TV RATINGS : Crime Spree Pays Off for NBC

Who said that crime doesn’t pay? It certainly did for NBC last week--in the ratings, at least. Its Monday night abduction movie, “Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann,” was the top-rated program of the week, with viewers in about 16 million homes watching, according to figures released Tuesday by the A. C. Nielsen Co. And NBC’s Sunday night chase movie, “In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas,” was No. 8 among the week’s 85 prime-time programs, with an audience of about 13.7 million homes. With those performances, NBC finished first among the networks, with CBS second and ABC third. NBC had further good news with the debut of its new drama “Sisters,” which won its 10 p.m. time period Saturday night. The full list of ratings is on F11.

Show Points Share 1. “Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann” (NBC) 17.2 27 2. “Roseanne” (ABC) 16.9 27 3. “Cheers” (NBC) 16.6 26 4. “Unsolved Mysteries” (NBC) 16.2 29 5. “L.A. Law” (NBC) 16.1 27 * “Dinosaurs” (ABC) 13.7 27

* ABC appears to have a late-season hit on its hands with “Dinosaurs.” Cushioned on Friday nights between “Full House” and “Family Matters,” the prehistoric comedy chalked up big numbers in its third outing last week. It not only ranked 13th for the week but also had about as many viewers as the competing programs on CBS and NBC combined. ABC said that the show attracted 62% of the children and 49% of the teen-agers watching TV at the time.