Ratings: 'Community' Hit Season High

Courtesy of NBC

Given a strong lead-in for once, NBC's Community shot up to a season high Thursday night.

NBC debuted its Halloween special Scared Shrekless (8.2 million, 2.5 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) at 8 p.m. to a very solid number. Pushed to 8:30 p.m., Community (5.7 million, 2.4) rose 26% to its best rating since last January. Makes you wonder what kind of numbers Community would pull if it aired after CBS' Big Bang Theory (12.8 million, 4.1), which was steady along with $#*! My Dad Says (10.8 million, 3.1) this week.

The respectable performances were despite increased competition from Fox, which aired Game 2 of the World Series. The game generated a 9.9 overnight rating, down 27% from last year and up 8% from two years ago. The Rangers vs. Giants game also dipped 4% from Game 1.

CBS tied Fox for the nightly average ratings trophy, with CSI (14.1 million, 3.3) rising slightly and The Mentalist (14.6 million, 3.2) up 10%.

ABC aired the annual special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (7 million, 2.2), followed by Grey's Anatomy (10.7 million, 3.8) down a couple pegs and Private Practice (7.8 million, 2.7).

NBC also had The Office (8.1 million, 3.9), up 15%, and Outsourced (5.9 million, 2.7), up 17%. Like a corpse that suddenly moves, The Apprentice (3.8 million, 1.4) spookily rose after being frozen for weeks at a 1.3 rating.

The CW's Vampire Diaries (3.5 million, 1.7) and Nikita (2.6 million, 1.0) were steady.