Entertainment: The Peacock Gets Plucked

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Until lately, the NBC peacock seemed more like a hawk let loose in a chicken coop. Such humongous hits as Cheers and L.A. Law made the network No. 1 in the ratings for the past six years. But in the new fall season, NBC suddenly trails behind a resurgent CBS and in some weeks ABC as well. On Sunday nights, NBC is even struggling to stay out of fourth place, behind the spunky Fox network. Reason: basement-level performance by four new shows, including two headed by big-name stars -- Robert Guillaume in Pacific Station and James Garner in the apparently inaptly named Man of the People. NBC's Friday-night offerings are doing so poorly that beginning this week the network is replacing two prime-time news programs with the well-worn Matlock mystery series.

The web's woes have been long in the making. Such reliables as The Cosby Show and The Golden Girls are aging, and NBC has no new hits to take up the slack. One consolation: other networks are facing a similar drought. So far, only one new program has made the top 20 -- ABC's Home Improvement.