Gilmore Girls had viewers at goodbye. So did Malcolm in the Middle, 7th Heaven and other series signing off for the summer, if not for good.

Finales and farewells were big ratings draws in the TV week ended Sunday, per Nielsen Media Research. The presumably CW-bound Gilmore Girls closed its sixth season and its WB run before 5.3 million (78th place), up about 13 percent from its season-to-date average.

Fox's Malcolm in the Middle, ignored by audiences all year long, was embraced in death by 7.4 million (58th place), up 95 percent from its season average.

What was billed as 7th Heaven's series finale, but might merely have been its 10th season finale, worked out fine either way for the WB, with the episode (58th place, 7.6 million) up 43 percent from the usual Camden fare.

Other farewells and finales that boosted bottom lines: NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent (27th place, 11.9 million); NBC's The West Wing (34th place, 10.1 million); and ABC's What About Brian (67th place, 6.4 million).

On Fox, even a clip show anticipating this week's That '70s Show farewell clicked--53rd place, 7.8 million.

NBC's Las Vegas was about the only show that didn't cash in on the fun. The third-season cliffhanger, featuring the shooting of James Caan, was watched by 9.8 million (36th place); the average third-season episode was watched by 10.7 million.

Grey's Anatomy's heart-stopping (literally) finale didn't air in time for this week's Nielsen rankings, but the early returns look good, especially for ABC, which will move the show off Sundays next fall. The two-hour closer, aired Monday, was watched by a whopping 22.5 million, ABC said.

Elsewhere:

Chris Daughtry's American Idol exit was shocking. Ratings for Wednesday's results show (second place, 27.9 million) and Tuesday's sing-off (first place, 28.9 million) were routinely good. Sundays or Mondays, ABC's Grey's Anatomy is a hit. Its penultimate episode, aired in its usual Sunday home, was watched by 22.6 million. Now, if it can do that on Thursdays... More than 17 million watched yoga guru Aras Baskausas outlast his fellow Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (ninth place) castaways. No word on how many IRS agents tuned in. Another death (Cynthia Watros' Libby), another big week for ABC's Lost (11th place, 16.3 million). David Blaine didn't set an underwater record, but his ABC special, David Blaine: Drowned Alive (35th place, 10.1 million), did dunk on magic man Keith Barry and his CBS special, Keith Barry: Extraordinary (75th place, 5.7 million). Um, the season-finale thing didn't really work for the WB's The Bedford Diaries (152nd place, 938,000). On the upside, its penultimate episode, aired an hour earlier, was watched by a relative crowd of 1.1 million (142nd place). As is the routine, CBS was the week's most-watched network among all viewers, its shows averaging 13.2 million; Fox was the most-watched network among always desirable 18- to 49-year-old viewers.

Fox ran second in total viewers (10.8 million); CBS ran second in the demo.

NBC (10 million) ran third in both categories. ABC (8.7 million) came up short in the May sweeps race, with a pair of fourth-place finishes.

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

1. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 28.9 million
2. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 27.9 million
3. CSI, CBS, 27 million
4. House, Fox, 24.3 million
5. Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 22.6 million
6. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 21 million
7. CSI: Miami, CBS, 20 million
8. Without a Trace, CBS, 19.2 million
9. Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (Sunday), CBS, 17.1 million
10. Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (Thursday), CBS, 17 million