A new show finishing in 55th place wouldn't normally be cause for celebration. But CBS' new Wednesday series have been so pitiful (The Trouble With Larry, South of Sunset) that the middling debut of The Nanny, starring Fran Drescher and Charles Shaughnessy, seems like a relative smash. Meanwhile, two sophomore CBS sitcoms aren't benefitting from extensive retooling: Linda Bloodworth- Thomason's Hearts Afire fizzled in 64th place and Bob Newhart's Bob bombed in 93rd. A preview of George Foreman's ABC sitcom, George, bowed in at 15th place Friday, but its first airing in its regular Saturday slot went down for the count in 85th. And if any doubt remained that the variety show is dead, check out the chart's bottom two spots: The Paula Poundstone Show and Townsend Television. Viewers top 20 Last Week 1 35.8 home improvement ABC, Wednesday, 9 p.m. 1 2 31.1 seinfeld NBC, Thursday, 9 p.m. 3 3 29.8 60 minutes CBS, Sunday, 7 p.m. 4 4 29.4 roseanne ABC, Tuesday, 9 p.m. 2 5 27.1 frasier NBC, Thursday, 9:30 p.m. 7 6 26.1 movie: dances with wolves, part one ABC, Sunday, 8p.m.- 7 25.6 grace under fire ABC, Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. 5 8 25.2 coach ABC, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. 6 9 24.7 movie: ghost CBS, Sunday, 9 p.m. - 10 24.5 20/20 ABC, Friday, 10 p.m. 26 11 24.0 wings NBC, Thursday, 8:30 p.m. 10 12 22.7 family matters ABC, Friday, 8 p.m. 20 13 22.6 football: redskins vs. bills ABC, Monday, 9 p.m. - 14 22.4 murphy brown CBS, Monday, 9 p.m. 18 . 15 22.2 dr. quinn, medicine woman CBS, Saturday, 8 p.m. 37 22.2 the fresh prince of bel-air NBC, Monday, 8 p.m. 28 22.2 george ABC, Friday, 8:30 p.m. - 22.2 unsolved mysteries NBC, Wednesday, 8 p.m. 44 19 21.7 the simpsons Fox, Thursday, 8 p.m. 9 20 21.5 movie: a matter of justice, part one NBC,Sunday, 9p.m.-
bottom 10 88 8.7 where i live ABC, Saturday, 8:30 p.m. - 89 8.6 against the grain NBC, Friday, 8 p.m. 98 90 8.4 how'd they do that? CBS, Wednesday, 9 p.m. - 91 8.1 america's most wanted Fox, Tuesday, 9 p.m. 97 92 7.8 roc Fox, Tuesday, 8 p.m. - 93 7.6 bob CBS, Friday, 9 p.m. 90 94 6.9 bakersfield p.D. Fox, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. 101 95 6.8 family album CBS, Friday, 9:30 p.m. 92 96 6.0 the paula poundstone show ABC, Saturday, 9 p.m. 87 97 5.7 townsend television Fox, Sunday, 7 p.m. 100
