TV RATINGS : Sunday Programs Help CBS Win

In the final week of the official 1990-91 TV season, CBS took top honors among the networks, thanks to a strong showing Sunday night with “60 Minutes,” “Murder, She Wrote” and the TV movie “Absolute Strangers.” Nevertheless, figures released Tuesday by the A. C. Nielsen Co. showed CBS in third place for the season as a whole, with NBC first and ABC second. NBC’s “Cheers” was the top-rated series, both last week and for the season. The full list of ratings is on F11.

Show Points Share 1. “Cheers” (NBC) 21.1 34 2. “A Different World” (NBC) 19.0 32 3. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 18.8 34 4. “Roseanne” (ABC) 17.8 28 5. “Absolute Strangers” (CBS) 17.7 29 * “Northern Exposure” (CBS) 13.9 24

* Good news, bad news: In its first outing of the season, CBS’ “Northern Exposure” garnered a 13.9 rating (representing 12.9 million homes) and ranked 24th among the week’s 89 prime-time programs. But that was 3.5 million fewer than watched its lead-in, “Designing Women.” Meanwhile, Fox’s new entry, “Top of the Heap,” did not fare as well, placing 51st--and well behind its lead-in, “Married . . . With Children.”