NBC's sitcom woes continued as Friends and Frasier faded with age, yet Will and Grace provided enough oomph to keep Must-See-TV burning on Thursdays. ABC began what was yet again another set of doldrums after a brief renaissance from the last season. In a desperate play, they saturated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire over five evenings, deflating the franchise's once-refreshing change to what aired on our screens. Their sitcoms were in tatters, and few original programs emerged this season. Their sitcoms performed so poorly, FOX

outrated

them by a full-point in average. FOX experienced a mild gain of 3% due to their sitcom stable sweeping the early 2000's and giving the network something to cheer about as their dramas waned. They also unleashed Temptation Island, which spread its leg-up on the reality TV trend to land in the top 20. WB and UPN were also down so far, FOX

outrated

the two network's averages put together.



