SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 9, 2000 — The short-term diagnosis of NBC’s “ER” is looking a lot brighter, as the show finally rebounded to the top of the ratings heap for the prime-time week ended Sunday, narrowly edging ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” juggernaut.
Overall, though, these are ABC’s days. In addition to the still stealthy “Millionaire,” “Mary & Rhoda,” the network’s much-anticipated TV-movie reunion of “Mary Tyler Moore Show” sitcom gals Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) and Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), dominated Monday night, with an estimated 17.7 million viewers checking out the scene. The show was ABC’s most-watched Monday night TV movie in a year. It simply blew out its competition — in one case, it topped NBC’s rival 8-10 p.m. lineup by 131 percent.
We won’t know where “Mary & Rhoda” stacks up in the weekly ratings until, well, next week. For now, “ER” wears the crown. The ever-evolving chaos of a hospital emergency room brought in the single largest share of viewers last week — flickering across the screens in 19.1 million homes.
Still, the nation’s collective fantasy of striking it rich continued to dominate, with ABC’s money-soaked “Millionaire” racking up four of the Top Five prime-time slots, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Night in, night out, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” consistently was watched in more than 17 million homes, reaching as many as 19.1 million viewers Feb. 1. Along with a strong showing by the legal drama “The Practice,” ABC claimed half of the Top 10 spots. It easily won the network race with an average 10.2 rating. CBS was second with an 8.8, NBC slid to third with an 8.7, Fox finished fourth with an 8.5 and UPN topped rival WB, 2.9 to 2.7. (Each ratings point equals a little more than 1 million TV homes.)
Aside from “ER,” NBC clocked into the Top 10 with the sitcoms “Friends” and “Frasier,” which garnered viewing audiences in 15.7 and 14.1 million homes, respectively.
The Tiffany network (CBS’ old-school nickname) managed two Top 10 entries, courtesy of “Touched by an Angel” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Some other random ratings factoids:
THE OTHERS: Fox’s highest-rated show was “Malcolm in the Middle” (No. 28), the WB’s “7th Heaven” (No. 63) and UPN’s “WWF Smackdown” (No. 80).
OPPOSITE OF SUCCESS: The lowest-rated Fox show was the family drama “Get Real” (No. 88). On NBC, the laggard was the once-hot “3rd Rock From the Sun” (No. 82). At ABC, an ABC News special ran in the rear (No. 80), while at CBS, “Candid Camera” (No. 75) shuttered.
NICE TRY: NBC’s attempt to build “Freaks and Geeks” into — oh, let’s say a show people actually watch — is being met with resistance by, um, people who actually watch. The ode to 1980s high school finished in 64th place in its new 8-9 p.m. Monday time slot.
ON LIFE SUPPORT? CBS’ much-touted urban medical drama “City of Angels” landed in an unheavenly 72nd place.
BAD NEWS IS GOOD NEWS: “Spin City,” in headlines of late due to star Michael J. Fox‘s decision to bolt the political-minded sitcom at the end of the season, spun up to 24th place — or 13 slots above its season-to-date ranking.
FIZZLED: UPN’s hip-hop comedy “Shasta” was the lowest-rated major network show of the week (not including the rerun stuff on PAX). In a 109-show race, “Shasta” came in, yes, 109th place, averaging a 1.7 rating.
Here’s the complete look at the Top 10 for the ratings week Jan. 31-Feb. 6:
1. “ER,” NBC 2. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (Tues.), ABC 3. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (Thurs.), ABC 4. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (Wed.), ABC 5. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (Sun.), ABC 6. “Friends,” NBC 7. “The Practice,” ABC 8. “Frasier,” NBC 9. “Touched by an Angel,” CBS 10. “Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS
