TV Ratings : Roseanne’s TV Bio: Few Viewers Seem to Care

While her work remains appreciated, apparently there is a limit to how much the world wants to know about Roseanne. Viewers in nearly three times as many homes tuned in to watch the actress perform in her popular ABC sitcom last week than to see a TV movie on Fox about her seesaw life.

The film, “Roseanne: An Unauthorized Biography,” ranked 91st among 94 prime-time network programs on the ratings list released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co.

And while Fox had nine other shows among Nielsen’s 15 lowest rated, it did have one bright spot in “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Now in its fifth year,the drama was the most-watched program in its Wednesday time slot last week, beating comedies on ABC and CBS and “The Cosby Mysteries” on NBC. Among all programs, it ranked 29th nationally and 7th locally.

CBS, after winning the previous week, fell back to third, a tick behind NBC, while ABC recorded its third victory in the four-week-old season. NBC is the big surprise, showing the most ratings growth among any of the networks and boasting the two highest-rated newcomers, “ER” and “Madman of the People.”

Southland Ratings

Here are A. C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 50,064 households.

Sta- Rat- Program tion ing 1. Seinfeld KNBC 21.5 2. Roseanne KABC 19.6 3. Home Improvement KABC 19.1 4. 60 Minutes KCBS 18.3 5. ER KNBC 17.1 6. Grace Under Fire KABC 16.8 7. Beverly Hills, 90210 KTTV 16.2 8. Frasier KNBC 16.1 9. Murder, She Wrote KCBS 16.0 10. Married . . . With Children KTTV 15.8

Weekly Averages ABC: 12.4 NBC: 11.5 CBS: 11.4 FOX: 7.9 *

Season to Date ABC: 12.0 NBC: 12.0 CBS: 11.7 FOX: 7.6