X FACTOR, BONES AID FOX FOLLOWING SERIES

With the World Series out of the picture, ratings for network programs returned to normal Thursday night. Fox’s The X Factor returned to the top at 8:00 p.m. with a results episode that drew 11.7 million viewers (virtually identical to Wednesday’s performance episode). That helped boost ratings for the season debut of Bones, which followed and which held on to 85 percent of them (10 million viewers), up 22 percent from last year’s season opener. Nevertheless, CBS menu of The Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, Person of Interest and The Mentalist, proved to be irresistible, giving the network another win for the night. Nevertheless, its ratings were down 8 percent from the comparable Thursday a year ago.