TV Ratings : ‘Chicago Hope’ Is Revived by ‘Murder’s’ Get-Well Slot

CBS’ “Chicago Hope” got crushed by NBC’s “ER” in the Thursday-night battle of medical dramas this fall, but it turns out that it was nothing personal. Millions of viewers were only too happy to take a look when CBS put the series on at a more convenient hour last Sunday--namely, into the slot normally occupied by “Murder, She Wrote.”

Ratings released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co. showed that “Chicago Hope,” co-starring Adam Arkin, ranked No. 10 among the 93 network programs in prime time last week. Indeed, it was the most-watched medical drama of the week (“ER” wasn’t on). CBS hopes the people who watched on Sunday will now stickwith the series in its regular time slot of Thursday at 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, “Home Improvement,” after being displaced for a week, returned to its position atop the national ratings list. It was one of six ABC shows in the Top 10, a showing that helped propel the network well ahead of its competitors.

The annual Halloween episode of “The Simpsons” gave the cartoon series its best ratings since Fox moved it back to Sundays at 8 p.m. this fall (No. 27), and a “Simpsons” rerun at 8:30 did even better (No. 22).

Southland Ratings

Here are A. C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 50,064 households.

Program Station Rating 1. Roseanne KABC 23.3 2. Home Improvement KABC 22.9 3. The Simpsons KTTV 21.8 4. Grace Under Fire KABC 20.8 5. The Simpsons (8:30 p.m.) KTTV 19.8 6. Seinfeld KNBC 19.0 7. Ellen KABC 18.3 8. 60 Minutes KCBS 17.9 9. Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 17.2 10. The Simpsons (7:30 p.m.) KTTV 16.5

Weekly Averages

ABC: 12.6

CBS: 10.9

NBC: 10.9

FOX: 8.2

Season to Date

ABC: 12.1

NBC: 11.7

CBS: 11.6

FOX: 7.7