Fox once again dominated Tuesday night thanks to a single program: “House,” which towered above the competition despite its lead-in earning a series low.

“House” earned a 6.5 rating among adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. That’s well above the second-highest-rated program for Tuesday, CBS’s “NCIS” (4.3), which nonetheless earned a new season high with its best rating since March. Unfortunately for Fox, the “House” lead-in, “Standoff,” continued to struggle, earning a new series low 1.9.

CBS finished second with its procedural block. After “NCIS” came “The Unit” (3.7), which saw its highest total viewers of the season, if not in the demo.

In third place, ABC had a special 40th-anniversary edition of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (3.9), followed by its sitcom hour with “Big Day” (1.8) and “Help Me Help You” (1.4). Both sitcoms continue to show week-to-week declines and dropped to new series lows. In the 10 p.m. hour, “Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006” earned a 3.1 to win the hour, but dropped 24 percent from the special’s performance last year.

NBC was fourth with “Friday Night Lights” (2.4) and two “Law & Order” repeats. The CW had a “Gilmore Girls” repeat followed by a special, “The 8th Annual Family Television Awards,” which earned a rock-bottom 0.6.