•Across-the-board power. CBS' NCIS was not only the most-watched show on broadcast TV, but five reruns of the drama on USA were among the week's top 12 cable shows. They topped Tuesday's premiere of TNT's HawthoRNe (3.8 million) and the season premiere of TNT's Saving Grace (3.5 million). Overall, USA had its best week ever, averaging 4 million viewers in prime time, and enjoyed its best numbers among young adults in almost 14 years.

•Magic trumps science. NBC's summer series Merlin, a retelling of the Camelot legend, conjured up 5.3 million viewers for its two-hour premiere Sunday. Against it, Part 1 of ABC's apocalyptic Impact miniseries, in which a meteor sends the moon hurtling toward Earth, drew a non-stellar 4.7 million.

•Ratings discord.  As the marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin moves toward dissolution, TLC's Jon Kate Plus 8 is dropping in the ratings. Last week, the family series attracted 2.9 million viewers, down from 4.3 million the week before and dramatically lower than the 9.8 million who tuned in for May's season premiere, a TLC record.

•Little bleeding.  Season 2's second episode of True Blood (3.4 million) held on to more than 90% of the premiere audience, which was HBO's most-watched program since The Sopranos' finale in June 2007. The show has grown since Season 1, when premiere episodes averaged 2.3 million viewers.

•Hello, goodbye.  The series premiere of TNT's Wedding Day attracted a modest 853,000 viewers Tuesday; the season finale of ABC Family's Greek attracted 745,000 Monday, well below last June's season ender (1.3 million).