"Utterly shocking" is the only thing that I have to say ­ and no, I'm not referring to the fact that the Anna Nicole Show hasn't been cancelled yet. I'm talking about last week's "Top 10" television ratings. The ratings leader for the week of Sept. 16 to 22 was, amazingly enough, CBS' Survivor: Thailand. In spite of plummeting interest in the show and its lack of buzz, somehow the Eye managed to win the ratings war for the week with the tawdry survival show in its nth incarnation.

Following Survivor was NBC with the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at No. 2; this is no big surprise, as awards shows like the Emmys tend to be ratings-grabbers. (By the way, did you know that the annual Oscars telecast is eligible to win an Emmy, yet the Emmy telecast isn't?) Number three on the ratings chart was another shocker ­ ABC's Monday Night Football, hardly a "popular" program, especially considering the turbulent interest in NFL football in recent years.

ABC had two other entries on this week's list, both near the top; the Disney-owned network slid into No. 4 with John Ritter's new series 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. The series is actually surprisingly smart and funny, despite a few awkward bits. Still it has nothing but potential. Given ABC's proven track record with family-oriented sitcoms (remember Family Matters, Full House, or more recently Home Improvement?), the program may very well be here to stay.

Number five on the list was another new ABC sit-com offering, the quasi-improvised Life with Bonnie starring Bonnie Hunt as a busy working mother/morning show host.

Critics haven't been so friendly towards this show, as the "improvised" scenes seem to be slightly flat. It'll most likely take several more weeks before there's enough evidence either way to decide if this show will remain on the air.

NBC's perpetually popular Law and Order came in at No. 6. CBS filled in the remaining four spots, with Big Brother 3 at No. 7 (up from No. 12 the week prior), CSI at both No. 8 and No. 9 and Everybody Loves Raymond at No. 10 (down from No. 2 the week before). ABC's primary ratings advantage this week came from last week's slate of premieres. With a heavy promotional push and the earliest week, ABC's high ratings for its new sitcoms hardly come as a surprise.

To that end, my prediction is that each network will alternately top the ratings for the next several weeks until all of the premiere weeks have concluded. With each network unveiling new series, it'll take some time before viewers settle on their favorites and the cancellations begin.