Were they simply curious to see life on Idol post-Paula Abdul? Were they hoping to get their Simon Cowell fix? Were they dying to see Victoria Beckham crack a smile? Whatever the reason, fans turned out in droves for the premiere of American Idol. The show easily dominated the competition and had its best-rated debut since 2007.

8pm

• American Idol (11.8/29 in 18-49) had 29.9 million sucked in.
• Approximately 20.7 million watched the 150th episode of NCIS (4.3/11).
• The Biggest Loser (8.1 million, 3.2/8) slimmed down by 3.6 million.
• Scrubs* (0.8/2) scrapped up 2.6 million.
• Better Off Ted (2.2 milion, 0.8/2) lost 800,000.
• 90210* (0.3/1) nailed down 770,500.

9pm

• NCIS: LA (15.5 million, 3.0/7 in 18-49) took a 2.5 million hit.
• A second Scrubs (2.7 million, 1.2/3) did better than the first.
• Better Off Ted (2.5 million, 1.0/2) was off 100,00 from last week.
• Melrose Place* (0.3/1) turned in 688,500.

10pm

• The Good Wife (13.8 million, 3.0/9 in 18-49) remained steady.
• The Jay Leno Show (5.4 million, 1.9/5) gave up 1 million.
• The Forgotten (4.4 million, 1.3/4) did the same.

*denotes repeat

(You can review last Tuesday’s ratings here.)