Chef Marco Pierre White is no Gordon Ramsay. In fact, he’s not even Justin Bruening.

The UK celebrity chef’s new NBC reality show, “The Chopping Block,” debuted to dismal ratings last night, even worse than former timeslot occupant “Knight Rider,” which stars Bruening.

“Block” averaged a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating and 3.98 million total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights, finishing fifth in the 8 p.m. timeslot behind the CW and Univision.

“Block” was well under the unimpressive 1.8 18-49 season average for “Rider,” which has to be a disappointment to NBC. Though the show is cheap to produce and came at a time when other cooking shows, including Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” have performed well, it’s doubtful the network will keep it on the air if ratings drop.

Also in the 8 p.m. hour last night, “Lie to Me” made its timeslot debut, averaging a 3.4 rating to easily win the relatively weak hour. That was down 26 percent from its 4.6 season average, but the decline was expected.

Up till now, “Lie” had enjoyed an “American Idol” lead-in at 9 p.m.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
 
Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 6.1 average overnight rating and a 17 share. CBS was second at 3.1/8, NBC third at 1.8/5, Univision fourth at 1.7/5, ABC fifth at 1.4/4 and CW sixth at 1.2/3.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 3.4 for “Lie,” followed by CBS with a 2.2 for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (2.1) and “Gary Unmarried” (2.3). CW was third with a 1.9 for “America’s Next Top Model,” Univision fourth with a 1.7 for “Cuidado con el Angel,” NBC fifth with a 1.5 for “Block” and ABC sixth with a 1.2 for an hour of “Scrubs” repeats.
 
Fox extended its lead at 9 p.m. with an 8.8 for “Idol,” while CBS remained second with a 3.5 for “Criminal Minds.” Univision moved to third that hour with a 1.9 for “Mañana Es para Siempre,” with NBC fourth with a 1.8 for “Life,” ABC fifth with a 1.5 for a repeat of “Lost” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a “90210” rerun.
 
At 10 p.m. CBS took the lead with a 3.5 for “CSI: NY,” with NBC second with a 2.2 for “Law & Order.” ABC was third with a 1.5 for “Life on Mars” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
 
Fox was also first for the night among households with a 10.5 average overnight rating and a 17 share. CBS was second at 7.4/12, NBC third at 3.8/6, ABC fourth at 2.7/4, Univision fifth at 2.2/4 and CW sixth at 1.9/3.