Tuesday's tallies:
8 pm/ET
American Idol's Top 3 performed for 21.79 million total viewers, dipping 7 percent week-to-week. NCIS netted second for the hour, with 15.78 mil (down 6 percent).
The Biggest Loser packed 'em in, averaging 11.76 mil over its bloated three-hour finale. That's a 29 percent surge from last week, and NBC's best Tuesday-night demo delivery, excluding the Olympics, since Dec. 6, 2005.
Trailing ABC's According to Jims, Reaper inched up a bit to flirt with 2 mil.
9 pm
The Mentalist topped the hour with 16.11 mil, down 570K, followed by Dancing with the Stars' results show (13.75 mil, down 810 thou). Boosted by some (seemingly unavoidable) Idol overrun, the Fringe finale drew 11.22 mil (up 21 percent week-to-week). But to keep things in perspective, Fringe finished the hour with an audience of 8.9 mil.
90210 dialed up 2.05 mil, up 210K.
10 pm
Without a Trace (13.43 mil) was No. 1 in total viewers, surging 14 percent, while Biggest Loser (13.18 mil for the hour) dominated the demos. ABC's Cupid closer targeted 5.5 mil, up 7 percent. Maybe we'll get a second reboot in another 10 years?
Crave scoop on your favorite TV shows? E-mail senior editors Matt, Mickey and Tim at mega_scoop@tvguide.com. Also, follow TV Guide on Twitter.
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Can ABC's Better Off Ted produce laughs as well as far-out inventions? Is Parks and Recreation worthy of Amy Poehler's talents? Does Harper's Island slay us? Now that TV's new spring shows have had a few weeks to strut their stuff, TVGuide.com's senior editors gauge their areas of excellence — and how they can improve.
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Tuesday's tallies:
8 pm/ET
American Idol's taste of Top 40 was tops, averaging 23.46 million total viewers over its 85-minute run. NCIS nabbed second with 16.8 mil, dipping 710K week-to-week. The Biggest Loser shed 11 percent of its previous audience, delivering 8.75 mil.
Trailing a pair of Better Off Ted repeats, Reaper reaped 2.37 mil, down 100 thou from last week's Obama-stimulated season high.
9 pm
The Mentalist trailed Idol for the first half of the hour, delivering 16.9 million viewers (down 615K). Dancing with the Stars' double-elimination did 13 mil, plunging 17 percent from its previous results show. 90210 returned from hiatus to 2.04 million viewers, down 15 percent from its last fresh outing.
Fox's Osbournes: Reloaded show debuted to 9.33 mil.
10 pm
Without a Trace took first place with 12.7 million viewers, followed by SVU (9.38 mil, down 12 percent). ABC's Cupid felt the love of 7.56 million people, but suffered much tune-out over its debut hour.
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This Tuesday at 10 pm/ET, ABC and Rob Thomas takes another shot at Cupid, a romantic comedy that first aired in 1998 and returns with Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson picking up where Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall left off.
Cannavale, an Emmy winner during his run on Will & Grace, relishes his new role as Trevor, who claims to be the actual Greek god of love but could just as well simply be a loon. "I like that I'm playing a god ... or a crazy person," he says in this video Q&A with TVGuide.com. "Every day that I come into work ...
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Dancing with the Stars
9 pm/ET ABC
It's double trouble as two contestants get booted in tonight's double elimination, based on their performances with last night's Argentine tango or Lindy Hop. Could Holly Madison's number be up? Or has Steve-O's back injury gotten the best of him? Then there's Steve Wozniak, who got a 10 from the judges last week — not a perfect 10, but a combined total of 10. As for music guests, Boyz II Men stop by to perform a medley of Motown tunes, and Kevin Rudolf sings "Let It Rock."
Read on for previews of Cupid, American Idol, Frontline and Osbournes: Reloaded.
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