The farewell episode of Dr. Peter Benton on "ER" attracted 29 million viewers on Thursday. Eriq LaSalle, who plays brilliant but tough Dr. Peter Benton, left the popular hospital drama after eight seasons. Although NBC scored a coup with the "ER" send-off show, CBS managed to win the ratings race for the week of December 10-16. NBC secured seven of the top-10 slots with the Must-See Thursday powerhouses of "ER" and "Friends" at No.1 and 2. CBS held onto the last three top-10 spots, while ABC pulled up the rear with no shows in the top 10 and only one, "Monday Night Football," in the top 20 (No.16). The only non-series in the top-10 was CBS's movie "A Town without Christmas," at No. 7.

The Top 10 household rating and total viewers, as compiled by Nielsen Media Research, is as follows:
1. "ER," NBC, 18.2, 19.2 million homes.
2. "Friends," NBC, 14.9, 15.8 million homes.
3. "Law & Order," NBC, 13.3, 14.0 million homes.
4. "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 12.7, 13.4 million homes.
5. "Will & Grace," NBC, 12.5, 13.2 million homes.
6. "The West Wing," NBC, 12.2, 12.9 million homes.
7. "CBS Sunday Movie: A Town without Christmas," CBS, 11.8, 12.5 million homes.
8. "Will & Grace," NBC, 11.6, 12.2 million homes.
9. "Just Shoot Me," NBC, 11.4, 12.0 million homes.
10. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 11.2, 11.8 million homes.