D'oh! Homer's Still a Hit

Tue., Nov. 5, 2002 5:45 PM PST by Joal Ryan

For a family whose members look like they're suffering liver failure, Homer Simpson's yellow-hued clan is a surprisingly hardy bunch.

The Simpsons, Fox's Energizer bunny of an animated series, cracked the top 10 for the prime-time week ended Sunday, with its freakin' 14th--14th!--season debut, watched by 16.7 million diehards.

But despite Homer's good work and strong season openers 24 (finishing a fitting 24th place, with 13.5 million viewers) and Malcolm in the Middle (38th place, 12.2 million), Fox couldn't build on last week's all-world World Series performance.

Overall, the network, plagued by weak freshmen series, fell to fourth place, averaging nine million viewers.

With Fox faltering, CBS reclaimed the top spot--and not a week too soon. The all-important November sweeps kicked off last Thursday. The ratings-mad month runs through November 27.

Led by the top-rated CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (first place, 28.95 million), CBS averaged 12.8 million viewers, placed four shows in the top 10 and carried four of seven nights, including the prized Thursday. It was CBS' fifth weekly win in the six-week-old 2002-03 season.

NBC made the race closer than usual, averaging 12.4 million viewers, good for second place.

The Peacock's The West Wing, locked in a Wednesday night war with ABC's The Bachelor, managed to hold off its younger, better-looking competition, settling into 11th place, with 15.7 million viewers. The Bachelor, meanwhile, continued to court audiences, up to 19th place, with 14.99 million viewers.

Some of bachelor Aaron Buerge's charm must have rubbed off on the rest of ABC's lineup. Disney's troubled network, running fourth behind Fox for the season to date, enjoyed its most-watched week of the TV year, averaging 10.35 million viewers.

The Alphabet got a boost from its made-for-TV Home Alone sequel, Home Alone 4, aired under the auspices of the Wonderful World of Disney (34th place, 12.5 million), but not from its two-part broadcast of Gladiator (first night: 65th place, 8 million; second night: 74th place, 6.97 million).

The Practice, however, was back in form after lying low during Game 7 of the World Series. The successful David E. Kelley lawyer series placed 27th, with 13.3 million viewers. On Tuesday, ABC announced it was drafting Chyler Leigh, late of the unsuccessful David E. Kelley lawyer series, Fox's Girls Club (95th place, 4.95 million), to join Bobby Donnelly's Boston firm, effective midseason.

Elsewhere, the WB beat out UPN in the network-ettes' weekly battle for fifth place. The Frog, led by Smallville (64th place, 8.2 million), averaged 4.3 million viewers. UPN, championed by Enterprise (88th place, 5.6 million), got by with four million.

The dis-honor of the week's least-watched show again went to UPN's Haunted (117th place, 1.6 million).

Here's a rundown of the 10 most-watched shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. CSI, CBS, 28.95 million
2. Friends, NBC, 24.5 million
3. ER, NBC, 23.5 million
4. Law & Order, NBC, 20.2 million
5. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 19.5 million
6. Survivor: Thailand, CBS, 18.79 million
7. CSI: Miami, CBS, 18.75 million
8. Scrubs, NBC, 18 million
9. Will & Grace, NBC, 17.2 million
10. The Simpsons, Fox, 16.7 million