Fox tops stable Tuesday; CBS' 'Mentalist' holds

UPDATED: "Stability" was the main theme Tuesday night as several fall shows managed to halt their post-premiere ratings drops, relieving networks by matching last week's numbers. Nearly every program was within a couple tenths of a rating point of its last airing -- even CBS' drama lineup that debuted just last week.

Fox won the night with "House" (13 million viewers, 5.4 national adults 18-49 rating and a 15 share) and "Fringe" (9.9 million, 4.2/11). Both shows grew slightly, with "House" the highest-rated show of the night.

CBS and NBC tied for second, with CBS showing impressive resilience with a lineup that's only a week old. "NCIS" (17.5 million, 3.5/10) retained almost all of last week's premiere growth, dropping merely a notch and helped CBS win the night among total viewers. New drama "The Mentalist" (15.5 million, 3.6/9) grew a tenth from its premiere rating. "Without a Trace" (12.6 million, 2.7/8) fell a notch.

NBC's "Biggest Loser" (7.4 million, 2.9/8) and "Law & Order: SVU" (10.4 million, 3.7/10) dropped a tenth.

ABC's "Opportunity Knocks" (6 million, 1.8/5) maintained its premiere rating (albeit that's more unfortunate in this case). "Dancing With the Stars" (15.5 million, 3.7/9) results show was the major exception to the stability theme, dropping 21% from last week's two-hour edition. A special, "Half Their Size: The People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge" (4.9 million, 1.6/5), was the biggest loser of the 10 p.m. hour.

On the CW, "90210" (3.2 million, 1.7/5) and "Privileged" (1.9 million, 0.9/2) both grew a notch, with "90210" gaining three tenths in the CW's 18-34 demographic.