AT SEASON'S END, THE EYE HAS IT

What began as the hardest-fought network-ratings race in recent memory has ended by making a bit of history: For the first time ever, a network has leapt from third place to first in a single season. The winner, of course, is CBS, which used its Sunday- and Monday-night hits and some blockbuster sports ! programming (including the World Series, the Winter Olympics, the NCAA basketball championship, and the Super Bowl) to win 22 of the season's 30 weeks. NBC, which finished on top last season, was second, and ABC fell from second to a close third. But ABC could claim the season's top series, Roseanne, which narrowly beat 60 Minutes in numbers of total viewers. (60 Minutes did finish first in numbers of households for the first time in nine years.) Other champions of the 1991-92 season include the Super Bowl broadcast (the most-watched program of any kind), CBS' true-crime miniseries In a Child's Name (the season's top made-for-TV movie), and NBC's telecast of Kindergarten Cop (the season's biggest theatrical movie broadcast). And the season's top entertainment specials were, in order, ABC's Academy Awards telecast, CBS' Country Music Association awards show, and ABC's Happy Days reunion special. VIEWERS* SEASON TOP TWENTY 1 31.6 ROSEANNE (ABC) Funnier than ever, Arnold reverses a one-year dip and returns to No. 1. 2 31.3 60 MINUTES (CBS) A Top 10 hit for 15 years; Mike, Morley, Ed, & Co. keep on ticking. 3 28.1 HOME IMPROVEMENT (ABC) Tim Allen leads '91's freshman class with the season's only new smash. 4 27.2 FULL HOUSE (ABC) After five years and a move to Tuesdays, it's a bigger hit than ever. 5 26.7 MURPHY BROWN (CBS) Critics feared pregnancy would dull Murphy; viewers just laughed. 6 26.2 COACH (ABC) The sitcom version of Tuesday Night Football came into its own. 7 25.9 CHEERS (NBC) Last year's No. 1 begins a second decade with its beer a little flatter. 8 25.5 AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC) A plunge since '91 suggests camcorder comedy may have a short life. 9 25.2 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES(NBC) NBC's most successful hour-now there's an unsolved mystery. 10 24.6 MAJOR DAD (CBS) Once a reliable mid-level sitcom; now a key to CBS' Monday success. 11 24.4 ROOM FOR TWO (ABC) A hit on Roseanne's coattails, but hasn't proven its own strength yet. 12 24.3 AMERICA'S FUNNIEST PEOPLE (ABC) Apparently, they're only 80 percent as funny as they were a year ago. 13 24.1 DESIGNING WOMEN (CBS) Despite a year of creative misfires, the show had its biggest season ever. 14 23.6 MURDER, SHE WROTE (CBS) With steady ratings, the durable crime show is aging gracefully. 15 23.1 A DIFFERENT WORLD (NBC) Hurt by Cosby's slippage, the spin-off must survive alone next fall. 16 23.0 THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR (NBC) A teen smash, it even helped NBC's Blossom reach the Top 30. 17 22.9 EVENING SHADE (CBS) TV's biggest gainer this season (from No. 52) looks to have a long life. 22.9 MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ABC) ABC's sports franchise was hurt by CBS' powerhouse Monday shows. 19 22.6 CBS SUNDAY MOVIE (CBS) Hits from Beaches to O Pioneers! left competitors in the dust. 20 22.2 THE COSBY SHOW (NBC) With ratings dwindling, the Huxtables are checking out just in time. *IN millions