'The Voice' Wins Monday Night For NBC, But 'Smash' Slips

"The Voice" just keeps carrying and drowning out Monday night competitors, but "Smash" made a smaller dent in its second week, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Yep. We're going with the puns today. Judge me.

Though "The Voice" carried 16.1 million viewers and a 5.9 rating among adults age 18-49, it was still a 12-percent slip off its time slot debut rating that paired with midseason rookie drama "Smash" being watched by 8.1 million and falling 26 percent to a 2.8 rating among the key demographic. If "Smash" fell because "The Voice" fell, there could be troubling insinuations about the show's actual potential longevity should it ever need to stand on its own feet away from an established hit.

Nevertheless, EW.com reports, NBC was never even threatened starting out the week, winning every Monday-night time period along the way. It helps that on FOX, freshman drama "Alcatraz" keeps underperforming. This week, it delivered 6.2 million watchers and a troubling 1.9 rating, though lead-in "House" stayed steady coming into the eighth and final season's home stretch with 7.2 million viewers earning the concluding drama a 2.4 mark.

To the network flip-side, CBS' lineup across the board hit season-low ratings. "How I Met Your Mother" pulled a 3.4, "2 Broke Girls" a 3.7, "Two and a Half Men" a 3.8, "Mike & Molly" a 3.3 and "Hawaii Five-0" earned a 2.6. Over on ABC, "The Bachelor" pulled a 2.5 and "Castle" a 2.0.

Finally, over on The CW, "Gossip Girl" also hit a series-low 0.5 rating and "Hart of Dixie" held steady with a 0.6 rating. EW.com predicts that though "Gossip Girl" is floundering, its status as a network mainstay will save it from too sudden a cancellation without a fitting send-off.