CBS No. 1 in total viewers; tied for No. 2 among 18- to 49-year-olds
The Good Who won the Monday night fight between ABC's ''Millionaire'' and NBC's ''Weakest Link''? Oddly enough: CBS' ''The King of Queens'' (No. 17), ''Yes, Dear'' (No. 18), ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (No. 4), and ''Becker'' (No. 8), which all got ratings boosts. ''We hoped those audiences would cannibalize each other and people would look to us for comedy,'' says CBS' Kahl. ''By and large, they have.'' On Tuesdays, people did their patriotic duty by watching ''JAG'' (up from last year's No. 30 to No. 11); ''Judging Amy'' continued to rule its slot at No. 12, while rookie legal drama ''The Guardian'' made a convincing case at No. 22. ''We found a show with a very appealing star,'' says Kahl of ''Guardian'''s Simon Baker. ''We felt it fit nicely between 'JAG' and 'Amy,' and it gave us the opportunity to get younger than we were with '60 Minutes II.''' On Thursdays, ''CSI'' scoped out 4.7 million extra viewers to hit No. 2 (its best showing yet), and ''Survivor,'' though fading, staked out No. 5. ''We all knew it would cool at some point,'' says Kahl, ''and if we've cooled down to where we have 20 million viewers, we're very happy.''
The Bad Notice how we skipped Wednesdays? Mutant drama ''Wolf Lake'' scared up only a No. 85 ranking, and ''The Amazing Race'' limped in at No. 59. Fridays were soggy with No. 95 ''The Ellen Show'' (yep, she's tanking), No. 99 ''Danny'' (Ohhh, Danny boy), and No. 81 ''That's Life'' (guess so). Richard Dreyfuss' Sunday drama, ''The Education of Max Bickford,'' earns remedial ratings at No. 37; the producers are trying to lighten the tone (and, we assume, broaden the audience; it's No. 90 in the 18-49 demo). ''The Agency'' is nearly a bust at No. 40 (losing 12 million viewers from its ''CSI'' lead-in). And No. 66 ''Citizen Baines'' has already opted for early retirement.
The Upshot ''Survivor'' and ''CSI'' show CBS can reverse the aging process -- by keeping it real and edgy.
Midseason hopefuls The Supreme Court drama ''First Monday''; ''Top Gun''-like reality series ''American Fighter Pilots.''
NBC No. 2 in total viewers; No. 1 among 18- to 49-year-olds
The Good ''Survivor'' crushed ''Friends'' in last season's head-on, but this fall, the sexy sextet (No. 1) bested the castaways with an average of 24.1 million viewers. Surprised? NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker wasn't. '''Friends' tapped into a story line that was brilliant,'' he says of Rachel's pregnancy. ''ER'' still wheels 'em in at No. 3, ''Will & Grace'' stands proud at No. 10 (No. 3 among 18-49ers), and ''The West Wing'' commands the No. 7 spot. Whip-smart medicom ''Scrubs'' is alive and kicking at No. 34 (No. 18 among 18-49ers), and new coroner drama ''Crossing Jordan'' is stiff competition on Mondays at No. 23. ''It's a perfect example of a show that critics chose to ignore at the expense of other programs that haven't delivered,'' says Zucker. ''Law & Order'' producer Dick Wolf, meanwhile, earned a three-peat: His latest ''L&O'' spin-off, ''Criminal Intent,'' is No. 26, ''SVU'' hit No. 15, and No. 6 ''Law & Order'' -- stop us if this sounds familiar -- is doing its best numbers ever.
The Bad Emeril's comedy couldn't kick it up a notch above No. 83. ''Our thinking was to take a swing,'' says Zucker, ''to try something different.'' Sadly, it was the same old story Thursdays at 8:30, as sportscom ''Inside Schwartz'' (No. 16) couldn't hold ''Friends''' audience. And -- psssst! -- freshman detective drama ''UC'' is too undercover at No. 63.
The Upshot Beg, borrow, and steal to renew ''Friends'' -- and keep Mr. Wolf on speed dial.
Midseason hopefuls The thirtysomething comedy ''Leap of Faith'' and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' real-time laugher ''Watching Ellie.''
