“Hawaii Five-0” beats competition again

In the only fight more important than catching bad guys on the streets of Honolulu, CBS Television’s "Hawaii Five-0" won the ratings war last night for the third week in a row, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings released this morning by the network.

 "Five-0" won its time slot by drawing 12.03 million viewers, CBS said. That’s down slightly from last week, when the remake of the popular crime drama drew 12.72 million viewers, and considerably less than the series pilot premiere Sept. 20, when "Five-0" topped all challengers with 14.2 million viewers.

 CBS expected to hold the lead for third episode, unlike last week when the preliminary figures released early in the day put "Five-0" in the No. 2 spot behind the ABC drama "Castle."

 Last night, "Castle" drew 11.9 million viewers and NBC’s "Chase" drew 5.8 million viewers, according to the early Nielsen numbers.

In last night’s episode, titled "Malama Ka Aina," a gunfight breaks out at a Kukui High School football game. The "Five-0" crew investigates who is supplying local gangs with guns and breaks up a gambling operation.

The unit also got its name — "Hawaii Five-0."