TV RATINGS : Oldies Prove to Be Goodies

The critics keep talking about NBC’s shows getting old and vulnerable to competition, but the viewers seem to be delivering a different message. In its ninth season, “Cheers” was the most popular program on television last season. And at the ripe old TV age of five, “L.A. Law” found itself Tuesday at the top of the Nielsen weekly ratings list for the first time ever. The season finale of the legal drama attracted viewers in about 15.5 million homes. NBC reported that it was the first time a 10 p.m. drama had ranked first in the weekly competition since CBS’ “Knots Landing” was there on May 20, 1985. Nevertheless, CBS won the network race last week, with NBC second and ABC third. The full list of ratings is on F9.

* A spate of so-called reality programming last week failed to boost the genre’s ratings credibility. While series such as “Rescue 911” and “Unsolved Mysteries” did fine, the specials did not. Highest among them was CBS’ “Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories,” which ranked 41st among the week’s 87 prime-time programs. ABC’s “Miracles and Other Mysteries” was 57th, CBS’ “Visitors From the Unknown” was 58th and ABC’s “Brides: A Tale of Two Weddings” was 60th.