God Grabs Ratings

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday September 29, 1998 12:00 AM EDT

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And even bigger than Judge Judy in the ratings is . . . God. And dinosaurs. But God first. Cecil B. DeMille's overripe Technicolor spectacle, "The Ten Commandments," starring Charlton Heston, grabbed 17.4 million Americans when it was aired Sunday night, despite the fact that the long, long 1956 movie was being broadcast for the umpteenth time. "Commandments" beat a new episode of "The X-Files" and the CBS TV movie remake of "Picnic" in the same timeslot. It also ran on the first "The Sopranos"-less Sunday in 13 weeks. Another miraculous rating on Sunday was accorded the 3-hour Discovery Channel special, "Walking With Dinosaurs." Its 10.1 million viewers made it the most-watched nonsports event on cable TV this entire season.

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