Marg Helgenberger and William L. Petersen, rest easy.

CBS's hugely popular "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" doesn't have much to worry about from its newest competition, NBC's loudly ballyhooed controversial sitcom "Coupling," according to ratings from the sexy show's premiere last Thursday.

According to preliminary Nielsen numbers, "CSI" launched into its fourth season last Thursday night and topped the competition with 26.6 million viewers, even though it was off about 12 percent from the show's season debut last fall, reports Reuters.

"Coupling," adopted from a BBC series about the sexual exploits of a group of young New York singles, posted a second-place finish in its 9:30 p.m. timeslot with 15.3 million viewers.

Compared to the premiere of NBC's "Good Morning, Miami" in the same slot last year, "Coupling" (which its network has been pushing as a racy new "Friends") scored lower ratings and lost more viewers from its lead-in, NBC's hit "Will & Grace."

For its part, the network is putting on a cheerful face. "They're in the range of what we want to see," NBC spokesman Tom Bierbaum tells Reuters. "Over time, we would hope to see the retention of the 'Will & Grace' lead-in pick up a bit, but it's a good, solid start."

As for Friday night, the CBS drama "Joan of Arcadia" got off to an impressive start, averaging 13.2 million viewers and easily beating NBC's romantic "Miss Match," starring Alicia Silverstone, which attracted 7.9 million.

CBS won the night overall, thanks to "Joan," "JAG" (which proved the night's most-watched show, with 13.8 million) and Joe Pantoliano's new "The Handler," which topped the 10 p.m. timeslot with 12.6 million.

ABC, however, claimed victory among adults, thanks to strong starts for the return of "The George Lopez Show" (9 million) and the new Kelly Ripa sitcom, "Hope & Faith" (11.5 million).

In the daytime talk-show race, the season's biggest hit appears to be "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which has established a solid start, according to Mediaweek TV analyst Marc Berman.

"It's not a breakout hit like 'Dr. Phil, but 'Ellen' doesn't have 'Phil''s timeslots," Berman tells the New York Post. Berman says he sees the DeGeneres program as "being successful. It's well done and easy to watch."

Meanwhile, daytime's "The Sharon Osbourne Show" isn't faring as well, and "Living It Up! With Ali & Jack" is a flat-out disappointment, ratings-wise, the Post reports.