NEW YORK -- NBC took another Monday night in broadcast primetime with a surge from "Deal or No Deal" and its runaway hit "Heroes."

"Deal or No Deal" was the night's top show in viewership while "Heroes" claimed that honor in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary estimates released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. "Deal or No Deal" got its second-best viewership and rating of the fall season while "Heroes" hit the second-highest rating for a new show this season behind only last week's "Heroes."

NBC's 5.1/12 in the demo had no problem beating second-place CBS' 4.4/11; CBS gave a little more competition in viewership with 13.4 million to NBC's 13.5 million. The difference came at 10 p.m., when "CSI: Miami" boosted CBS while "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" fell from NBC's high-flying 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hours.

NBC won at both 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., first with "Deal or No Deal" (17.6 million, 5.2/13) and then with "Heroes" (15.5 million, 6.7/16). But CBS came back at 10 p.m. with "CSI: Miami" (16.9 million, 5.6/14) easily beat "Studio 60" (7.4 million, 3.3/8) and the second half of "The Bachelor" finale (10.9 million, 4.3/11). CBS's 9 p.m. sitcom "Two and a Half Men" averaged 15.6 million viewers and a 4.8/11 in the demo while "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (12.2 million, 3.7/8) was down a bit.

Coleman told TV Guide that H.R.G., as he's known as, wasn't intended to be more than just a guest star in the pilot. However, the character has expanded over the first dozen episodes and Coleman is now a series regular. Whether he is good or bad has yet to be seen, although last week's episode revealed that he doesn't appear to be the person responsible for cutting people's brains out of their heads. Although it will be slow in coming, more details will eventually come out about the "Face of Evil," Coleman said.

"I don't know when, but I can tell you that hints are starting to get dropped that there are marching orders, and there aren't a lot of clues as to where they're coming from," he said. "We're started to get the idea that H.R.G. is a cog in a larger wheel, but we have not quite learned that much more about it yet. I would say that H.R.G.'s motives may be suspect, but ultimately, I don't think he's plotting the end of the world."

We're talking about Hiro Nakamura, the giddy "Star Trek"-loving office drone played by Masi Oka on NBC's "Heroes." Fervent fans of the show have been charmed by his gleeful energy and by how he scrunches up his face like a "constipated hamster" just before traveling through time or space.

All the attention has been a big rush for Oka, 31, who after studying math and computer science at Brown University, pursued acting part time while working in the Bay Area at George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.

Oka still might be toiling in relative obscurity had "Heroes" creator and Pittsburgh native Tim Kring stuck to his original script draft for the show, which contained no trace of the character. But after Kring realized the dark story could use some levity and a character who would "embrace his power with enthusiasm," a Hiro was born.

Q: You're one of the few breakout stars of the new TV season. How is life different?

A: It's so surreal. I used to be able to go out for dinner and be completely alone. Now, not so much. I get asked by people to pose for photos a lot.

Q: There has been plenty of Internet chatter among women who think you're so adorable that they want to cuddle with you. What do you make of that?

A: Some friends recently sent me a post they found from a woman who was saying she wanted to make me her pet. She wrote that she wanted to "put me in a cage to keep and kiss me and love me."

Q: Do you relate to your character in any way?

A: Sure. We're both Japanese, of course. And we're both big manga and anime enthusiasts. And I can relate to the fact that he's stuck in a corporate job and dreaming of being someone special, because I'm definitely living a dream right now.

Q: If you could time-travel in real life, where would you go?

A: I'd go back to my sophomore year in high school and tell myself to stay away from that certain girl. "Don't even think about asking her out - because there's 10 years of therapy waiting for you right there."

Q: You mentioned the "lightness" of Hiro. But you've also had to play the future version of the character, who seems more dark and serious. Is that a tough transition?

A: Any time you can play two diverse characters in one show, it's a great acting challenge. And playing Future Hiro is cool. You've got the robes, the sword and the soul patch which, in real life, would have taken me a whole year to grow. You feel like a total bad ass and a chick magnet.