TV Ratings

The highest-rated “Monday Night Football” game in more than four years, pitting Dallas against Green Bay, booted ABC into second place in the weekly ratings, according to figures issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

ABC edged CBS, which rallied to make things close by winning the Sunday movie race with the opening half of “In Cold Blood,” starring Anthony Edwards, and benefited from a “Cyclone Saturday” theme night that lifted “Walker, Texas Ranger” to its highest rating this season. Edwards had a big week, as his NBC series “ER” scored its highest rating since February, with more than 37 million people tuning in to witness the departure of Dr. Lewis (played by Sherry Stringfield).

NBC again easily won the week, catching up with ABC on Tuesday as newsmagazine “Dateline NBC” beat an original episode of “NYPD Blue” for the first time ever, while “Caroline in the City” topped the Michael J. Fox show “Spin City” for the second consecutive week. NBC also received a boost Saturday from its final Bob Hope special.

The premiere of “Speed” raced to Fox’s best Tuesday movie rating of the season.

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 25.0 2. Seinfeld KNBC 24.0 3. Friends KNBC 22.0 4. Suddenly Susan KNBC 19.6 5. The Single Guy KNBC 18.5 6. The X-Files KTTV 17.4 7. NYPD Blue KABC 15.2 8. 60 Minutes KCBS 14.6 9. Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 14.4 --Touched by an Angel KCBS 14.4

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Weekly Averages

NBC: 11.6

ABC: 10.2

CBS: 10.0

FOX: 8.3

UPN: 3.2

WB: 2.9

Season to Date

NBC: 11.0

CBS: 10.1

ABC: 9.8

FOX: 8.4

UPN: 3.4

WB: 2.8