NBC Rebounds to Win the Ratings Race : Television: ‘Cheers’ and a strong showing by the ‘Decoration Day’ special lead the network back from a No. 2 showing the previous week.

It was only a repeat, but “Cheers” led a six-show attack that restored NBC to the top of the ratings race last week, it was reported today.

After a No. 2 showing during Thanksgiving week, NBC surged back with a lineup that included the top-rated “Cheers,” the Hallmark Hall of Fame production “Decoration Day,” “The Cosby Show,” “Different World,” “Empty Nest” and “Matlock”--all in the top 10.

CBS’s “60 Minutes” was a strong second in the ratings, and the network’s weighed in with two more top-10 shows, “Murder, She Wrote” and “Murphy Brown.” ABC’s only entry among the top 10 was “Roseanne.”

It was the eighth week out of the 11-week-old season that NBC has led the pack. CBS won the premier and World Series weeks and ABC won Thanksgiving week.

The No. 7 showing by “Decoration Day,” with a 17.9 rating and a 28 share, gave NBC the victory in the Sunday night movie war, easily outdistancing CBS’s “Fatal Image,” which tied for 30th place with a 14.1 rating and a 22 share, and ABC’s “Commando,” which was in 40th place with a 13.3 rating and a 20 share.

The fisticuffs between Fox’s “The Simpsons” and “The Cosby Show” went to NBC, at least in part because “Cosby” (fifth place) was an all-new show, while “Simpsons” (45th place) was a rerun of the season opener.

Among new shows, CBS’s “Evening Shade” with a 14.0 rating and a 22 share, was in 33rd place, overtaking NBC’s “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” in 38th place with a 13.6 rating and in a 21 share. The two shows were a virtual dead heat the previous week.

NBC’s score for the week was a 13.1 rating and a 21 share, ahead of ABC’s 12.4 rating and 20 share and CBS’s 12.3 and 20 share. ABC, which was first the previous week, dropped from a whopping 13.4 rating and a 23 share.

In the 11-week-old season-to-date statistics, NBC maintains its lead with a 13.2 rating and 22 share, while ABC has moved into second with a 12.7 rating and a 21 share. CBS is just behind, with a 12.6 rating and a 21 share.

Night-by-night competition saw NBC win Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, while ABC took Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and CBS captured Sunday.

THE TOP 10 The top 10 programs for the week ending Sunday, according to the

A.C. Nielsen Co.: 1. Cheers (NBC)

2. 60 Minutes (CBS)

3. A Different World (NBC)

4. Roseanne (ABC)

5. The Cosby Show (NBC)

6. Murder, She Wrote (CBS)

7. Decoration Day (NBC)

8. Murphy Brown (CBS)

9. Empty Nest (NBC)

10. Matlock (NBC)