“Big Bang Theory,” “House” Ratings Strong; “Heroes,” “Leno” Struggle

The good news: NBC’s struggling Monday lineup of “Heroes,” “Trauma” and “The Jay Leno Show” might have found a bottom; the three shows held roughly steady this week (some made minor improvements).

The bad news: That bottom is at a troublingly low level–NBC cannot even really compete with CBS, ABC and FOX on Monday nights.

The latest “Heroes” installment drew 5.6 million viewers and a 2.4 in adults 18-49. Once a Monday powerhouse that topped “24” in the young adults demographic, “Heroes” appears to be knocking on death’s door. Unless numbers turn around, season four will be the last.

“Trauma” barely registered with 5.5 million viewers and a 1.8 rating, while “The Jay Leno Show” garnered just 4.9 million with a 1.5 rating.

CBS, on the other hand, largely continued its Monday strength. “How I Met Your Mother” kicked things off with 8.6 million viewers and a 3.5 rating, leading into “Accidentally on Purpose” (7.8 million, 3.0), the weakest part of the Eye’s lineup. “Two and a Half Men” (13.9 million, 4.6) and “The Big Bang Theory” (12.8 million, 4.8) dominated at 9PM, while “CSI: Miami” wrapped the night up with a 4.0 demo rating and 12.9 million viewers.

FOX was also solid; its “House” (12.9 million, 5.0) was the top-rated program of the evening. “Lie to Me” dipped quite a bit to 7.8 million viewers and a 2.8 rating, but the figure did not prevent FOX from posting a solid demographic average for the night.

ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” tied with “How I Met” in the demo (3.5) but was the night’s most watched program with 16.5 million viewers. Leadout “Castle” posted 10 million viewers and a 2.4 rating (some sources are reporting it at 9.4 million viewers with a 2.3, potentially taking a “Dancing” overrun into account).

The CW’s lineup of “One Tree Hill” (2.6 million, 1.2) and “Gossip Girl” (2.5 million, 1.2) was above its low from a few weeks ago, but the numbers are still rather poor for the veteran-buzzworthy series combination. Adding to the disappointment is the fact that the Miami CW affiliate aired the Dolphins-Jets game; the final numbers are thus expected to register slightly lower.