Wednesday
TIME-SLOT SHOWDOWN TiVos are working overtime at 9 p.m. because of this mammoth matchup: ABC's ''The Bachelor'' vs. NBC's ''The West Wing'' vs. CBS' ''The King of Queens'' vs. Fox's ''The O.C.'' While the three vets notched nice Nielsens (Nos. 18, 16, and 27), let's also give props to the new kid for crashing the top 40 in 18-to-49. ''This network has been looking for its next '90210,''' says Beckman. '''The O.C.' is multigenerational. It has strong parental figures. And it's got a bunch of hot teens who are on the pages of everything.'' Happy Chrismukkah, guys.
BLEAK PERFORMERS Despite sizzling reviews and a tasty lead-in (''The Bachelor''), ABC's ''Karen Sisco'' (No. 76) was deep-fried in Crisco by No. 7 ''Law & Order.'' ''We're very frustrated,'' admits Bader. ''It's a smart, special drama that just has not caught on. We hate that we have to try it in another time period, but obviously it wasn't working with that audience.'' Also rejected by the 10 p.m. crowd was CBS' new David E. Kelley drama, ''The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire'' (No. 85). ''We thought we had something that could counterprogram 'Law & Order,''' says Kahl. ''You'd hope a David Kelley would be enough to get people to at least check out the show.'' And there was no love for Norm Macdonald either: His Fox sitcom, ''A Minute With Stan Hooper,'' is running out of time at No. 94.
FUN FACT ''The Law & Order'' franchise attracts more viewers than all of UPN's prime-time offerings combined.
