‘Big Bang Theory’ conquers Thursday comedies; ‘My Generation’ flops

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The results of the most eagerly anticipated ratings match-up are in: The premiere of CBS' "Big Bang Theory" made a dramatic ratings splash in its new time period last night.

"Big Bang" delivered 14 million viewers and a 4.8 preliminary adults 18-49 rating, that's actually up a tenth of a point from its cozy position in CBS' Monday comedy block last year.

NBC's rival "Community" (5 million, 2.2) fell 42% from last year's debut. But don't go blaming "Big Bang" just yet. Last year, "Community" aired at 9:30 p.m. and benefited from an "Office" lead-in. Last night's "Community" is on par with the show's usual 8 p.m. performance last season, and improved upon last fall's "Saturday Night Live" special in the time period.

"Big Bang" led into the debut of CBS' "$#*! My Dad Says" (12.5 million, 3.9), which retained an impressive percentage of its "Big Bang" lead-in. "$#*!" trounced NBC's "30 Rock" (5.8 million, 2.6), which was down 13% from last year ("30 Rock" was also launched at 9:30 p.m. with an "Office" lead-in).


"The Office" (8.4 million, 4.3) improved slightly for NBC, which then introduced "Outsourced" (7.4 million, 3.5). The India-set comedy was down 8% from "Community" in the time period. The comedy block fed into the second week of "The Apprentice" (3.8 million, 1.4), which declined a tenth. Can't see "Apprentice" staying in this time period for long with these numbers.

Overall, CBS won the night despite the premieres of procedurals "CSI" (14.6 million, 3.4) and "The Mentalist" (15.3 million, 3.3) slouching, the former down 17% and the latter falling 8%.

ABC placed second, with the meager series premiere of "My Generation" (5.2 million, 1.6) tying The CW at 8 p.m. for last place in the hour. "My Gen" was down 60% from the debut of "FlashForward" in the time period.

ABC's other soaps also posted losses. "Grey's Anatomy" (14 million, 5.3) fell 21% and "Private Practice" (9 million, 3.3) dropped 28%. Nonetheless, "Grey's" ranked as the evening's top-rated show.

In fourth, Fox's premieres for "Bones" (9.8 million, 2.7) and "Fringe" (5.8 million, 2.1) felt the heat. "Bones" was down 13%; "Fringe" was off 30%, though Fox premiered the show a week earlier last year.

The CW's "Vampire Diaries" (3.6 million, 1.6) actually flourished despite the added competition, up 14%. But while its lead-in climbed, "Nikita" (3.2 million, 1.1) slipped.