Special Coverage Pop Culture Classics (The EW 1000)Sound BitesSummer TVBox Office Game
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''Miami'' heat, clipped ''Wing'': TV's hits and flops | 14042__friends_l
BUDDY ICONS Perennial hit ''Friends'' helped NBC win the all-important 18-to-49 audience this season
Warner Bros

NBC
NO. 2 IN TOTAL VIEWERS; NO. 1 IN 18-TO-49

WHAT THEY SAID We're in good shape. Well, okay, we could use a new Must-See comedy.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED They're in pretty good shape -- and now in dire need of a Must-See comedy.

PEAK PERFORMERS ''Friends'' (No. 3) and ''ER'' (No. 7) may be long in the tooth, but they still take a bite out of the competition: Despite losing viewers, the pair remained the No. 1-rated comedy (21.8 million folks) and No. 2 drama (20 million). The third time was the charm for the ''Law & Order'' franchise: While the original edition (No. 10 in season 13!) and ''SVU'' (No. 17) rounded up killer ratings, ''CI'' (No. 20) captured 2.4 million extra viewers. ''Law & Order'' ''defies everything you know about TV life cycles,'' says NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker. Also defying naysayers was ''Third Watch,'' which held its own at No. 34.

BLEAK PERFORMERS ''The West Wing'' (No. 22) lost 21 percent of its constituency while facing ''The Bachelor.'' Another political drama, ''Mr. Sterling,'' had small bipartisan support at No. 60. ''It was a great pilot in search of a franchise,'' says Zucker. ''When you have 'The West Wing,' it's hard to compete with that.'' Elsewhere, ''Frasier'' looked almost as ragged as Martin's recliner, slipping to No. 30. '''Frasier' stood out as an island all by itself, and that wasn't fair to that show,'' says Zucker. He's talking about Terrible Tuesday flops like ''Just Shoot Me'' (No. 106), ''A.U.S.A.'' (No. 81), ''Watching Ellie'' (No. 81), and -- shudder -- ''Let's Make a Deal'' at No. 89.


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