NBC: Alone at the Top

Without “Lonesome Dove” or its equivalent to distract them, viewers returned to their normal TV habits last week. NBC trounced the competition, led as usual by “The Cosby Show.” Ratings from the A.C. Nielsen Co. placed NBC’s average prime-time audience last week at 14.6 million homes, compared to 11.8 million for CBS and 11 million for ABC. The full list of Nielsen ratings is on Page 12.

* Sealing ABC’s fate as No. 3 for the week was the poor performance Sunday night of the first half of its murder mystery “Passion and Paradise.” It ran third from 9-11 p.m., attracting viewers in about 10.7 million homes, compared to 15.6 million for NBC’s TV movie “Swimsuit” and 14.9 million for CBS’ TV movie “The Fulfillment of Mary Gray.”

TV RATINGS

Show Points Share 1.”The Cosby Show” 26.2 41 NBC 2.”A Different World” 24.1 37 NBC 3.”60 Minutes” 23.1 37 CBS 4.”The Golden Girls” 22.8 38 NBC 5.”Cheers” 22.8 35 NBC *”Passion and Paradise” 11.8 19 ABC