TV Ratings : Thursday Night Fight Gets Worse for ‘Murder One’

“ER” continues to dominate the critically ac claimed “Murder One” in their Thursday night matchup. Figures released by Nielsen Media Research indicated that the NBC medical drama, which continues to be the most popular show this season, handed the ABC legal series its worst defeat yet (finishing at No. 78).

As the networks head into the all-important November sweeps period, “Caroline in the City,” with Lea Thompson, and “The Single Guy” remain the top-rated new series. Another sitcom that premiered last week, CBS’ “High Society,” is showing marked improvement in the Monday 9:30 p.m. time slot following “Murphy Brown” from its canceled predecessor, “If Not for You.”

On the other side of the scale, new CBS shows “Central Park West” and “American Gothic” continued their downward plummet, even though the network has given them full-season orders. However, “Touched by an Angel” (No. 27), which was almost canceled last season, seems to be gaining popularity on Saturday nights following “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”

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Southland Ratings

Here are A. C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 50,064 households.

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Program Station Rating 1. ER KNBC 24.8 2. Seinfeld KNBC 23.7 3. Friends KNBC 19.6 4. Caroline in the City KNBC 18.4 5. The Single Guy KNBC 17.9 6. The Simpsons KTTV 15.9 7. Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 15.8 8. 60 Minutes KCBS 15.7 9. Frasier KNBC 14.7 - NYPD Blue KABC 14.7

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Weekly Averages

NBC: 11.6

ABC: 11.3

CBS: 9.3

FOX: 7.7

UPN: 3.9

WB: 2.4

Season to Date

NBC: 12.3

ABC: 12.0

CBS: 9.4

FOX: 7.3

UPN: 3.4

WB: 2.3

SOURCE: A. C. Nielsen