QUICK TAKES - Oct. 14, 2009

If it was measured in traditional TV terms, “The Jay Leno Show” wouldn’t be long for this world.

NBC’s bold experiment in a prime-time talk show faltered in the third week of television’s new season, with none of its five editions scoring higher than No. 60 in the Nielsen Co.’s ranking of most popular programs, which was released Tuesday. The shows ranged from a low of 4.5 million to a high of 6.2 million viewers.

All of CBS’ 10 p.m. dramas last week had more than twice as many viewers as Leno. ABC’s “Eastwick” was the only major network show beaten by Leno (Fox turns 10 p.m. over to local news).

CBS won the third week of the new TV season with ease. Its Tuesday schedule has emerged as the most popular night in television, led by “NCIS.” That show’s strength helped the two new shows that follow it -- “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “The Good Wife” -- into Nielsen’s top 11 last week. (The full list of ratings will be published in Calendar later this week.)