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The premiere of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s David E. Kelley drama "Ally McBeal" outperformed the season debut of its "Melrose Place" lead-in Monday and marked the best opener for any new or returning series in the timeslot since "Alien Nation" in 1989.

National numbers and demos won't be available until today, but "McBeal" averaged a 9.3/14 in overnight market households, placing second in the 9 p.m. timeslot only to ABC's "Monday Night Football" (14.4/21).

The 20th Century Fox drama's performance exceeded expectations and increased its 8.6/14 "Melrose Place" lead-in by 8%. The only other series program that has ever outperformed its "Melrose Place" lead-in Mondays at 9 p.m. was the 1997 series finale of "Married ... With Children."

"Ally" also outperformed last season's combined 6.1/9 timeslot debuts of the short-lived sitcoms "Lush Life" and "Party Girl" by 52%, and it bettered the last season's timeslot average, excluding baseball, by 24%.

The "Melrose Place" season debut was not quite as impressive, although the series won its timeslot against repeats from 8 to 9 p.m. The 8.6/14 average for "Melrose" dropped by 7% in rating from last season's 9.2/14 debut in overnights.