LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- Pictured: (l-r) Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson, Ice-T as Odafin "Fin" Tutuola -- NBC Photo: Will Hart.

CBS was again at the top of the ratings heap thanks to the net’s two Wednesday night staples, Criminal Minds and CSI NY.  But NBC’s dramas did well, too.

At 8:00 p.m. CBS hit big with The New Adventures of Old Christine.  The sitcom was in the number one position with 7.2 million viewers, followed by the new NBC drama Mercy at 7.1 mil in the first half-hour.  Mercy got a little mercy from viewers in the second part of the show with  7.4 million (an increase is always a good sign).  ABC’s sitcom, Hank nabbed 6.7 million viewers at 8:00 p.m. and the CBS comedy Gary Unmarried got a little more love at 8:30 p.m. with 7.1 mil.  The Middle was in the middle of the ratings race with 6.7 million at 8:30 pm.  Fox’s hit reality series, So You Think You Can Dance held fast for the night with 6.1 million viewers overall, but it too saw an increase from 5.9 to 6.4 million eyes for the second half of the program.

In the 9:00 p.m. hour, Criminal Minds average 13.4 million eyes making it the most watched show of the evening in any hour.  ABC’s Modern Family grabbed a significant audience at 9:00 p.m. with 8.4 million and saw a small drop off for the ladies of Cougar Town to 7.7 million viewers.  Law & Order: SVU has not done as well this season in its new time slot on NBC (8.1 million), but did raise its numbers from 7.8 to 8.4 million in the second half of the program.  Fox’s much-hyped musical-comedy, Glee, did a respectable 7.2 million overall.

At 10:00 p.m. the numbers shifted again (must have been bedtime).  CSI NY kicked the competition to the curb with 11.9 million viewers overall for the hour.  Still the audience dropped off from 12.2 mil in the first half-hour to 11.6 in the second half.  CSI NY’s closest competitor was The Jay Leno Show, on NBC, who is holding fast with an nightly audience average of 5.7 million.  Those sexy witches of Eastwick on ABC languished in third place with 5.2 million eyeballs.  Eastwick too dropped from 5.6 to 4.9 in the show’s second half.

And, oh that CW network!  America’s Next Top Model is still a ratings winner at 8:00 p.m. for the CW with 3.2 mil (though the other nets trounced them).  Melrose Place struggled for its paltry 1 million viewers in the 9:00 p.m. hour.