The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 303

Prime-Time TV Rankings No. 1 CBS Gets a Double Assist From Downey CBS had to overcome a solid Thursday performance by NBC, which slumped through the weekend with "Sense and Sensibility" and "It's a Wonderful Life," as viewing of that holiday perennial dropped 38 versus its telecast a year ago. NBC will air the Frank Capra film again on Christmas. "Ally McBeal" provided Fox's most potent cup of holiday cheer, with the Dec. 14 episode drawing the show's second-biggest audience this season.

NBC's "Will Grace" inaugurated its move to Tuesdays by beating another new comedy, ABC's "Sports Night," even though "Spin City" edged "Just Shoot Me" in the preceding half-hour. BRIAN LOWRY Roma Downey worked a little magic for CBS Sunday, as her dual appearance in "Touched by an Angel" and the TV movie "Borrowed Hearts: A Holiday Romance" helped the network claim first place for the fifth time in six weeks, based on results issued Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research. Getting an additional lift from the Tuesday drama "JAG," starring David James Elliott, and the Monday sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS was the only major network to draw more viewers than during the corresponding week last year a feat also achieved by the upstart WB network, led by its family drama "7th Heaven." National Nielsen Viewership Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week (Dec. 14-20) as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish.

Nielsen estimates that there are 256.6 million potential U.S. viewers age 2 and older. Viewership is listed here in millions. Net- View-Program work era 94. Holding the Baby FOX 4.81 95.

Stat Trek: Voyaget UPN 4 69 96. Fox Files FOX 4.68 97. The Steve Harvey Show WB 4.49 98. "Manah Carey" UPN 4.31 99. The Jamie Fon Show WB 4.24 100.

For your Love WB 3.80 101. Smart Guy WB 3.77 102. The Wayans Bros. WB 3.73 103. Moesha UPN 3.59 104.

Unhappily Ever After WB 3.44 105. 7 Days UPN 3.43 106. Clueless UPN 3.30 107. Sister, Sister WB 3.10 108. 7th Heaven Beginnings WB 2.87 109.

The Army Show WB 2.80 110. Hyperion Bay WB 2 63 111. Mawum 4 Eddie UPN 2.39 112. Malcolm Eddie (8 p.m.) UPN 2.30 113. Guys Like Us UPN 2.14 114.

Legacy UPN 2.11 115. Diiesta UPN 2.05 116. "OutTheie" UPN 1.69 117. Love Boat The Next Wave UPN 1.66 David James Elliott View. Program Cable Top 10 Clayton Continued from Page 66 me, because it allows me to go ahead with the big picture in mind." The initial element in that picture will have to focus upon the problem that also faces Wijnber-gen, Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conductor John Mauceri: the need to stop the hemorrhaging of attendance at Bowl concerts.

Toward that end, Clayton's first action has been to place the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra an ensemble he leads with his brother, alto saxophonist Jeff Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton at the center of the Hollywood Bowl season. Although the eight scheduled concerts include appearances by Diana Krall, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. John, Poncho Sanchez, Ray Brown, Kevin Mahogany and others, Clayton views the CHJO's presence as the central, unifying element in the programs. "I want people to leave a Bowl concert," he explains, "feeling that they've been presented a program by the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and say, 'Oh yes, there wfee some really cool guests as Not the other way around. I don't want to turn us into a backup band." Showcasing the CHJO is an understandable move, providing the Philharmonic's jazz initiative with a high-visibility entity similar to the central roles played by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at Lincoln Center, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

But Clayton is quick to identify the CHJO as a unique musical organization. "There are some common denominators," he says, "but Wyn-ton's doing things completely different than I am. Sometimes the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra is more of a repertory orchestra. We won't be. They don't really have a personality of sound depending on what they play.

One moment they're playing some ragtime, and the next moment they're playing some Ellington. We'll have our own character and our own sound as an ensemble." Even given the CHJO's "unique character and sound," however, the question arises why this particular jazz orchestra and whether the prominent role allocated to it by Clayton has, in effect, self-serving aspects. Clayton shrugs off the implication, insisting upon his belief that the choice of the CHJO and the structure of the programming represents the best possibility for building a long-term, community-wide jazz audience for the Bowl season and beyond. Wijnbergen concurs, pointing out that Clayton is "the best man for the job," and underscoring his confidence in the bassist-bandleader's determination, from the beginning, to find the budget and the support to make the project work. "What we're basically doing," adds Lindsey Nelson, general manager of summer programs for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, "is expanding the artistic reach of the Los Angeles Pnilnarmoruc witri a third resident orchestra the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

We think we have an opportunity with John and with the orchestra to have a unique voice that responds to an audience, without it just being a scattered set of concerts. Instead it becomes an ongoing dialogue with our audiences." Nonetheless, Clayton faces the problem of how the CHJO, a relatively unfamiliar group, even in Los Angeles, is going to draw more listeners to the Bowl. Clayton's solution is a long-range game plan, starting in January, which will take the orchestra into the community on a regular basis between six and 10 times a month. "We already have a basic audience in place, which will be there because they like the Bowl," Clayton says. "But we need to get more.

So we'll get out a map and figure out the various communities that we want to involve. Maybe as far as San Pedro and, of course, up to the northern valleys, the West San Fernando Valley, South-Central, East LA In community centers and schools. Not always with the full orchestra, sometimes with smaller ensembles. But we have enough talented people who do well with workshops and clinics so that we can break it out for different venues." Clayton further intends to connect with the community by bringing local groups to the Bowl to perform in the courtyard area prior to the evening's concerts. "This will be an opportunity," he says, "for bands that we can't include on the big stage to reach an audience, and the more jazz that gets heard, the better it will be for all of us." The next element in Clayton's "big picture" is presentation.

His method of organization will center around programs he describes as unique combinations of music that will frame each program's guest stars in settings created specifically for the concert. "They will be one-of-a-kind programs that you won't hear again, anywhere else," he explains. "We're not going to invite, say, a Diana Krall or a Dee Dee Bridge-water and have them just do their thing. Instead, we're going to incorporate what they do with the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, and I'm going to write new pieces, andor arrangements to feature them with the orchestra, as well as in smaller settings." It's an impressive plan, overall one that Clayton believes will afford jazz a central position in Los Angeles cultural life. And he does not intend for it to be limited to the summer season at the Hollywood Bowl.

"So far as I'm concerned," he says, "this is going to be a year-round thing. We've told the Philharmonic that we don't just want to play outdoors that is, at the Hollywood Bowl. And they've told us that they're writing us into the Disney Hall presentations. So we're going to be giving regular concerts at Disney Hall, as well, when it opens, and at an interim location until then. The bottom line is thai we're here to stay." Here are Nielsen's top 10 cable in prime time last week, also ranked Net- Vie Program wort an 1.

ER NBC 29.87 2. Frasier NBC 24.99 3. Friends NBC 23.67 4. Veronica's Closet NBC 20.23 5. Jessie NBC 19.70 6.

"Borrowed Hearts" CBS 19.61 7. NYPD Blue ABC 18.09 8. Monday Night Football ABC 16.67 9. Touched by an Angel CBS 16.63 10. JAG CBS 16.44 11 60 Minutes CBS 15.99 12.

Everybody Loves Raymond CBS 15.89 13. The Drew Carey Show ABC 15.47 14. Ally McBeal FOX 1508 15. The Simpsons FOX 13.90 Becker CBS 13.90 Cosoy CBS 13.90 18. Walker.

Texas Ranger CBS 13.89 19. Spin City ABC 13 70 20. Just Snoot Me NBC 13.55 21. King ol Queens CBS 13.39 22. Home Improvement ABC 13.30 23.

Nash Budges CBS 12.78 24. Diagnosis Murder CBS 12.70 25. Dateline NBC (Mon.) NBC 12.65 26. Saonna. the Teenage Witcn ABC 12.64 27.

Whose Une Is It Anyway? ABC 12.41 28. Will Grace NBC 12 06 29. TheHughleys ABC 12.05 30. Martial Law CBS 11.61 31. ABC 11.50 32.

Hie X-Files FOX 11.43 33. Dateline NBC (Wed.) NBC 11.28 34. Two Guys, Gilt iPuza Place ABC 11.27 35. That '70s Show FOX 11.25 36. Dateline NBC (Tue NBC 11.21 37.

Sports NigM ABC 11.17 38. Candid Camera CBS 11.14 39. ABC News Special (Wed.) ABC 11.07 Boy Meets Wond ABC 11.07 41. NFL Monday Blast ABC 11.01 42. Kids Say Damdest Things CBS 10.99 43.

2020 (Sun.) ABC 10.90 44. ABC News Special (Ffi.) ABC 10.87 45. 48 Hours CBS 10.69 46. Suddenly Susan NBC 10.68 47. Law Older NBC 10.67 48.

Brother's Keeper ABC 10.58 49. Two Ola Kind ABC 10.54 50. LA Doctors CBS 10.33 51. Promised Land CBS 10.28 52. "A Thousand Men and a Baby" CBS 10.06 53.

Chicago Hope CBS 10.00 Beverly Hills. 90210 FOX 10.00 55. Newsfiadn NBC 9.97 Early Edition CBS 9.97 57. World Funniest! FOX 9.77 by total viewers (in millions). et- Vlew- Program wwfc an 1.

Sunday Night Football ESPN 10.6 2. Wrestling 9 p.m.) USA 5.93 3. Larry King Live (Wed.) CNN 5.84 4. Wrestling 10 p.m.) USA 5.54 5. Wrestling 8 TNT 5.30 6.

"Lethal Weapon" TBS 5.25 7. "Stnke Against Iraq" (Wed.) CNN 5.24 8. CNN News (Wed, 10:13 p.m.) CNN 5.12 9. Wrestling (Thur, 9:05 p.m.) TBS 4.91 10. NRPnmebme ESPN 4.42 58.

America's Most Wanted FOX 9.75 59. Party ot Five FOX 9.73 60. Caroline in the City NBC 9.69 61. 48 Hours CBS 9 55 62. "Stars on Ice" NBC 9.53 63.

"Mickey's Chnstmas Carol" CBS 9.39 64. The Practice ABC 9.37 65. Cops (8:30 p.m.) FOX 9.30 66. "Sense and Sensibility" NBC 9.09 67. 3rd Rock From tile Sun NBC 890 68.

Mad About You NBC 867 69. "It's a Wonderful Ufe" NBC 8.60 70. 701 Heaven WB 6.52 71. Dateline NBC (Sun.) NBC 8.41 72. "Chnstmas in Washington" NBC 8.32 73.

Cops FOX 8.24 74. Melrose Place FOX 8.20 75. King of the Hill FOX 7 .90 76. Encore! Encore! NBC 7.74 77. Guinness World Records FOX 7.63 78.

The Nanny CBS 7.58 79. 3id Rock From Sun (Wed.) NBC 7.54 80. "I Love Trouble" ABC 7.49 81. Conrad Bloom NBC 7.30 82. Millennium FOX 7.19 83.

Butty, tne Vampire Slayer WB 6.85 84. Maggie Winters CBS 6.81 85. Dawson's Creek WB 6.62 86. Vengeance Unlimited ABC 6.44 87. "The Baby Sitters CluO" ABC 6.40 88.

Cupid ABC 6.28 89. Charmed WB 599 90. "Greatest Chnstmas Moments" FOX 5.64 91. Fantasy Island ABC 5.44 92. Bnmstone FOX 5.37 93.

Felicity WB 4.98 Network Averages Here is the number of viewers that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season. Last Saasoa weak to data CBS 12.56,million 13.23 NBC 11.68 12.73 ABC 10.70 12.32 FOX 9.20 10.81 WB 4.83 4.62 UPN 2.75 2.76 RADIO Orchestra in the Tchaikovsky classic, KUSC-FM (91.5). p.m., Friday The Sounds of the Season: Continuous jazz-themed holiday music, KLON-FM (88.1). 6-8 p.m. Handel's Broadcast in its entirety; with sopranos Lorraine Hunt and Janet Williams, mezzo-soprano Patricia Spence, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, KKGO-FM (105.1).

6 p.m.-noon, Friday Holiday Music: Continuous pop-themed holiday music, KGIL (1260). 6 p.m.-midnight, Friday Holiday Music: Continuous pop-themed holiday music, KLAC (570). 8-10 p.m. The Pacific Chorale: Holiday music with the chorale and the John Alexander Singers; from the Orange County Performing Arts Center, KKGO-FM (105.1). 9-10 p.m.

A Christmas Carol: Lionel Barrymore and Orson Welles star in this version of the Dickens classic, originally broadcast on CBS Radio Christmas Eve, 1939, KNX (1070). Drama-Comedy-Family 6- 9 a.m. Dean Wendt ft Kim Stewart, KDIS (710). 9-11 a.m. Mickey and Minnie's Tune Time, KDIS (710).

11-6 p.m. lust Plain Mark ft Zippy, KDIS (710). Classical 7- 9 p.m. The Minnesota Orchestra: Mozart Argento Please see Radio, Page 69 Tips for Today 1-2 p.m. Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventures of the Blue Carbuncle," KCRW-FM (89.9).

p.m. Bookworm: Howard Norman Museum KCRW-FM (89.9). 7- 8 p.m. Drama, Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," a California Artists Radio Theater production, KCRW-FM (89.9). Holiday Programming 8- 9:30 a.m., p.m.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols: Christmas Eve Service from King's College in Cambridge, England, KUSC-FM (91.5). a.m. The Nutcracker: Leonard Slatkin conducts the St. Louis Symphony i PAGE 68 CALENDAR WEEKEND THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1998.