‘Cheers’ Carries NBC to the Top

“Cheers’ ” hourlong celebration of its 200th episode last Thursday sent the show’s ratings soaring. Figures released by the A. C. Nielsen Co. Tuesday indicated that the program was seen in about 27.5 million homes--representing 44% of the viewing audience at the time. That showing helped propel NBC into first place for the week, with ABC second and CBS third. NBC also won the big battle of movies on Sunday night, with its earthquake drama, “The Big One,” attracting 26% of the audience, compared to 24% each for ABC’s “Call Me Anna” and CBS’ “Fatal Attraction.” The full list of ratings is on F9.

* The promise of finally learning who killed Laura Palmer brought viewers back to “Twin Peaks” on Saturday. The mystery soap opera had been averaging an audience of about 7.7 million homes each week this season, but the figure for Saturday’s episode jumped to 9.7 million. The show finished second at 10 p.m. behind NBC’s “Carol and Company,” then won in the final half hour, when Leland Palmer, Laura’s father, was revealed as her killer. ABC was pleased: The network said Tuesday that it has ordered another nine episodes to carry through the end of the season.

TV RATINGS

Show Points Share 1. “Cheers” (NBC) 29.5 44 2. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 21.1 34 3. “A Different World” (NBC) 20.0 30 4. “Designing Women” (CBS) 18.9 28 4. “Murphy Brown” (CBS) 18.9 28 * “Twin Peaks” (ABC) 10.4 20