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Hilarious from the get-go. You certainly want to miss this Churchill, KFWB RADIO 310.657.7377 LATimes I AT 8 ound 1 of the new TV season has gone to CBS, as a double dose of Loves and two editions of cluding record tune-in for the lift the network past NBC, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesdayby Nielsen Media Research. NBC did hold a solid advantage among key young-adult demographics thanks to strong performances from West (off from its 2001 opener), and its new Sunday-drama lineup of Order: Criminal and in fact, looks to be a third hit under the umbrella, drawing its biggest Sunday audience yet against formidable competition from and which drew almost 11 million viewers despite being received by only about a third of U.S. homes. won its time slot, though viewing was down more than versus last premiere.

Wife was among few other standouts, easily surpassing Bernie Mac on Wednesday. In addition to and Sunday shows, new series generating solid sampling generally drafted off existing hits, such as Morning and which followed and respectively. Results were mixed for CBS on Friday, as showed viewers away from Homicide lost over a third of that audience. Brian Lowry CBS Is Out of the Gate First National Nielsen Viewership Here are the rankings for national prime- time network television last week (Sept. 2229) as compiled by Nielsen Media Research.

They are based on the average num- ber of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 272.04 million potential viewers in the U.S. age 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions. Program Network View- ersProgram Network Viewers 1 FriendsNBC34.01 2 CSICBS30.47 3 ERNBC26.72 4 Everybody Loves Raymond (9:30 p.m.) CBS24.04 5 Everybody Loves RaymondCBS23.27 6 CSI: MiamiCBS23.10 7 ScrubsNBC22.31 8 Survivor: ThailandCBS21.72 9 Will GraceNBC21.45 10 FrasierNBC21.12 11 Monday Night FootballABC19.13 12 The West WingNBC18.16 13 Good Morning MiamiNBC17.45 14 Without a TraceCBS16.21 15 JAGCBS16.13 16 Law Order: Criminal IntentNBC15.79 17 Hidden HillsNBC15.70 18 Yes, DearCBS15.03 19 King of QueensCBS14.95 20 Law Order: SVUNBC14.88 21 My Wife KidsABC14.82 22 American DreamsNBC13.91 23 The PracticeABC13.89 24 The GuardianCBS13.81 25 BoomtownNBC13.45 26 60 MinutesCBS13.25 27 NYPD BlueABC13.17 28 Big Brother 3 29 HackCBS12.89 30 8Simple Rules 31 Presidio Med 32 NFL Monday Showcase ABC12.01 33 AliasABC11.31 34 Fear FactorNBC11.30 35 Life With Bonnie ABC11.29 36 60 Minutes IICBS10.81 37 In-Laws (8:30 p.m.)NBC10.67 38 Green 39 Crossing JordanNBC10.54 40 Dateline NBC 41 EdNBC10.31 42 The DistrictCBS10.30 43 Dateline NBC 44 The AgencyCBS9.65 45 46 47 That ShowFOX8.92 48 Impossible 49 Presidio Med 50 SmallvilleWB8.66 51 Funniest Home VideosABC8.51 52 53 Robbery Homicide DivisionCBS8.41 54 FastlaneFOX8.34 55 Cedric the Entertainer FOX8.17 56 Dateline NBC 57 58 The Bernie Mac ShowFOX7.91 59 7th HeavenWB7.90 60 Cops (8:30 p.m.)FOX7.89 61 NYPD 62 MDsABC7.81 63 Grounded for LifeFOX7.69 64 Most WantedFOX7.49 65 Touched by an AngelCBS7.18 66 Idol in 67 MonkABC7.06 68 John DoeFOX6.98 69 48 Hours InvestigatesCBS6.88 70 The Simpsons (7:16 p.m.)FOX6.81 71 CopsFOX6.46 72 73 74 Gilmore GirlsWB6.20 75 Primetime ThursdayABC6.05 76 WWE 77 The Drew Carey ShowABC5.91 78 Whose Line Is It 79 the 80 EverwoodWB5.54 81 FireflyFOX5.47 82 83 CharmedWB5.06 84 Buffy the Vampire SlayerUPN4.99 85 One on OneUPN4.98 86 RebaWB4.85 87 EnterpriseUPN4.84 88 GirlfriendsUPN4.73 89 The ParkersUPN4.68 90 Push, NevadaABC4.45 91 Half and HalfUPN4.41 92 That Was ThenABC4.28 93 The Simpsons (7 p.m.)FOX4.25 94 What I Like About YouWB3.95 95 96 Greetings From TucsonWB3.80 97 Sabrina, the Teenage WitchWB3.59 98 The Twilight ZoneUPN3.54 99 Spy TVNBC3.39 100 HauntedUPN3.14 101 Family AffairWB2.95 102 Do OverWB2.63 103 Jamie KennedyWB2.52 104 Gilmore GirlsWB2.47 105 AngelWB2.16 106 Crow 3: 107 Off CentreWB1.89 Network Averages Here is the number of viewers (in millions) that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season.

Network Last week Season To date CBS13.9413.94 NBC13.4213.42 ABC9.869.86 FOX7.107.10 WB4.534.53 UPN4.204.20 Southland Top 10 Here are the top 10 prime-time programs in Los Angeles last week, based on the average number of households (in the thousands) viewing. No. ProgramStationHouseholds 1 2 3 4 5 Monday Night Football 6 Everybody Loves Raymond (9:30) 7 CSI: 8 Will 9 The West Wing 10 Everybody Loves Raymond network programs perform vastly better on KTLA than they do in the U.S. as a pattern that has long held true, since the L.A. area features seven VHF stations (that is, channels 2 through 13), allowing upstart networks to compete on a more even footing.

By contrast, in much of the country WB, UPN and even Fox programs run on weaker UHF affiliates positioned in nosebleed section, on channels from the 20s to the 60s. As a result, those series tend to be far more competitive in Los Angeles and certain other big markets than they are nationally. As a case in point, telecasts of and together ranked No. 1 in the L.A.-area last Tuesday, averaging an 8.5 the average number of homes they attracted nationwide, where the WB finished fourth for those two hours. (Each rating point, whether in L.A.

or nationally, represents of available households.) Granted, some of the local-versus-national discrepancies would seem predictable. The Emmy Awards, for example, drew of homes in viewing area, athird more than watched the event on a national a surprise, given that such showcases represent a prime opportunity to root for friends and against enemies. Still, not all the stereotypes apply. Take Tonight Show With Jay and Show With David Many doubtless assume that the hipper Letterman shines in big cities, while act plays better in the corn-fed heartland. Sounds logical, only not the case.

Due in part to the longstanding weakness of New York and L.A. stations relative to their network-owned rivals, Leno has consistently eclipsed Letterman in the two largest media towns all those stars, news personalities and their publicists call home. Take last week, when Tonight averaged a 4.9 rating in the L.A. about 260,000 a 2 rating (a little over 100,000) viewing The disparity was smaller in home base of New York City, but Leno still beat him there by a solid 4.4 to3.1 rating margin. If independent TV stations frequently outperform their national averages in L.A.—a case station officials are eager to make, since they get to sell a few local commercials during network are more overlooked than the Spanish-language outlets, which have long complained that their share of ad dollars commensurate with their audience.

So while we in the media breathlessly focused on last network Univision tele- novela Privilegio de (The Privilege of Love) actually drew a higher rating locally on KMEX than the Vampire Minutes or On Thursday, in fact, with KNBC-TV and KCBS-TV sucking most of the air out of the market, KMEX ranked third for the night. In some respects, the local standings can provide a source of civic pride. More of your neighbors watched percentage-wise, than did so in the rest of the country, while significantly fewer viewed the Brother finale. critically lauded Bernie Mac posted a 9.3 rating in L.A. versus a 4.9 nationally, reducing the time-slot victory by more conventional Damon Wayans vehicle Wife and from a nationwide runaway to a local photo-finish.

Other statistics are interesting, if hard to categorize. Compared to national ratings, fared better in L.A. but and did worse. Witty, urbane was seen in more homes nationwide, though a higher percentage of L.A.-area viewers stuck around for new sitcom that derives its name from a small community located just off the Ventura Freeway. rang up an 11.9 rating in L.A., just a hair below the national average.

In the asphalt jungle of New York, the show clocked in at a mere 9.6. As for highest rating? Look no farther than the aforementioned Cincinnati, where the show notched a whopping 24.6 nearly a quarter of that homes tuned in, over twice the national average. My best guess is that with the Bengals opening the football season 0-4 and the Reds finishing 19 games out of first place, Ohioans are either desperate for entertainment or fuzzy on whether the whole Outlast. thing constitutes a legitimate sport. Pundits have long noted that all politics is just a fancy way of saying that people care most about that which is closest to them.

From that perspective, consider this little exercise a reminder that most TV viewing begins at home, and when it comes to taste, your friends and neighbors necessarily as as a cursory glance at the weekly Nielsens might lead you to believe. Brian column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached at brian.lowry@latimes.com. Lowry: L.A. Has Its Own Tastes Continued from F1 DAVID GRAY L.A.

likes Michael Rosenbaum, left, and Tom Welling in.