CBS JUGGLES ITS LINEUP AS NBC UPS RATINGS LEAD

As the fourth-week ratings were released showing NBC increasing its lead in the prime-time ratings race, CBS juggled its lineup Tuesday, yanking two shows temporarily and posting the first cancellation of the season--for “Better Days,” a first-year comedy.

The series, about a Beverly Hills teen-ager sent to live with his feisty uncle in Brooklyn, will have its fourth and final broadcast next Wednesday night, a CBS spokesman said.

The cancellation by CBS was part of a schedule change in which “Together We Stand,” another new comedy that preceded “Better Days” on Wednesday nights, and “The Twilight Zone” are temporarily being dropped.

Starting Nov. 5, the network will fill the 8-9 p.m. slot Wednesdays with “The New Mike Hammer” series, which is being shifted from its Saturday night slot.

To fill the 9-11 p.m. period on Saturday that is being vacated with the shift of “Mike Hammer” and the removal of “The Twilight Zone,” CBS on Nov. 1 is reviving the “CBS Saturday Movie,” a third movie block to go with the ones on Sunday and Tuesday.

CBS said that the low-rated “Twilight Zone” and “Together We Stand” will return to the air, but it didn’t say when.

CBS’ action coincided with the release Tuesday of the national Nielsen ratings for last week, which showed NBC pulling ahead in the season-to-date race. NBC is averaging an 18.6 rating, compared to 16.2 for CBS and 15 for ABC. Each rating point is said by Nielsen to represent 874,000 homes.