Reflecting widespread anthrax anxiety, not to mention the return of actress Sherry Stringfield, "ER" rose again to the No. 1 slot in the Nielsen ratings with a 17.6% share of the nation's 105.5 million TV homes. (Translation: 18.6 million households tuned in.) The rest of the top 10 (there was a three-way tie for ninth place among "Becker," "Judging Amy" and "Survivor: Africa") were dominated by crime ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" at No. 3) and politics ("The West Wing" at No. 4). Television's only military drama, "JAG", moved up three slots to No. 8. Among the networks, ABC fell to fourth place with only "The Practice" and "Monday Night Football" in the top 30. Fox moved up to third with a strong showing for its baseball playoff coverage. New shows with some familiar names struggled: "Emeril" with chef Emeril Lagasse, "Bob Patterson" with Jason Alexander, and "The Ellen Show" with Ellen DeGeneres all finished near the bottom. The top 10:
1. "ER," NBC, 17.6, 18.6 million homes
2. "Friends," NBC, 16.0, 16.9 million homes 3. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 14.1, 14.9 million homes
4. "The West Wing," NBC, 13.7, 14.5 million homes
5. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.5, 14.3 million homes
6. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," NBC, 12.9, 13.6 million homes
7. "Fox MLB League Championship Series: Games 4&5: Arizona at Atlanta/Seattle at New York," Fox, 12.3, 13.0 million homes
8. "JAG," CBS, 11.6, 12.2 million homes
9. (tie) "Becker," CBS, 11.4, 12.0 million homes
9. (tie) "Judging Amy," CBS, 11.4, 12.0 million homes