'Class' Acts; 'Sunset' Strapping

Overnight ratings for the first evening of the new season are in, and your Mayor declares victory for ... everyone! Well, except ABC. And The CW, but, of course, The CW goes without saying.

Fox had a bit of a time with it. CBS and NBC could probably be a little happier...

But, victory! For all!

On CBS, the debut of "The Class" did OK, with 10.5 million viewers ("The King of Queens" did just incrementally better in the timeslot last year). "How I Met Your Mother's" ratings were close enough to last year's that they don't have to worry much. "2 1/2 Men" and "New Adventures of Old Christine," 15 and 12.1 million viewers, respectively.

But they were all squashed by the two-hour "Deal or No Deal" on NBC, which averaged 15.6 million viewers. (OK. I can't even imagine watching an entire hour of "Deal or No Deal," but for the sake of argument, let's say I can. But two hours? Of imbeciles guessing? Really -- your time is that valuable to you?) That led into the debut of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," which averaged 13.4 million viewers, but lost a couple of million in its second half-hour. Which, given a lead-in like "Deal or No Deal," would seem to be a given: Protoplasmic lumps watching the no-braineriest show on TV suddenly confronted with bracing dialogue and nuanced concepts? Of course they're gonna flee in terror.

"CSI: Miami" handily beat "Studio 60" in the hour, with 17.6 million viewers. (Also, just wondering: how many viewers did "Studio 60" lose through NBC's arrangement with NetFlix to provide subscribers to that service with screeners of the pilot, so they didn't have to actually tune in Monday night?)

Over on Fox, "Prison Break" sturdily stood up to the added competition with 9.4 million viewers, though "Vanished" is turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy, with only 7.4 million viewers. ABC's junky evening of reality ballparked in the 7-8.7 million viewership range. (ESPN's "Monday Night Football" clobbered ABC, which used to own "MNF," by the way, with 13.3 million viewers.) The CW did not officially launch last night, though a special, "ET Presents: The CW - Launch of a New Network" wowed a pittance of 1.38 million people whose remotes apparently weren't working.