Anthony Edwards boosts 'ER'; CBS wins Thursday
A guest appearance by former cast member Anthony Edwards on "ER" helped boost the Thursday night medical drama to its highest rating in five weeks and largest audience in more than a year.
The final season of "ER" continues to win the 10 p.m. hour for NBC, with last night's episode watched by 9.8 million viewers and pulling a 3.7 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. That's up 16% from last week even though lead-ins "The Office" (8.2 million, 4.0) and "30 Rock" (7.5 million, 3.6) dropped slightly. "My Name Is Earl" (7 million, 2.8) was up 8%, but "Kath & Kim" (5.1 million, 2.1) marked a deepening pothole in the Thursday lineup, falling 13% to a new low.
CBS won the night, with "Survivor" (13 million, 4.1) recovering the 8% it lost last week, followed by unchanged telecasts of "CSI" (18.9 million, 5.1) and "Eleventh Hour" (11.7 million, 3.1). CBS was also the most-watched network and "CSI" the evening’s most-viewed show.
ABC placed second, with "Ugly Betty" (9.2 million, 2.8) and the night’s top-rated series "Grey's Anatomy" (15.6 million, 5.9) both up a tenth, followed by a flat "Life on Mars" (8.9 million, 2.9).
Fox was in fourth place, but both episodes of "Kitchen Nightmares" (averaging 4.8 million, 2.2) were up slightly for the second week in a row.
The CW's "Smallville" (4.4 million, 1.7) grew, "Supernatural" (3.9 million, 1.6) was down a bit, but both are subject to shift further in the nationals this afternoon since the network was preempted in New York.
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