TV RATINGS : ABC and Fox Score With Viewers

With three shows in the top five and a strong showing by its new series “Twin Peaks,” ABC tied with NBC for first in the prime-time ratings last week, figures from the A.C. Nielsen Co. showed Tuesday. NBC was sunk by its poor outing Sunday, where “Mary Poppins” and “A Brand New Life” combined to run fourth for the night. Not all was good news for ABC, however: the premiere of “Capital News” ran third in its time slot. Overall, the three networks attracted only 61% of the prime-time viewers last week.

* The Simpsons, America’s new cover family (the current edition of Newsweek) scored big ratings again Sunday night. Not only did Fox’s cartoon series win its 8:30-9 p.m. time period against the three major networks, but it also ranked as the most-watched program in the Los Angeles market for the entire week. It also spearheaded a Fox assault: “Married . . . With Children” won its time slot at 9 p.m. and the premiere of “In Living Color” did respectably at 9:30. The full list of ratings is on Page 12.

Show Points Share 1.”Roseanne”(ABC) 22.1 35 2.”Cheers”(NBC) 19.7 33 3.”Funniest Home Videos”(ABC) 18.8 34 4.”The Cosby Show”(NBC) 18.6 34 5.”Coach”(ABC) 17.8 28 *”The Simpsons”(Fox) 15.9 26