'Grey's' and ABC top Thursday

Final pre-strike 'Anatomy' conquers 'CSI'

By RICK KISSELL

The final original episode of "Grey's Anatomy" for a while stood as Thursday's top-rated program in key demos, teaming with "Ugly Betty" to help ABC log a victory on the night among young adults.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, the battle of the final firstrun episodes produced prior to the writers strike went to ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (7.0 rating/17 share in 18-49, 17.6 million viewers overall) over CBS vet "CSI" (5.0/12 in 18-49, 18.1 million viewers overall), although the Eye entry drew the most overall viewers; both shows were on the low end of their ratings range. NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" (3.5/8 in 18-49, 8.1 million viewers overall) dropped by about 20% vs. its strong premiere of a week ago (when it didn't face original episodes of the dramas), although it still outperformed the second segs of recent seasons. Fox ran a distant fourth with "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (2.3/6 in 18-49, 6.7 million viewers overall).

Kicking off the night, ABC's firstrun "Ugly Betty" (3.1/8 in 18-49, 10.0 million viewers overall) shared the demo lead with NBC's original combo of "My Name Is Earl" (3.4/9 in 18-49, 7.7 million viewers overall) and "30 Rock" (2.8/7 in 18-49, 6.0 million viewers overall), with "Earl" holding the 18-49 advantage in its half-hour. Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" wasn't far behind (2.9/8 in 18-49, 10.1 million viewers overall) and led in total viewers with its largest audience since April. CBS was well behind the pack with a repeat of "CSI: NY" (2.1/6 in 18-49, 8.7 million viewers overall).

In the 10 o'clock hour, NBC's "ER" (3.5/9 in 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall) won in demos, edging out CBS' "Without a Trace" (3.4/9 in 18-49, 13.8 million viewers overall), with the Eye drama the most-watched show in the timeslot overall. ABC's struggling rookie drama "Big Shots" ran third (2.6/7 in 18-49, 6.8 million viewers overall).

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: ABC, 4.2/11; CBS, 3.5/9; NBC, 3.3/9; Fox, 2.6/7; CW, 0.8/2.

In total viewers: CBS, 13.5 million; ABC, 11.4 million; Fox, 8.4 million; NBC, 8.0 million; CW, 2.2 million.