Fox medical drama House returned with a bang on Tuesday and gave a much-needed lift to soapy teen series 90210 on Global, though the latter remains behind supernatural drama Fringe on A.

The season-five premiere of House debuted at 8 p.m. to 2.8 million viewers and dominated the night in urban markets Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. The number is down from last year, however, when the first episode of season four grabbed a series high 3.3 million viewers. (All numbers 2+.)

The story is the same in the U.S., where 14.7 million eyeballs tuned in to House — down from 18.3 million last year. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the drama aired during official premiere week in 2007, which gave it a more effective launch period than this year.

House helped 90210 grow its audience to 790,000 viewers, up 19% from the previous week, though still a far cry from the 1.3 million that caught the series premiere on Sept. 2.

90210 also faced strong competition from Fringe, which delivered 819,000 viewers for its second episode on A, down significantly, though understandably, from its double-barreled debut on both CTV and A, which brought in 1.5 million to the main network. (CTVglobemedia did not make available the debut numbers on A.)

Fringe‘s performance was much more dramatic in the U.S. on Fox, where the J.J. Abrams series saw a 45% increase from the previous week, also likely due to its House lead-in.

Meanwhile, Survivor Gabon will now air in a two-hour season premiere on Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. on Global. The reality series had previously been scheduled to debut in a one-hour broadcast on Sept. 18, but CBS decided to put the episodes together — marking the first-ever two-hour premiere for Survivor.