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E12 CALENDAR LOSANGELESTIMES TELEVISION RADIO LIVE ON STAGE! NOW THRU JAN. 1 213.365.3500 or 714.740.7878 www.BroadwayLA.org Box Office Open daily at 10am. GROUP DISCOUNTS: 323.463.4367 A PRESENTATION OF TONIGHT AT 8PM FUN THIS SHOW IS FUN WITH A CAPITAL BILL HANDEL, KFI AM 640 SIGNED PERF DEC. 18 AT 2PM PANTAGES GIFT CERTIFICATES available at the box office or online at BroadwayLA.org/gift TM 2005 Paramount Pictures. TM 2005 The Estate of Irving Berlin.

All rights reserved. Click, click, click, click, click. 05WB032 HGKA Discover the new website that has Hollywood burning up bandwidth. With experienced industry watchers from the Los Angeles Times and Goldderby.com, plus insider blogs, the de nitive awards archives and more, The Envelope is the ultimate awards site. Open The Envelope today at TheEnvelope.com Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week (Nov.

28-Dec. 4) 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 there are 280.50 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older.

Viewership is listed in millions. Program Network View- ersProgram Network Viewers 1 Desperate HousewivesABC25.52 2 CSICBS23.24 3 Monday Night FootballABC22.64 4 LostABC21.54 5 AnatomyABC20.59 --------------------------------------------6 Survivor: GuatemalaCBS19.81 7 CSI: MiamiCBS19.77 8 NCISCBS18.17 9 NFL Monday ShowcaseABC18.12 10 Law Order: SVU --------------------------------------------11 60 MinutesCBS17.52 12 Two and a Half MenCBS16.53 13 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC16.46 14 Biggest Loser 2NBC15.95 15 CSI: NYCBS15.84 --------------------------------------------16 the Red-Nosed CBS15.80 17 Criminal MindsCBS15.55 18 ERNBC15.44 19 Without a TraceCBS15.29 20 HouseFOX14.91 --------------------------------------------21 Commander in ChiefABC13.66 22 Cold CaseCBS13.32 23 Out of PracticeCBS12.99 24 Walters ABC12.98 25 King of QueensCBS12.92 --------------------------------------------26 Law OrderNBC12.87 27 Crossing JordanNBC12.56 28 How I Met Your MotherCBS12.27 29 MediumNBC12.23 30 Prison Break (9 p.m.)FOX12.18 --------------------------------------------31 Law Order: Criminal Intent NBC11.85 32 Apprentice 4NBC11.72 33 Las VegasNBC11.35 34 InvasionABC10.10 35 SurfaceNBC10.00 --------------------------------------------36 Funniest Home Videos (Fri.) ABC9.80 37 at Rockefeller NBC9.51 38 Funniest Home Videos (Sun.) ABC9.33 39 The Simpsons (8 p.m.)FOX9.29 40 Law Order: SVU --------------------------------------------41 42 Amazing Race 8CBS8.80 43 Ghost WhispererCBS8.77 44 Claus Is to ABC8.71 45 Criminal Minds --------------------------------------------46 Wife SwapABC8.48 47 Dateline: NBC 48 FreddieABC8.05 49 George LopezABC7.93 50 RodneyABC7.88 --------------------------------------------51 BonesFOX7.64 52 According to JimABC7.63 Will GraceNBC7.63 54 ACC Championship ABC7.62 55 John Paul Part 1 CBS7.54 --------------------------------------------56 Anniversary of the CBS7.49 57 Family GuyFOX7.42 58 JoeyNBC7.32 59 The West WingNBC7.26 60 War at HomeFOX7.17 --------------------------------------------61 MediumNBC7.05 62 Landing 63 No Fear: Life of Pope John Paul ABC6.72 64 Prison Break (8 p.m.)FOX6.66 65 Trading SpousesFOX6.62 --------------------------------------------66 King of the HillFOX6.62 67 That ShowFOX6.58 68 The Simpsons (7:17 p.m.)FOX6.56 69 Most WantedFOX6.52 70 PrimetimeABC6.41 --------------------------------------------71 American DadFOX6.40 72 Three WishesNBC6.29 73 Crossing JordanNBC6.06 74 Apprentice: MarthaNBC5.97 75 7th Heaven (8 p.m.)WB5.93 --------------------------------------------76 The O.C.FOX5.90 77 CopsFOX5.88 78 Happy 79 80 Next Top Model 5 (Wed.) UPN5.23 --------------------------------------------81 Dateline: NBC 82 StackedFOX5.05 83 ACC Championship (8:08) ABC4.84 84 Everybody Hates ChrisUPN4.43 85 WWE Smackdown! --------------------------------------------86 Killer InstinctFOX4.10 87 ReunionFOX4.07 88 An American Girl (Tue.) WB3.97 89 GirlfriendsUPN3.76 90 The Simpsons (7 p.m.)FOX3.75 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 CBS12.91 13.42 ABC12.3511.10 NBC10.259.43 FOX6.968.46 UPN3.643.61 WB3.063.54 Prime-Time TV Rankings In fact, when ABC settled on the pair as successors, network officials had never even seen them sitting side by side behind the anchor desk. While Vargas and Woodruff frequently served as substitute hosts of the evening newscast, they had not done so together in the studio and the network even bother taping a test broadcast to study what such a show would look like. So when the two joined each other Monday in the lobby of the news fifth-floor executive offices to field questions about their new assignment, it was a rare moment.

both been, in the last several months, very much two ships passing in the night, communicating via e-mail, and I expect that to Vargas said, adding with a laugh: Bob, been nice seeing Both expressed some relief at the format, which will allow them to keep a foot in reporting even as they anchor, especially since ABC has asked them to lead versions of the broadcast for the Web and West Coast viewers. good for the viewers is good for us Woodruff said Monday. of the fears that Peter expressed to me over the years was that once you get to this chair, once you get to this position, not able to go out to the big stories and the things always loved your whole life as a journalist to Neither of the new anchors is ahousehold name like Charles Gibson, the Morning co-host who was also a contender for the evening news post. In separate interviews Tuesday, they discussed the distinct paths that led them to the top jobs in broadcast journalism through his experience as a field reporter and foreign correspondent and she through her years of anchoring and work on prime-time feature stories. Vargas, 43, was born in Patterson, N.J., but spent most of her childhood growing up on U.S.

bases in Germany and Japan as her father, an Army officer, was transferred to new assignments. The family never watched television, but Vargas developed abug for journalism in Germany, when her teacher named her editor of the Heidelberg High School student newspaper. She planned to study newspaper reporting at the University of Missouri in Columbiabut got hooked on television after taking amandatory course. Her first gig came while was still in school and was hired to be the Saturday anchor for the local ABC affiliate, which was owned by the university. She was paid $3.35 an hour and waited tables to make ends meet.

After graduation, Vargas did the local news circuit Reno, Phoenix (where the news director told her make lousy and Chicago before she was drafted by NBC in 1993. She worked there for three years, doing pieces for the prime-time newsmagazines and serving as a substitute anchor on ABC tapped her in 1996. After astint as the news anchor on Morning she worked as a correspondent and anchor for and a substitute and weekend anchor for the evening news. Woodruff, 44, followed a decidedly different route. The native of the Detroit suburb of Birmingham ended up in law school at the University of Michigan, where he also studied Chinese because thought China was the After one year as a corporate lawyer in New York, he took a leave of absence to move to Beijing to teach law.

During the Tiananmen Square uprising, CBS hired him to work as a translator, and he began to rethink his career choice. discovered that I could scratch my wanderlust itch and get paid for it, which was a remarkable he said. Upon his return to the U.S., he made an amateur test reel and sent it out to news directors, unsolicited. A station in Redding, called. After less than a year there, he was hired in the early 1990s at affiliates in Richmond, and Phoenix, before ABC asked him to join its affili- ate service.

A posting at the Justice Department followed, then London bureau, where Woodruff spent two years traveling, mostly covering U.S. actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. are both journalists first and anchors Banner said. they did come up in different ways and I think that forms their editorial center of The two new anchors, who both joined ABC in 1996, never shared an assignment. But for the last four or five years, Vargas and her husband, singer-songwriter Marc best known for his 1991 hit in have regularly gone out with Woodruff and his wife, Lee, a freelance writer.

have riotously fun dinners Vargas said. at the big ABC holiday parties, the four of us still end up in the corner Both are parents Vargas has a son who turns 3 in January, while Woodruff has four children, ages 5 to 14 and admit to some apprehension about the time their new posts will take away from their families. some trepidation about how going to juggle said Vargas, who leaves Saturday for a 10-day trip to Iraq. there are millions of working mothers in this country, and if they can do it, so can Peter successors Kathy Willens Associated Press ABC CO-ANCHORS: good for the viewers is good for us says Bob Woodruff, with Elizabeth Vargas. ABC, from Page E1 From Associated Press CBS bested ABC in last competition between TV movies about the late Pope John Paul II, but the results hardly answered any network prayers.

The first part of story, which featured Cary Elwes and Jon Voight, was seen by 7.5 million people on Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Tuesday. nearly 3million fewer viewers than Sunday movie has averaged this season. The second part of the miniseries airs at 8 tonight. two-hour movie, No Fear: The Life of John Paul was seen by 6.7 million people Thursday. That beats the 6.1 million average that and have been drawing in the time slot this season on Thursday, whenABC usually struggles.

However, any program beaten by (7.3 million) have much to brag about. The mediocre results appear to justify the decisions to schedule the movies after the November ratings period ended. AlthoughCBS kept alive its streak of not losing a week this TVseason, it was pushed hard by ABC. Four of the five most popular prime-time programs, including a Night face-off between Pittsburgh andunbeaten Indianapolis, were on ABC. ABC won the week among the 18-to-49- year-old demographic that advertisers watch most keenly.

Pope movies draw less than a huge flock Dear Amy: We have a dear friend whose 19-year-old nephew died suddenly. They live close to us, but her livesa few hours away. Because we had an unbreakable appointment for my disabled son, we go to the funeral. Sadly, we send an arrangement to the funeral home, and yet sent out a card to his family. We are planning to do that, but for our friend, who will be coming home in a day or so, like to do something out of the ordinary to let her know that we are truly sad for her.

We want to do something less traditional and outside of the regular imagine how you sentiment. Our friend has been through a lot, and I know full of grief and worry. What can we do for her to her and show her just how much we care for her and her family? Want to Do Something Nice Dear Want: Even though you make this incident seem like some sort of opportunity to your friend, I understand your basic impulse. Unfortunately, I suggest anything truly innovative guaranteed to her. because she already is moved.

She need you to manipulate her feelings. This about you or your ability to be amazing. Your grief is about her. going to suggest that you do something so old-fashioned that almost new again. It involves a casserole, a bottle of wine and you.

Take dinner to your friend. Let her tell you about the funeral and about how her family is doing. Listen to her as she remembers her nephew. Be with her. There is a reason that people say, imagine how you and because we can only imagine how someone else feels in his or her time of sorrow.

OK not to completely understand someone else, as long as you are there to bear witness. Dear Amy: Irecently started anew job. It is a good company with good people. Everyone has worked here for years, except for another new hire and myself. We are part of an administrative pool, and one of our jobs is to turn on the dishwasher each night to wash all of the company office mugs, water glasses, plates, etc.

We unload the dishwasher each morning and put the dishes away. We have one co-worker, a nice lady who has been with the company for many years. She apparently uses a very good lipstick, because the dishwasher does not take it off the glasses and mugs. In fact, the dishwasher bakes the lipstick on so that it must be removed with a chisel and hammer. (Well, OK, a scrubby and soap does it.) No one else in the company, except for myself and the other new administrative person, seems to notice that every glass and cup (that we scrubbed) has baked-on lipstick blots around the rim.

(As all of the blots are the exact same color, we are pretty certain we know to whom the lipstick belongs.) We feel that if the lipstick were wiped off the glasses before they were baked in the dishwasher, it be difficult to remove. We also feel that it would be easiest for the lady responsible for the blots to wipe the glasses and cups before she puts them into the dishwasher. We would like to tell her about the blots and ask her to wipe her dishes, but we think of a way to approach the subject. Kimberly Dear Kimberly: Because cleaning the cups and glasses is one of your duties, and because the lipstick causes you twice as many problems after it is baked on, then you just check the glassware before starting the dishwasher at night and wipe off the lipstick then? Even if you asked your colleague to wipe her lipstick off the office glassware, some likelihood that she would forget. It would be a good idea to take a scrubby to the whole collection of cups and glasses to get them all in as pristine a condition as possible or perhaps time to ask your office manager to purchase a new set of mugs and glasses for the crew.

Dear Amy: In response to who was upset at sharing her wedding anniversary, for the past two years my husband and I have attended weddings on our anniversary. What better way to spend your anniversary than at a wedding? Last year during an anniversary wedding, my husband gave me a beautiful necklace while the bride and groom were exchanging vows! Happy to Share Dear Happy: heard from many readers who express their happiness at sharing their anniversary day with other couples. Send questions to Amy Dickinson by e-mail to or by mail to Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Chicago, IL 60611. Ask Amy What grieving friend needs most is a shoulder to cry on When ABC named its new anchor team for News on Monday, the network also announced a new initiative aimed at freshening the evening news for West Coast audiences, who usually see a broadcast that has been taped three hours earlier in New York.

Currently, all three networks update developing stories for the West Coast feed and, in the case of breaking news, have their anchors stay on for live newscast. But ABC said that it is going to air three broadcasts. Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff will anchor all threeas well as anearlier online newscast in the afternoon. The new rundown, beginning Jan. 3: 8 6:30 p.m.

ET The traditional newscast for East Coast and Midwest viewers. 8 8:30 p.m. ET A second broadcast aimed at West Coast affiliates that show network news at 5:30 p.m. PT. 8 9:30 p.m.

ET A final broadcast for cities where audiences will get a live News at 6:30 p.m.PT. Gold ABC freshens news for Pacific.