NBC’s “Heroes” faltered in its second week, grabbing its lowest rating for an original episode to date, while neither “Chuck” nor “Life” increased from last year’s debuts.

“Heroes” took in a 4.4 rating/10 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research data.

Compared to last week’s two-hour premiere, Monday’s “Heroes” slid 12% to its lowest rating ever.

“Chuck” (2.6/7) returned to the schedule after its strike-shortened run last year to a decline of 28% from its start last September.

A special Monday showing of “Life” (2.7/7) slipped 33% from its Wednesday premiere last year, but fell close to its season average. The police drama airs again this week in its regular Friday slot. NBC placed third with a nightly average of 3.2/8.

First-place CBS saw week-to-week drops for its entire lineup. “The Big Bang Theory” (3.3/9) and “How I Met Your Mother” (3.7/9) dropped 8%, “Two and a Half Men” (4.7/11) slipped 11% and “Worst Week” (3.1/7) took an 18% downturn from last week’s premiere.

“CSI: Miami” (4.3/11) leveled out from its high premiere, declining 17% to stay near its previous average.

CBS took home a 3.9/10 nightly average.

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (4.5/11) dropped 15% week-to-week, marking the show’s largest decline from week one to week two. “Boston Legal” (2.3/6) aired near its previous average. ABC was a close second on the night with a 3.8/10.

Fox’s “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” (2.0/5) and “Prison Break” (2.0/5) both suffered declines, dropping 13% and 20%, respectively. Fox placed fourth with a 2.0/5.

As the shine of last week’s season premieres fades, The CW’s “Gossip Girl” (1.9/5) and “One Tree Hill” (1.9/4) enjoyed increases of 19% and 27% from last week. In The CW’s key demographic of women 18-34, “Gossip” held steady with a 3.8/10, while “Hill” gained 15% with a 3.8/10.

“Hill” had its best performance in both adults 18-49 and women 18-34 in nearly two years.

The CW placed fifth in adults 18-49 with a 1.9/5.

Football dominated the ratings Sunday night, while ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and “Brothers and Sisters” led the night in non-sports-related programming with their lowest-rated premieres ever.

NBC’s telecast of the Eagles-Bears game scored a preliminary 6.3 rating/15 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

Compared to last week’s faceoff between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday’s matchup slipped 22%. Due to the nature of live television, this data should be considered approximate and subject to change.

NBC nabbed first place for Sunday night with a 5.2/13.

The cap of ABC’s “Stay at Home Week” arrived Sunday with the season debuts of “Desperate Housewives” (7.0/16), “Brothers and Sisters” (4.7/12) and two back-to-back episodes of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (2.2/7, 3.7/9). All shows declined compared with their premieres last year.

“Housewives” slid 7%, while “Brothers” dropped 6%, marking the lowest start for both shows. “Makeover” tumbled further, landing 24% and 23% down from last year’s premiere.

ABC ended the night in third place with a 4.4/11.

Animation returned to the Fox schedule with season premieres of “The Simpsons” (4.4/12), “King of the Hill” (3.3/8), “Family Guy” (4.5/10) and “American Dad” (3.2/7). With the exception of “Dad,” the animation block declined year-to-year, with “Guy” taking the biggest tumble with a 20% downturn. “Dad” increased one-tenth of a ratings point from last year. Fox finished second for the night with a 4.6/12.

CBS’ “The Amazing Race” hit a bump in the first episode of its 13th iteration, declining 28% from last year’s starter with a 3.1/8. However, “Race” debuted last year behind a big Colts/Patriots game in 2007, partially explaining the differential.

Both “Cold Case” (2.7/6) and “The Unit” (2.6/6) slipped slightly from last year’s premieres, while “60 Minutes” (2.1/6) ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point from last year. CBS took fourth with a 2.6/7.

The CW ended the night in fifth with a 0.6/2, airing mainly repeats.

Four of Thursday night’s six season premieres ranked as the lowest-rated in the series’ history, including “Survivor,” “Ugly Betty” and “ER.”

The two-hour season premiere of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” brought in a 7.3 rating/18 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research. “Grey’s” slipped 18% from last year and was only one-tenth of a ratings point above its lowest premiere to-date, for its first season in 2005.

“Ugly Betty” (3.3/9) also returned, down 15% from last year for its lowest launch yet. ABC took home a 6.0/15, putting it in first place for the night.

“Survivor’s” (4.4/11) season premiere declined 12% year-to-year, marking the show’s lowest launch yet. CBS took in a 3.8/10 for the night.

Both “My Name Is Earl” (2.7/8) and “ER” (3.3/8) bottomed out against previous season premieres, although “The Office” stumbled only 6% versus last year with a 4.8/11. NBC took third place with a 3.6/9.

Facing stronger competition, Fox’s “Kitchen Nightmares” (2.1/5) dipped 25% from last week. A special “Nightmares” at 8 p.m. brought in a 1.9/5. Fret not, “Hole in the Wall” returns next week. Fox landed fourth with a 2.0/5.

The CW’s “Smallville” (1.7/5) slid just one-tenth of a ratings point week-to-week, while “Supernatural” (1.3/3) struggled against “The Office,” losing 24% from last week. The CW placed fifth with a 1.5/4.

NBC’s “Knight Rider” hit the wrong gear off the line, stalling out in the ratings during its premiere. Bringing in a 2.4 rating/7 share, “Rider” came in one-tenth of a ratings point behind “Deal or No Deal,” which occupied the slot last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.

A heavy promotional presence at Comic Con, as well as on-air promos didn’t boost the series premiere from a third place finish in the hour.

Other key points for the night:

The president’s address to the nation affected the preliminary ratings for everything after 9 p.m. as all programming shifted back 15 minutes. Full numbers will be available later today.

—CBS’ comedies didn’t fare well against ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” placing fourth in the time period. “The New Adventures of Old Christine” drew a 2.1/6, while the premiere of “Gary Unmarried” landed a 2.3/6. CBS is banking on a rise next week as “Stars” settles into its normal Monday/Tuesday run.

—“Stars” (3.5/10) stumbled 15% from last year’s special Wednesday first-week debut, after giving the heave-ho to television’s dark specter of cancellation, Ted McGinley.

—Even though the presidential address will affect final numbers, CBS looks to be the strongest competitor thanks to showings from the season premieres of “CSI: NY” (4.2/11) and “Criminal Minds” (4.2/11). Tentatively, CBS ended the night in first with a 3.5/10.

Fox took Tuesday night in the ratings with its “House”/”Fringe” duo, as debuts on the rest of the networks’ numbers ran the gamut from solid (CBS’ “The Mentalist) to unimpressive (ABC’s “Opportunity Knocks”).

Fox obtained a nightly average of a 4.5 rating/12 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. “House” did a 4.9/14, down 13% from last week’s season premiere. “Fringe” declined 18% from last week’s second-week high, with a 4.2/10.

Here’s the rest of the night’s stats:

—CBS trotted out “The Mentalist” (3.5/9) to good numbers. “Mentalist” grew 25% over “The Unit’s” season premiere last year in that time slot. “NCIS” increased 9% from last year’s debut. “Without a Trace” (2.8/7) took a hit from last year’s premiere on Thursday, declining 40%.

—ABC’s “Opportunity Knocks” stumbled in its debut, pulling in a 1.8/5. Compared to last fall’s premieres in the time period (“Cavemen”/ “Carpoolers” on Oct. 2), “Knocks” tumbled 49% versus the average rating. The second part of “Dancing With the Stars’” (4.7/12) first week stayed consistent with last year’s part two, only slipping one-tenth of a ratings point.

—NBC’s “Biggest Loser: Families” (2.9/8) dipped 9% from its season premiere last week. “Law & Order: SVU” (3.7/10) dropped 23% from its premiere last year, marking a season premiere low.

—The CW’s “90210” declined 15% from last week in its key demo of women 18-34, drawing a 2.8/8. “Privileged” also slipped in the demo by 14% to a 1.8/5.

As for tonight, NBC rolls into mid-week with one of its most heavily promoted debuts, “Knight Rider,” as well as the season premiere of “Lipstick Jungle.” CBS is all brand-new with a new night for “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and the debut of “Gary Unmarried,” as well as premieres for “CSI: NY” and “Criminal Minds.”

NBC’s “Heroes,” which was one of the biggest shows to have its season cut short by the writers strike, re-emerged on the schedule Monday night to a 4.9 rating/12 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.

After being off the air for nine months, the show dipped 25% from its previous season premiere. However, it was down just one-tenth of a ratings point from its last airing on Dec. 3, 2007.

As for the rest of the night’s premieres:

—ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” opened its new season to a 5.3/13, down 9% from its last start. “Boston Legal,” with a 2.5/6, began on par with its last season opener in 2007.

—CBS’ comedy block also returned, with “The Big Bang Theory” (3.6/10), “How I Met Your Mother” (4.0/10), “Two and a Half Men” (5.3/12) and the premiere of “Worst Week” (3.8/9). “Theory” ended just one-tenth of a ratings point shy of its premiere last year, when it aired at 8:30 p.m. behind "Mother." “Mother” increased 21% from last year’s 8 p.m. start, while “Men” jumped 10% from its previous season premiere.

Facing stronger competition, The CW’s “Gossip Girl” fell 9% in the key demo of women 18-34 from its record-setting numbers last week, bringing in a 3.9/11. “One Tree Hill” slid 14% in that same demo, ending the night with a 3.7/9.

However, Fox’s “Terminator” (2.2/6) and “Prison Break” (2.5/6) looked strong against the competition, both finishing one-tenth of a ratings point ahead of last week’s numbers.

For the night, CBS took first place with a nightly average of 4.5/11. ABC placed second with a 4.3/11, followed by NBC with a 4.1/10. Fox grabbed fourth with a 2.4/6 and The CW landed in fifth with a 1.5/4.

More wasn’t merrier, as the five-host setup of ABC’s “The 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” sent the awardscast to a ratings low not seen since 1992.

Drawing a 3.8 rating/9 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, the Emmys dipped 12% from last year’s telecast, against competition from a strong football game on NBC, according to preliminary Nielsen data.

NBC’s coverage of the NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys caught a 7.8/19, up 8% from last week’s Steelers-Browns matchup.

NBC took first place last night with a 6.7/17, followed by ABC’s 3.2/8 and CBS’ 2.8/7. Both NBC’s and CBS’ data are approximate due to live events.

Fox’s “Hole in the Wall” settled into its second week on Thursdays with some minor ratings declines, while “Kitchen Nightmares” held steady from last week. Fox took home the night in adults 18-49 with a 2.4 rating/7 share. Here’s the highlights from last night (all ratings are expressed in adults 18-49):

—“Hole in the Wall’s” back-to-back episodes brought in a 1.8/6 and 2.2/7, down 10% and 15% week-to-week.

—“Kitchen Nightmares” (2.8/8) dipped one-tenth of ratings point from last week.

—The CW unveiled its eighth season premiere of “Smallville” (1.8/6) and fourth season debut of “Supernatural” (1.7/5). Compared to last year’s premieres, “Smallville” declined 10%, while “Supernatural,” which launched last year in October, leapt 42%.

—CBS’ “Flashpoint” posted its highest-rated episode last night with a 2.6/7.

—On NBC, a special Thursday “America’s Got Talent” tied its lowest rating of the summer with a 2.3/7.