Apparently viewers prefer their doctors angst-ridden and fictional as on “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” as opposed to heroic and real. The series premiere of ABC’s “Miracle Workers,” about a team of doctors performing miracle surgeries on previously hopeless cases, received only so-so ratings last night.

“Miracle” posted a 3.4 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, down 19 percent from the 4.2 “The Bachelor” averaged in the same 10 p.m. timeslot over the last two months.
 
Further, the show lost 11 percent from its lead-in, a 3.8 for “Supernanny.” “Miracle” did grow slightly as the hour went on, posting a 3.3 among 18-49s during its first half hour before bumping to a 3.4 for the final 30 minutes.
 
“Miracle” didn’t receive a ton of promotion, certainly not as much as upcoming ABC launches “Sons & Daughters” and “The Evidence.” And it was up against strong competition at 10 p.m. It finished third in its timeslot behind CBS’s “CSI: Miami” (6.1) and NBC’s “Medium” (4.1).
 
But what also may have hurt the show is the fact that many people aren’t big fans of real-life doctors. And those who are can certainly find better-done documentary-style shows about pioneering medicine on TLC and Discovery on cable any day of the week.
 
Not surprisingly, the show did not get strong reviews. Media Life TV critic Toni Fitzgerald writes: “The doctors certainly don’t display the emotional attachment to the family that the carpentry crew [on ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition] does, and that, too, renders ‘Miracle’ very dry. That’s the opposite of what a show like this should be.”

Fox, with two hours of the Kiefer Sutherland drama “24,” led the night among 18-49s with a 5.3 average rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 4.9/12, NBC third at 4.3/11, ABC fourth at 3.6/9, Univision fifth at 1.8/4, and UPN and WB tied for sixth at 1.2/3.
 
NBC led during the 8 p.m. hour with a 4.9 rating for “Deal or No Deal,” the network’s highest regular program rating in that timeslot since November 2004. Fox was a close second with a 4.8 for its first hour of “24,” CBS third with a 3.6 average for “The King of Queens” (3.6) and “How I Met Your Mother” (3.7), and ABC fourth with a 3.5 for “Wife Swap.” Univision was fifth with a 1.9 for “Contra Viento y Marea,” with WB and UPN tied for sixth at 1.2, WB for a repeat of “7th Heaven” and UPN for repeats of “One on One” and “All of Us.”
 
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.9 for its second hour of “24.” CBS moved into second with a 5.1 average for “Two and a Half Men” (5.7) and “Courting Alex” (4.5), with NBC third with a 4.0 for “The Apprentice” and ABC fourth with a 3.8 for “Supernanny.” Univision remained in fifth with a 2.1 for “Alborada,” while WB and UPN again tied for sixth at 1.2, WB for “Related” and UPN for repeats of “Girlfriends” and “Half and Half.”
 
At 10 p.m. CBS was on top with its 6.1 for “CSI: Miami.” NBC followed with its 4.1 for “Medium,” with ABC third with its 3.4 for “Miracle” and Univision fourth with a 1.4 for “Cristina.”
 
CBS won the night among households, averaging a 9.6 rating and a 15 share. Fox finished second at 7.6/11, NBC third at 7.3/11, ABC fourth at 6.0/9, Univision fifth at 2.3/3, and UPN and WB tied for sixth at 2.0/3.