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Now, only one-tenth of a ratings point separates one-time basement dweller CBS and five-time ratings champ NBC. ABC - now No. 3 - isn't far off the pace.
Last week - a close contest won by NBC - CBS and NBC placed four series in the top 10 and ABC landed two spots.
CBS' 60 Minutes won the top spot with the help of a Mike Wallace interview with Salman Rushdie. It was the author's first TV interview since going into hiding a year and a half ago following death threats for writing The Satanic Verses.
Six months ago, even the most loyal of CBS staffers didn't believe the network would be a ratings contender this fall.
Now, only one-tenth of a ratings point separates one-time basement dweller CBS and five-time ratings champ NBC. ABC - now No. 3 - isn't far off the pace.
David Poltrack, CBS senior vice president of planning and research, notes that ``there is virtual parity'' among the three networks' regularly scheduled programs. That accounts for the closeness of the race so far.
Last week - a close contest won by NBC - CBS and NBC placed four series in the top 10 and ABC landed two spots.
CBS' 60 Minutes won the top spot with the help of a Mike Wallace interview with Salman Rushdie. It was the author's first TV interview since going into hiding a year and a half ago following death threats for writing The Satanic Verses.
The strong showing by 60 Minutes boosted Murder, She Wrote, which had been struggling. At No. 6, it had its highest rating and ranking this season.
Meanwhile, 60 Minutes' competition on ABC, Life Goes On, placed No. 53 but did record its highest rating ever.
CBS had two premieres that finished in the middle of the pack: Over My Dead Body at No. 43 and WIOU at No. 52.
USA TODAY columnist and CNN's Larry King may want to stick to cable, where he hosts a popular talk show.
Sunday Night With Larry King, a variety pilot, was touted as a possible midseason candidate by NBC. Its finish in 86th place may have 86ed that plan.
Using this chart
Ratings information comes from the A.C. Nielsen Co. A ratings point represents 931,000 TV households; shares are the percentage of sets in use; number of viewers is in millions. A (#) indicates a Nielsen ratings tie; (r), repeat episode; (s), special broadcast. Top 5
1 60 Minutes (CBS)
2 Cheers (NBC)
3 Roseanne (ABC)
4 Designing Women (CBS)
5 Murphy Brown (CBS)
Bottom 5 90 Lifestories (NBC) 91 Haywire (Fox) 92 American Chronicles (Fox)
# DEA (Fox) 94 Against the Law (Fox)
Network ratings For the week: Season
| NBC: 12.5 NBC: 13.2 |
| ABC: 12.4 ABC: 12.7 |
| CBS: 12.2 CBS: 13.1 |
| Fox: 6.6 Fox: 6.2 |
Evening news For the week: Last Week:
| ABC: 10.6 ABC 9.9 |
| CBS: 9.5 CBS 8.7 |
| NBC: 9.1 NBC 8.7 |
Monday, October 22, 1990 8:00 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (NBC)19.3 12.3 20 #44
| Uncle Buck (CBS) 17.6 12.2 20 46 |
| MacGyver (ABC) 17.2 11.5 19 #49 |
| 8:30 Major Dad (CBS) 23.4 15.7 24 #24 |
| Ferris Bueller (NBC) 15.8 10.1 16 59 |
| 9:00 Murphy Brown (CBS) 26.4 18.6 28 5 |
| Monday Night Football (ABC) 23.5 16.4 29 #17 |
| Extreme Close-up (NBC) 16.9 12.3 20 #44 |
| 9:30 Designing Women (CBS) 28.0 19.9 30 4 |
| 10:00 Trials of Rosie O'Neill (CBS)16.5 12.6 21 #40 |
| Tuesday, October 23, 1990 |
| 8:00 Who's the Boss? (ABC) 24.5 17.0 27 12 |
| Matlock (NBC) 24.1 16.8 26 13 |
| Rescue 911 (CBS) 20.8 13.1 20 36 |
| 8:30 Head of the Class (ABC) 23.2 16.0 25 21 |
| 9:00 Roseanne (ABC) 30.1 20.1 31 3 |
| In the Heat of the Night(NBC)24.6 16.5 25 #15 |
| K-9 (CBS) 19.5 12.6 21 #40 |
| 9:30 Coach (ABC) 23.7 16.7 26 14 |
| 10:00 Law and Order (NBC) 19.4 13.7 24 31 |
| thirtysomething (ABC) (r) 12.3 9.7 17 62 |
| Wednesday, October 24, 1990 |
| 8:00 The Wonder Years (ABC) 25.2 16.2 27 19 |
| Unsolved Mysteries (NBC) 23.1 15.9 26 22 |
| 48 Hours (CBS) 12.7 9.2 15 64 |
| 8:30 Growing Pains (ABC) 24.8 16.5 26 #15 |
| 9:00 Doogie Howser, M.D. (ABC) 26.1 17.2 27 11 |
| Jake and the Fatman (CBS) 17.6 12.5 20 42 |
| Fanelli Boys (NBC) 13.7 9.6 15 63 |
| 9:30 Married People (ABC) 19.5 13.5 22 32 |
| Dear John (NBC) 16.6 11.7 19 48 |
| 10:00 Hunter (NBC) 18.8 13.4 24 #33 |
| WIOU (CBS) 15.1 11.3 20 52 |
| Cop Rock (ABC) 9.6 7.3 13 77 |
| Thursday, October 25, 1990 |
| 8:00 The Cosby Show (NBC) 27.3 18.0 29 #8 |
| The Simpsons (Fox) 27.4 15.7 25 #24 |
| Father Dowling Mysteries (ABC)14.4 10.2 16 58 |
| Top Cops (CBS) 11.2 7.9 13 74 |
| 8:30 A Different World (NBC) 27.9 17.9 29 10 |
| Flash (CBS) 17.4 10.7 17 56 |
| Babes (Fox) 11.9 7.4 12 #75 |
| 9:00 Cheers (NBC) 29.9 20.4 32 2 |
| Gabriel's Fire (ABC) 14.7 10.3 17 57 |
| Beverly Hills, 90210 (Fox) 7.6 5.4 9 88 |
| 9:30 Grand (NBC) 21.7 15.1 25 28 |
| Doctor, Doctor (CBS) 13.1 8.9 14 65 |
| 10:00 L.A. Law (NBC) 21.7 15.6 27 27 |
| Knots Landing (CBS) 20.2 14.0 24 30 |
| PrimeTime Live (ABC) 13.0 9.9 17 #60 |
| Friday, October 26, 1990 |
| 8:00 Full House (ABC) 24.5 15.7 29 #24 |
| Evening Shade (CBS) 11.8 8.7 16 66 |
| Quantum Leap (NBC) 12.6 8.1 15 #72 |
| America's Most Wanted (Fox) 8.8 5.9 11 82 |
| 8:30 Family Matters (ABC) 25.5 15.8 29 23 |
| Bagdad Cafe (CBS) 11.7 8.6 16 #67 |
| 9:00 Perfect Strangers (ABC) 20.2 12.8 23 #38 |
| Over My Dead Body (CBS) 17.3 12.4 23 43 |
| Night Court (NBC) 15.2 9.9 18 #60 |
| DEA (Fox) 5.3 3.5 6 #92 |
| 9:30 Going Places (ABC) 17.1 11.5 21 #49 |
| Wings (NBC) 13.1 8.4 15 71 |
| 10:00 20/20 (ABC) 17.9 12.8 24 #38 |
| Midnight Caller (NBC) 12.0 8.5 16 #69 |
| Saturday, October 27, 1990 |
| 8:00 Young Riders (ABC) 13.3 8.5 17 #69 |
| Parenthood (NBC) 12.0 8.1 16 #72 |
| Family Man (CBS) 8.5 5.8 12 #83 |
| Totally Hidden Video (Fox) 7.1 4.8 10 89 |
| 8:30 Working It Out (NBC) 12.4 8.6 17 #67 |
| Hogan Family (CBS) 10.7 6.9 13 #79 |
| Haywire (Fox) 5.9 3.9 8 91 |
| 9:00 The Golden Girls (NBC) 24.6 16.4 31 #17 |
| Only One Survived (CBS) 9.2 6.5 12 81 |
| China Beach (ABC) 8.7 5.8 11 #83 |
| Cops (Fox) 8.6 5.7 11 85 |
| 9:30 Empty Nest (NBC) 27.4 18.0 33 #8 |
| American Chronicles (Fox) 5.5 3.5 6 #92 |
| 10:00 Carol & Company (NBC) 20.9 14.3 27 29 |
| Twin Peaks (ABC) 11.4 7.4 14 #75 |
| 10:30 American Dreamer (NBC) 15.9 11.4 23 51 |
| Sunday, October 28, 1990 |
| 7:00 60 Minutes (CBS) 29.9 21.1 34 1 |
| Life Goes On (ABC) 19.4 11.1 18 #53 |
| True Colors (Fox) 9.2 5.6 9 #86 |
| Lifestories (NBC) (r) 6.0 4.3 7 90 |
| 7:30 Parker Lewis (Fox) 10.9 6.9 11 #79 |
| 8:00 Murder, She Wrote (CBS) 25.8 18.5 27 6 |
| Home Videos (ABC) 33.1 18.1 27 7 |
| In Living Color (Fox) 18.2 11.1 16 #53 |
| Sunday Night/Larry King (NBC) 8.5 5.6 8 #86 |
| 8:30 Funniest People (ABC) 29.7 16.1 23 20 |
| In Living Color (Fox) (r) 20.3 12.0 17 47 |
| 9:00 Secret Life of Archie's Wife (CBS)18.7 13.4 22 #33 |
| Lethal Weapon (NBC) (r) 20.7 13.2 22 35 |
| Married ... With Children (Fox)20.9 12.9 20 37 |
| Stakeout (ABC) 16.2 10.8 19 55 |
| 9:30 Good Grief (Fox) 10.2 7.1 11 78 |
| 10:00 Against the Law (Fox) 3.9 2.9 5 94 |
Copyright USA Today Information Network Oct 31, 1990