Roseanne and Tom Arnold proved a winning pair for ABC as their respective sitcoms helped the network gain the top spot in the latest ratings.
ABC reclaimed the No. 1 spot it held for most of November with a 13.1 average rating for the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6, according to figures released by the A.C. Nielsen Co.CBS was second with a 12.7 average share, followed by NBC with 10.5. Each ratings point represents 931,000 homes.
"Roseanne" was the most-watched program on television. The debut of Tom Arnold's "The Jackie Thomas Show" - in which he plays a dense TV star - ranked second in the Tuesday night time slot behind "Roseanne."
CBS' newsmagazine "60 Minutes" was third, followed by two more ABC sitcoms, "Home Improvement" and "Coach."
"The Man Upstairs," a CBS TV movie pairing Katharine Hepburn with Ryan O'Neal, scored a sixth-place showing. Another Sunday night movie, ABC's "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," was seventh.
Two more sitcoms, ABC's "Full House" and "Murphy Brown" on CBS, tied for eighth. An ABC TV movie, the Christmas-themed "To Grandmother's House We Go," rounded out the top 10.
In the network news contest, ABC was first with an 11.3 average rating, followed by CBS with 10.1 and NBC with 9.6.
Here are the top 20 shows, their network and rating:
1. "Roseanne," ABC, 23.3; 2. "The Jackie Thomas Show," ABC, 21.0; 3. "60 Minutes," CBS, 20.6; 4. "Home Improvement," ABC, 19.8; 5. "Coach," ABC, 19.0; 6. "The Man Upstairs" (CBS Sunday Night Movie), 18.8; 7. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (ABC Sunday Night Movie), ABC, 18.5; 8. (tie) "Full House," ABC, and "Murphy Brown," CBS, 17.0; 10. "To Grandmother's House We Go" (ABC Movie Special), 16.9.
11. (tie) "Murder She Wrote," CBS, and "Unsolved Mysteries," NBC, 16.7; 13. "Simpsons," Fox, 16.6; 14. "Northern Exposure," CBS, 16.4; 15. "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper," ABC, 16.2; 16. "Cheers," NBC, 15.9; 17. "48 Hours," CBS, 15.6; 18. "Love and War," CBS, 14.9; 19. (tie) "Evening Shade," CBS, and "Hearts Afire," CBS, 14.8.