North’s No Nielsen Hero

The jury trying Oliver North on criminal charges is still out, but the verdict on him in entertainment terms is in: Thumbs down. The first part of CBS’ “Guts & Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North,” ran third in its time period Sunday night, ratings from the A.C. Nielsen Co. showed Tuesday. CBS’ two-hour drama attracted viewers in about 12.7 million homes, compared to 16 million for NBC’s “Bionic Showdown” and 13.7 million for ABC’s “My Name Is Bill W.” The full list of ratings for last week can be found on Page 8.

* Lucille Ball went out a winner in the TV ratings. The news special that CBS broadcast about her on the night she died last Wednesday was seen in about 13.7 million homes, compared to 11 million for ABC’s “China Beach” and 10.5 million for NBC’s “Nightingales.”

TV RATINGS

Show Points Share 1.”Roseanne” 22.3 35 ABC 2.”The Cosby Show” 21.2 39 NBC 3.”Cheers” 20.8 34 NBC 4.”A Different World” 20.0 35 NBC 5.”Murder, She Wrote” 19.6 33 CBS *”Lucy” 15.2 26 CBS