Cool Carlin heats Fox's Sunday bid

By BRIAN LOWRY

Fox Broadcasting Co. had something to smile about before the ground started shaking as its new sitcom, "The George Carlin Show," got off to a strong startSunday, according to preliminary Nielsen overnight results.

Carlin's Warner Bros. TV sitcom equaled the 20 share posted by its lead-in, "Married ... With Children," as Fox posted a rare tie with CBS for first place in the hour. The weblet has struggled for years to find a series that can retain "Married's" lead-in, having already canceled "Daddy Dearest" during the fall.

Diana Ross' first dramatic role in more than 15 years, meanwhile, hit a fairly flat ratings note, as the ABC movie "Out of the Darkness" averaged a 19 share, trailing CBS from 9-11 p.m. The project is the first of three movies Ross will produce and/or star infor the network.

NBC's late Kansas City-Houston playoff game Sunday ran over a half-hour into primetime, averaging a huge 47 share in the overnights from 7-7:30 p.m. CBS' "60 Minutes" was held to a 30 share by the game but jumped to a 39 in the second half of the hour.

Continuous earthquake coverage locally will result in preemption of network fare Monday.