With former CIA chief David Petraeus topping the list, ABC aired Barbara Walters Presents The 10 Most Fascinating People Of 2012 (2.1/6) at 9:30 PM last night. Ben Affleck, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and upcoming Oscar host Seth MacFarlane also were among the chosen, but the 90-minute special was down 9% from last year, pulling in 7.66 million viewers Wednesday. Earlier on ABC, The Middle (2.2/7) was down 4% from its December 5 show for a season low. The Neighbors (1.6/4) slipped 16% for a series low. Modern Family (4.2/11) was also down, dipping 11% from its last new show November 28 and tying its season low.

On CBS, Survivor: Philippines (2.8/3) was down 3% from last week’s show. Criminal Minds (3.1/8) actually got a little bump in the other direction from last week: The most watched show of the night with an audience of 11.92 million, the police procedural was up 3% from its December 5 airing. CSI (2.2/6) was down 15% from its last original episode two weeks ago despite its 9.52 million viewers; the rating marks a series low for the 12-year-old procedural. The show’s previous low was a 2.3, which it has hit four times — most recently November 7 of this year. With 10.549 million viewers overall, CBS won the night in total viewers and the adults 18-49 demo.

Heading into next week’s finals, Fox’s two-hour The X-Factor (2.6/7) saw the remaining four contestants perform two songs each. The competition show was down a slight 7% from last week.

On NBC, Whitney (1.4/4) was up 8%, matching the season high of its November 14 premiere. A repeat of Guys With Kids (1.0/3) was followed by the third episode this week of Howie Mandel’s Take It All (1.1/3). In the absence of The Voice as a lead-in, the new game show fell 50% from Tuesday’s rating. Chicago Fire (1.4/4) followed, falling 26% from last week and hitting a series low.

The CW’s Arrow (1.0/3) was down 9% from last week.

Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.