ABC’s acclaimed Sunday night scripted series are back from the strike but their ratings are off from where they were when they left. Last night “Desperate Housewives,” the No. 1 scripted series on television when the strike began, slipped to another series low while lead-out “Brothers & Sisters” returned below its season-to-date average.

Even with the declines, however, ABC was still way out ahead of the other networks on an otherwise sleepy Sunday.

“Housewives” averaged a 5.5 adults 18-49 rating at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, down 25 percent from its season-to-date 7.3 average and slightly below last week’s 5.7, its previous series low.

“Brothers” averaged a 3.6 rating at 10 p.m., holding 65 percent of “Housewives’” lead-in but down 14 percent from its 4.2 season average.

Undoubtedly the two shows were hurt by their weak lead-in, the season finale of “Oprah’s Big Give,” which averaged a 3.2, 32 percent lower than usual 8 p.m. timeslot occupant “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

ABC's hardly the only network to see lower ratings after the recent writers' strike; every network has seen decreases for even marquee shows. That makes the release of DVR playback ratings over the next few weeks more interesting, as the networks will see if viewers are simply time-shifting shows.

ABC was first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 3.6 average overnight rating and a 10 share. Fox was second at 2.0/6, CBS third at 1.7/5, NBC fourth at 1.3/4, Univision fifth at 0.9/2 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
 
At 7 p.m. ABC was first with a 2.2 for a repeat of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” followed by CBS with a 1.5 for “60 Minutes.” Fox was third with a 1.3 for an hour of “King of the Hill” repeats, NBC fourth with a 1.2 for “Dateline,” Univision fifth with a 1.0 for “Hora Pico” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
ABC was first again at 8 p.m. with a 3.2 for the season finale of “Give,” while CBS and Fox tied for second at 2.3, CBS for “Big Brother” and Fox for repeats of “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill.” NBC was fourth that hour with a 1.3 for “Monk,” Univision fifth with a 0.9 for the first hour of “Noche de Estrellas” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for “Everybody Hates Chris” (0.4) and a repeat of “Aliens in America.”
 
At 9 p.m. ABC led with a 5.5 for “Desperate Housewives,” with Fox second with a 2.2 for repeats of “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” CBS was third with a 1.5 for the first hour of the movie “Sweet Nothing in My Ear,” NBC fourth with a 1.1 for “Psych,” Univision fifth with a 0.9 for another hour of “Estrellas” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for “The Game” (0.7) and a repeat of “Girlfriends.”
 
ABC completed the nightly sweep at 10 p.m. with a 3.6 for “Brothers & Sisters,” followed by NBC with a 1.6 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” CBS was third with a 1.5 for the second half of its movie and Univision fourth with a 0.7 for “El Pantera.”
 
ABC also finished first for the night among households with a 6.9 average overnight rating and a 12 share. CBS was second at 5.5/9, NBC third at 3.5/6, Fox fourth at 2.7/4, Univision fifth at 1.1/2 and CW sixth at 0.9/2.