On the verge of a new year, it was just like old times: Dick Clark presiding, the Times Square ball dropping, viewers watching.

But in addition to strong ratings, Clark's return to his New Year's Eve on-air duties one year after suffering a stroke generated controversy.

That is, if controversy can be gauged by The O'Reilly Factor.

A segment on Monday's edition of the Fox News show was devoted to the discussion, "Should Dick Clark have returned to TV on New Year's Eve?" While the consensus answer was yes, the conclusion of at least one major newspaper review was maybe not.

In Monday's New York Times, critic Virginia Heffernan said the TV impresario long known as the "World's Oldest Teenager" now seemed simply "old." She likened the post-stroke Clark, 76, to "the couchbound relative who, maudlin and exhausted, weeps at how lucky he is to be around his family one more year."

Even harsher, Heffernan found Clark's speech, slurred but intelligible, except when it was slurred and somewhat less intelligible, "comical," if "touching."

The National Stroke Association did not concur. At all. It hailed Clark for a "tremendous job," and said he served as "an inspiration to all stroke survivors."

For his part, Clark did not try to pretend that things really were like old times.

"Last year, I had a stroke that left me in bad shape," Clark said as he opened up the late-night version of his trademark New Year's Rockin' Eve show for ABC. "I had to teach myself how to walk and talk all over again. It was a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect, but I'm getting there."

All in all, Clark said, it was "good to be back with you again."

Viewers apparently shared the sentiment. Ratings for the countdown portion of New Year's Rockin' Eve were up from the previous year when Regis Philbin subbed for the hospitalized Clark. Per Nielsen estimates, the show averaged 20 million viewers, compared to 18.2 million for the earlier Philbin-fronted effort. The 2005-06 version of Rockin' Eve not only featured the return of Clark, but the debut of Ryan Seacrest as Clark's heir apparent.

Clark's two biggest competitors this year, Carson Daly on NBC and Philbin on Fox, managed a combined 13.7 million viewers, with Daly-hosted countdown beating Philbin's. But there was some consolation by the ABC-snubbed Philbin--his show improved on the numbers posted the previous year by then-Fox host Seacrest.

Ratings for prime-time version of New Year's Rockin' Eve were slightly down, from 7.9 million on the last night of 2004 to 7.7 million on the last night of 2005, per Nielsen Media Research. The show ranked 37th for the TV week ended Sunday.

In other ratings highlights:

CBS ended 2005 the way it began the fall season, winning. Overall, it was the most watched network, its shows averaging 10.1 million. ABC was the most watched network among demographically desirable 18- to 49-year-olds.

ABC (8.1 million) ran second in total viewers, followed by NBC (7 million), Fox (5.7 million) and Univision (3.4 million).

Among the netlets, UPN (2.6 million) outdid the WB (2.2 million).

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

1. CSI, CBS, 17.6 million viewers
2. Monday Night Football, ABC, 14.4 million viewers
3. NFL Monday Showcase, ABC, 13.3 million viewers
4. CSI: Miami, CBS, 12.9 million viewers
5. The OT (NFL football overrun), Fox, 12.8 million viewers
6. Desperate Housewives: All the Juicy Details, ABC, 12.4 million viewers
7. NCIS, CBS, 12.2 million viewers
8. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 12.1 million viewers
9. Without a Trace, CBS, 11.7 million viewers
10. CSI: NY, CBS, 11.5 million viewers