engagement (8.0/12 on Sept. 24, 2007). And the retention out of Two and a Half Men was disappointing at just 71 percent. Not a good start. As for The Big Bang Theory, Emmy really needs to take notice of Jim Parsons this season.

The return of Heroes on NBC, meanwhile. was a big disappointment last night, with the clips show at a mere 4.3/ 7 (#3) in the overnights from 8-9 p.m., followed by the expanded two-hour premiere at a 6.4/10 from 9-11 p.m. Notice the rating erosion by half hour:

Heroes (NBC)
9:00 p.m. 6.8/10 (#3)
9:30 p.m. 6.6/10 (#2)
10:00 p.m. 6.3/10 (#2)
10:30 p.m. 6.1/10 (#1)

One year earlier, Heroes kicked-off the season (on Sept. 24, 2007) with a much heftier 8.8/13 from 9-10 p.m. While I realize the strength of Heroes falls within the young adult demographics, metered market erosion of 27 percent is a very big concern. Absence may not have made the heart grow fonder for fans of Heroes.

Opposite all original competition, Fox's combination of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (#4: 3.9/ 6) and Prison Break (#4: 3.6/ 5) could not compete. One year earlier, Prison Break and failed 9 p.m. occupant K-Ville averaged a 4.6/ 7 in the overnights. Comparably, that's a decline of 18 percent.

The CW capped off the evening with the perfectly compatible combination of Gossip Girl (#5: 2.4/ 4) and One Tree Hill (#4: 2.4/ 4). Opposite all original competition, the CW dipped by just eight percent from one week earlier. Keep in mind that the network is up considerably from the year-ago evening because it aired repeats of Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends and The Game. And that's it folks$he first official evening of the new season!

Source: Nielsen Media Research data

-- Marc Berman

• To subscribe to Mediaweek,.