So much for trying to start over again. Although Heroes did its best to bring viewers back, the former NBC hit saw a 25% decline from last year’s premiere. In fact, the show tied its lowest numbers for an original episode to date. The Peacock’s competitors did nicely though. ABC was the most-watched network of the night while CBS had the best demos.

8pm

• Dancing with the Stars (5.3/13 in 18-49) debuted to 21.1 million.
• The Big Bang Theory (3.6/10) returned to 9.4 million; How I Met Your Mother (9.7 million, 4.0/10) did even better.
• A Heroes clip show (2.6/7) had 6 million watching.
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (5.8 million, 2.2/6) was up 300,000.
• Gossip Girl (3.4 million, 1.6/4) took a 300,000 hit.

9pm

• Two and a Half Men (14.9 million, 5.3/12 in 18-49) rose 10% from last year; Worst Week‘s premiere (11 million, 3.8/9) lost part of its lead-in.
• Approximately 9.9 million caught the two-hour Heroes event (4.9/12).
• Prison Break (5.9 million, 2.5/6) did the same as last week.
• One Tree Hill (3.1 million, 1.5/3) shaved off 300,000.

10pm

• CSI: Miami‘s cliffhanger (5.1/12 in 18-49) had 16.9 million wondering.
• Boston Legal‘s final season (2.5/6) kicked off with 9.4 million.

*denotes repeat

(You can review last Monday’s ratings here.)