'Worst Enemy' has mild start; 'Worst Week' tops 'Who'

UPDATED: NBC's keystone new fall series "My Own Worst Enemy" got off to a middling start Monday night, with a mild opening that could be considered a disappointment for the network given the large amount of promotion devoted to the show.

"Enemy" (7.3 million viewers, 3.0 national adults 18-49 rating and an 8 share, according to Nielsen Media Research) placed second in the 10 p.m. hour, losing 30% of its "Heroes" lead-in, but was up from the season premiere of "Life" in the slot a couple weeks ago.

The rating represents NBC's lowest-rated Monday night drama series debut in seven years. By today's standards, it's a workable number, but the show will now have to fight uphill to build an audience and avoid post-premiere declines in the coming weeks. That the show's rating fell 6% in its second half is not the best sign. (Reviews of "Enemy," as previously noted, were all over the map.)

Thankfully for NBC, "Heroes" (8.9 million, 4.3/10) finally halted its slide down the mountain, bouncing 8% this week. "Chuck" (6.2 million, 2.4/6) also improved slightly from last week's number.

NBC tied with ABC for second place for the evening, with CBS once again coming in first. "The Big Bang Theory" (9.3 million, 3.6/10) and "How I Met Your Mother" (9.3 million, 3.9/10) were both down slightly from last week. Yet "Two and a Half Men" (14.7 million, 5.3/12, the night's highest-rated show) and "Worst Week" (9.8 million, 3.2/7) enjoyed slight gains.

For "Worst Week," this is the second week in a row the underdog freshman series has increased in the ratings, albeit in tandem with its powerful lead-in. "Week" also edged out the premiere of ABC's "Samantha Who?" (11.5 million, 3.0/7), which was down 33% from last year's large debut rating. At 10 p.m., "CSI: Miami" (13 million, 3.9/10) was up against the "Enemy" premiere, yet lost only a tenth.

On ABC, "Dancing With the Stars" (17.8 million, 4.0/10) dropped 7% this week. "Boston Legal" (8.2 million, 2.1/5) was on par.

In third place, Fox's NLCS Game 4 (7.3 million, 2.5/6, according to time-zone-adjusted fast nationals) put the network behind most competitors for the evening.

The CW took a hit: "Gossip Girl" (3.3 million, 1.6/4) and "One Tree Hill" (3.4 million, 1.7/4) were both down a couple pegs from their last telecasts.