Oprah boosts Dave’s ratings with rare visit

Apparently, TV viewers aren’t so interested in the life of the late Pope John Paul II. But Oprah’s feud with Dave? Sign ‘em up.

ABC found no salvation Thursday with “Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II,” a two-hour biopic that bombed, attracting an average of only 6.7 million viewers, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research. The movie was trounced by the usual lineups from CBS and NBC, including a repeat of CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (23 million). CBS’ own John Paul miniseries, starring Jon Voight as the Polish-born pontiff, starts Sunday.

Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey’s much-publicized visit to CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” -- the talk queen’s first sit-down with the cranky late-night host in 16 years -- delivered 13.4 million viewers. Winfrey, who has said that Letterman’s gibes over the years made her “uncomfortable,” told Letterman on the air, “I have never for a moment had a feud with you.”

The numbers were more than three times Letterman’s season average (4.3 million), and it was “Late Show’s” most-watched airing since February 1994. However, “Late Show” this season still lags behind NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (averaging 5.8 million viewers per night).

Scott Collins