TOUR DE FORCE

Madonna--that Material Girl-turned-yoga-lovin' mama--has assumed yet another persona: homecoming queen. Over 5 million Madge-philes jumped on the mechanical-bull bandwagon to watch the Michigan-born diva rock Detroit on Madonna Live: The Drowned World Tour (1st). The special, which was HBO's third-most-watched concert since 1997, overshadowed The Learning Channel's highly promoted The Human Face with John Cleese, which debuted at the same time. Other big winners were the tykes (and, apparently, one teen) in the Little League World Series (12th) on ESPN. Meanwhile, a less all-American offering, Edward Norton's neo-Nazi pic American History X (4th), fared well on USA.

TOP 5 PAY CABLE

VIEWERS*

1 5.7 MADONNA LIVE: THE DROWNED WORLD TOUR HBO, Sunday, 9:01 p.m. 2 4.1 THE SOPRANOS HBO, Sunday, 8 p.m. 3 4.0 MOVIE: WHAT LIES BENEATH HBO, Tuesday, 9 p.m. 4 3.2 REAL SEX XTRA: SIZE MATTERS HBO, Friday, 11:15 p.m. 5 2.9 MOVIE: WHAT LIES BENEATH HBO, Sunday, 1:45 p.m.

TOP 25 basic cable

VIEWERS*

1 6.9 WWF WAR ZONE TNN, Monday, 10 p.m. 2 6.4 WWF RAW IS WAR TNN, Monday, 9 p.m. 3 6.0 RACING: SHARPIE 500 WINSTON CUP TNT, Saturday, 7:58 p.m. 4 3.9 MOVIE: AMERICAN HISTORY X USA, Sunday, 8 p.m. 5 3.8 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS Nickelodeon, Sunday, 10:30 a.m. 6 3.7 RUGRATS Nickelodeon, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. 3.7 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS Nickelodeon, Sunday, 10 a.m. 8 3.6 HEY ARNOLD! Nickelodeon, Sunday, 11 a.m. 9 3.5 MOVIE: WITHIN THESE WALLS Lifetime, Monday, 9 p.m. 10 3.4 MOVIE: SISTERS AND OTHER STRANGERS Lifetime, Sunday, 6 p.m. 3.4 RUGRATS Nickelodeon, Monday, 4 p.m. 12 3.3 LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES ESPN, Thursday, 8 p.m. 3.3 MOVIE: IN MY SISTER'S SHADOW Lifetime, Sunday, 4 p.m. 14 3.2 HEY ARNOLD! Nickelodeon, Saturday, 11:30 a.m. 3.2 RUGRATS Nickelodeon, Monday, 4:30 p.m. 3.2 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS Nickelodeon, Wednesday, 8 p.m. 3.2 NASCAR PRERACE TNT, Saturday, 7 p.m. 3.2 ROCKET POWER Nickelodeon, Monday, 5 p.m. 3.2 RUGRATS Nickelodeon, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. 20 3.1 WITCHBLADE TNT, Tuesday, 9 p.m. 3.1 HEY ARNOLD! Nickelodeon, Saturday, 11 a.m. 3.1 RUGRATS Nickelodeon, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. 23 3.0 RUGRATS Nickelodeon, Monday, 3:30 p.m. 3.0 JUMPING SHIP Disney, Tuesday, 8:45 p.m. 3.0 MOVIE: FEAR USA, Tuesday, 9 p.m.

*IN MILLIONS WEEK OF AUGUST 20-26, 2001 SOURCE: NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH


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