Field Episode of ER Is Season's Most-Watched

ByABC News
November 24, 2000, 2:12 PM

November 22 -- They like her, they really like her! Viewers made Sally Field's appearance on ER last Thursday the most-watched show of the season so far, according to Nielsen numbers.

Field played the manic-depressive mother of Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney), whose surprise appearance brought the requisite level of chaos and emotional trauma for a sweeps episode. Her character is also scheduled to show up for the next sweeps period in February.

The combination of the two-time Oscar winner and the top-rated drama helped put NBC over for the night, with 31 million viewers.

A week of celebrity guests on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, including Alec Baldwin, Jon Stewart, and Sean "Puffy" Combs, helped make ABC the most-watched network of the week. The celebrity edition of Millionaire was down 33 percent from the last go-round in May, according to Nielsen.

Big names didn't help two stars on their own series: Both Bette Midler on CBS and Michael Richards on NBC are hemorrhaging viewers. Last week, the shows were ranked 68th and 79th respectively.

So, what's everyone watching instead? The news, baby. The daily election seesaw has boosted ratings for NBC's Nightly News, ABC's World News Tonight, and the CBS Evening News.