Blast from the past comedies, Fawcett bio win in TV ratings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blasts from the past proved irresistible to viewers, who flocked to live versions of a pair of classic sitcoms and a special about a 20th-century TV beauty.

ABC's re-creation of episodes of "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" was among last week's most-watched programs with 10.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen figures released Wednesday.

Woody Harrelson played Archie Bunker, the role originated by the late Carroll O'Connor on "All in the Family," with Jamie Foxx following in the footsteps of Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson.

A "Nightline" program on the do-overs of producer Norman Lear's famed 1970s and '80 comedies also landed in the top 10, with an ABC documentary on the life and career of Farrah Fawcett coming in at No. 12.

The actress, who shot to fame in the "Charlie's Angels" series in 1976 and later appeared in the sitcom "Spin City" and in movies and on stage, died of cancer in 2009 at age 62.

NBC, powered by "The Voice" and its "Chicago" drama franchise, was the week's most-watched broadcast network with an average 4.35 million viewers, just squeezing past CBS' 4.33 million. ABC averaged 3.87 million, Fox had 2.5 million, ION Television had 1.27 million, Univision with 1.26 million, Telemundo 1.1 million and the CW 610,000.

Turner, home to several NBA playoff games, was the top-rated cable network with an average 2.6 million viewers. Fox News Channel had 2.4 million, followed by MSNBC with 1.6 million and ESPN with 1.4 million.

ABC's "World News Tonight" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.1 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" was second with 7.2 million and the "CBS Evening News" averaged 5.4 million viewers.