Does 'ER' need a ratings transfusion?

LOS ANGELES -- "Without a Trace" scored an unprecedented win over "ER," becoming the first drama to beat an original episode of the long-running NBC medical drama in total viewers.

In the Thursday night showdown, the CBS crime drama drew 21.5 million viewers, compared with 19.7 million for "ER" in the 9 p.m. Central time slot, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Friday.

The victory, along with dominant performances by "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Survivor: Vanuatu," allowed CBS to win a crucial night of programming that once belonged to NBC.

Commercials touting weekend movies make Thursday a lucrative night for the networks.

CBS averaged 23.8 million viewers versus NBC's 16.9 million. That added up to CBS' first win in households and viewers on a premiere Thursday since the advent of Nielsen's "people meters" in 1987 -- the electronic system that allows rapid viewer tallies.

Even Donald Trump proved no match for CBS's lineup. The fifth-season premiere of "CSI" at 8 p.m. Central time drew 30.6 million viewers, while "The Apprentice," Trump's reality show on NBC, was watched by 15.9 million.

NBC wasn't going quietly in the ratings battle, touting an "ER" victory over "Without a Trace" among viewers 18 to 49.

The medical series debuted in 1994.

But CBS took the big-picture approach, noting that it's won the first four nights of the young 2004-05 TV season in viewers.