Last week in TV, something amazing happened.

“NCIS” finished first in the ratings. Yes, this is the same show that stars that guy from “Summer School” (Mark Harmon). And its spin-off, “NCIS: Los Angeles,” starring L.L. Cool J and Chris O’Donnell, finished second.

I have never known or met anyone who watches “NCIS.” Wait, that’s a lie. I once had a buddy studying to be a priest at divinity school, and all his teachers gathered ‘round the activity room to watch the guy from “Summer School” save the Navy from villains every week. That is not a lie.

Who is watching these shows? It can’t just be priests and Emilio Estevez. There must be someone else. Of course, the “NCIS” double-header isn’t the only reason last week was a weird week in TV.

Here is a brief rundown of some other strange stuff:

Late, Shifty: What is there left to say about David Letterman? The impromptu “staff” meetings, extortion attempts, the secret bedroom and more naughty liaisons than a ribald anthology of French short stories. But the late-night audience is apparently hungry for apologies, as ratings surged 20 percent since the Friday revelation. In other words, more than twice as many viewers tuned in to hear Letterman’s apology as did to hear Leno deliver stingless zingers in his opening monologue. And considering Letterman will have more working girls come out of hiding, and the looming trial is likely to reveal a slew of sordid perversions, Jay better get himself a scandal to keep his primetime experiment afloat. My suggestion: Next time Lohan is on the show, leave a trail of Percocet from her dressing room to yours, and buy the rights to “Herbie: Fully Loaded 2.”

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Saturday Night Meh: For the past few years, “Saturday Night Live” had been on one of its cyclical upswings. But then Amy Poehler and Tina Fey jetted for solo gigs, somebody gave Andy Samberg unfettered access to a video camera, and Lorne Michaels went 0 for 27 on skits-turned-movies. The latest season of “SNL” fizzled and went flat. Megan Fox’s lips can’t act, Ryan Reynolds abs don’t know punch lines, and even a pathetic Madonna cameo wasn’t as shocking as it was nearly 20 years ago – when she showed up in “Wayne’s World.” This past Saturday night, the whole show seemed a bit drab. An opening skit in which long-time player Fred Armisen channeled Barack Obama as a “do nothing” President was about as electric as a CSPAN book chat. And Lady GaGa’s bid to be outrageous was overshadowed by the fact that drunken hotel bar karaoke crooners hit more notes. When the only thing anyone is talking about on “SNL” is the fact that an audible F-bomb and S-bomb have made it through the past two weeks, we’re only a few weeks away from a desperate snuff film sketch. Hopefully, Alec Baldwin will be hosting...

What are you sportin’? Guess what was the most watched program on Monday night? Ok, ok, calm down. We’ll tell you: “Monday Night Football.” Sure, this may not seem like a big deal; after all, who doesn’t love Hank Williams Jr.’s totally catchy football anthem? Plus, it was the game in which perennial waffler Brett Favre returned to take on - and thump – his old Green Bay Packer squad. There were a lot of reasons to watch. But the game was on cable, ESPN, to be specific, and disseminated all major network offerings. In fact, the game was the highest rated cable TV "show" of all time. (Of course, when Monday Night Football aired on ABC, this was the rule.) Meanwhile, over on NBC, football viewership is up 17 percent, and with college football percolating and the baseball play-off getting started, it’s not really a question of which sport is America’s pastime. It’s clear that America’s pastime is watching sports.

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