New scripted shows place in ratings top

Just when people were worried about the future of scripted television, a new crop of shows has given Hollywood a reason for optimism.

Five of the top 18 programs in Nielsen Media Research’s prime-time rankings last week were freshman scripted shows – four of them dramas, and the most popular, “Desperate Housewives,” skirting the line between comedy and melodrama.

The other strong performers: ABC’s “Lost,” NBC’s “Medium,” Fox’s “House” and CBS’ “CSI: NY.”

As for reality shows, the latest edition of “Survivor,” set this time in Palau, made a strong return to CBS’ Thursday lineup with 23.7 million viewers. The flip side was the continued deterioration of NBC’s competing comedies: “Joey” was in 40th place for the week with 9.8 million viewers.

ABC drew only 8.8 million viewers that night for its two-hour Michael Jackson special.

CBS easily won the week, averaging 13.4 million viewers in prime time (8.6 rating, 14 share). NBC averaged 10.7 million viewers (7.1, 11), ABC 10.4 million (6.8, 11), Fox 10.2 million (6.1, 10), The WB 3.5 million (2.3, 4) and UPN 3.2 million (2.2, 3).

A ratings point represents 1,096,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 109.6 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The top 10 shows for the week ending Monday: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 30.7 million viewers; “American Idol” (Tuesday), Fox, 27.1 million; “American Idol” (Wednesday), Fox, 26.3 million; “Desperate Housewives,” ABC, 24.2 million; “Survivor: Palau,” CBS, 23.7 million; “Without a Trace,” CBS, 21 million; “CSI: Miami,” CBS, 19.4 million; “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” ABC, 18.3 million; “CBS Sunday Movie: Stone Cold,” CBS, 18 million; “Lost,” ABC, 17.9 million.