TV Ratings : Eliot Ness Fires Blanks in Return

CBS had the top-rated program of the week in “60 Minutes” but still finished third in the network race, the A.C. Nielsen Co. reported Tuesday. NBC was first (for the second week in a row) with an average prime-time rating for the week of 13.4, compared to 13.1 for ABC, 12.4 for CBS and 8.1 for Fox. Each point represents 921,000 homes. NBC was helped by the hurricane theme that tied together its three Saturday-night comedies: “The Golden Girls,” “Nurses” and “Empty Nest.” All three placed in the Top 10. NBC lost the battle of Sunday-night movies, however, as “The Return of Eliot Ness” ran third in the time period (No. 43 overall) behind CBS’ “My Son Johnny” and ABC’s “Wife, Mother, Murderer” (which tied at No. 24). The full list of ratings is on F10.

* The return of another Elliott--Chris, the comedian--fared even worse than G-man Ness. The second-season premiere of his sitcom “Get a Life” attracted only 5% of the available audience Saturday night and ranked last among the week’s 93 prime-time programs. The Fox series that debuted immediately before it, “Charlie Hoover,” fared only slightly better, placing 92nd.

Show Points Share 1. “60 Minutes” (CBS) 21.8 34 2. “Roseanne” (ABC) 20.4 30 3. “Empty Nest” (NBC) 20.2 34 4. “Cheers” (NBC) 19.8 30 5. “Murphy Brown” (CBS) 19.0 27 * “Get a Life” (Fox) 3.0 5