NBC and CBS share Monday leadership again
   With “Monday Night Football” over, Monday has become a two-network competition, and right now leadership is split. NBC and CBS tied for first for the second straight week among adults 18-49 last night, averaging a 5.8 rating and 15 share. That was far ahead of ABC at 2.6/6 for the movie “Enemy of the State” and Fox at 2.4/6 with “Happy Gilmore.” The WB barely edged UPN for fifth place, averaging a 1.7/4 to UPN’s 1.6/4.
   Huge ratings from the special 8 p.m. couples edition of “Fear Factor,” which averaged a 6.9 18-49 rating, buoyed lead-out “Las Vegas” to a rare victory over CBS’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” at 9 p.m. “Vegas,” with a much-hyped guest appearance by Alec Baldwin, averaged a 6.5 at 9 while “Raymond” averaged a 6.3. CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” did manage to edge ahead of “Vegas” at 9:30 by about 7 percent as the latter’s rating dipped to a 5.8.
   At 10 p.m. CBS’s “CSI: Miami” trounced NBC’s “Average Joe 2,” averaging a 7.0 rating for the hour to “Joe’s” 4.5. “Joe” dipped 8 percent from last week’s season premiere.
   Among households CBS was the easy winner, averaging an 11.0/17 for the night to NBC’s 7.9/12 and ABC’s 5.0/8. Fox averaged a 3.7/6, the WB had a 3.1/5 and UPN did a 2.6/4. 

Overtime playoff game lifts Fox Sunday
   Its second overtime playoff football game of the weekend boosted Fox to a substantial lead Sunday night, with the network more than doubling its nearest competitor among adults 18-49 for an easy victory. Fox averaged a 10.3 adults 18-49 rating and 24 share for the night to second-place NBC’s 4.0/10. CBS was third at 3.6/9, ABC fourth at 3.0/7 and the WB fifth at 2.1/5 according to Nielsen overnights.
   The Philadelphia Eagles’ overtime win over the Green Bay Packers peaked at 16.1 at 7:30 p.m., just as the OT period began. At 8 p.m., when the game finished, it averaged a 14.8 along with the start of “The Simpsons” at about 8:20. A combination of “Simpsons” and “The Bernie Mac Show” in the next half-hour averaged a still very strong 7.6.
   NBC was the first network other than Fox to win a half-hour, pulling ahead with “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” with a 5.5 at 9 p.m. A “Criminal Intent” rerun at 10 also won its time slot against ABC’s “The Practice” and CBS’s “People’s Choice Awards,” the latter of which averaged a 4.2 over two hours.
   Fox also took the night among households, averaging a 14.3/21. CBS was second at 9.0/14, NBC third at 6.9/11, ABC fourth at 5.3/8 and the WB fifth at 2.7/4.

'Friends' reunion already being filmed? Maybe.
NBC is so desperate to keep "Friends" around that it is already filming a Thanksgiving reunion special, according to rumors that started floating around the internet this weekend. The rumor has it that the episode, set at least a year from the end of the original show, will be filmed right after production ends on the show's series finale this month. The series' six stars reportedly will receive a $2 million payday apiece for the 90-minute episode, which would run during the November sweeps. Though NBC announced a spinoff of the show, "Joey," to take its place Thursdays at 8 p.m., prospects for the program aren't considered great. Media Life readers recently voted "Joey's" flop the most likely TV development in 2004. 

Martha's lawyers weeding out the jury pool
The prospective list of jurors for Martha Stewart’s trial next week is shrinking as fast as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stock. Stewart, her stockbroker co-defendant and prosecutors in the case submitted a list of about 100 people that the three wish to be eliminated from the 500 being considered in the jury pool to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Miriam Cedarbaum yesterday. The prospective jurors were flagged for appearing to have bias in the case, either for or against Stewart, based on answers to what's reportedly a 50-plus-page  questionnaire. Cedarbaum is expected to allow the dismissal of those 100 prospects, and next Tuesday, the remaining members of the jury pool will be questioned by both defense and prosecuting attorneys for the final jury selection. Stewart’s trial for obstruction of justice and securities fraud begins Jan. 20.

Letterman: I think I'll stick around for a bit
David Letterman's new baby still doesn't have the 56-year-old thinking about retirement. In a surprise appearance on Howard Stern yesterday, the usually publicity-shy Letterman said he has no intentions of leaving when his contract runs out next year. “I used to think I'd make some big deal about walking away and all that. Now I'll just wait until they fire me.” The CBS late-night star, who trails NBC’s Jay Leno in the ratings, said, "I always thought that when I got to be 40, I couldn't be on television. "But here I am still cashing the checks," he said. "It's ridiculous." Stern asked Letterman the question he’s been getting from all over lately, why he hadn't married the mother of his baby yet. “I had one [marriage] years ago, and I suppose one day it'll happen again.”

NBC & E! off to court over 'SNL' clips show
NBC and E! couldn’t solve their problems the easy way, so they’re doing it the court way. On Friday, NBC filed a suit against E! for copyright infringement and breach of contract when the cable network planned to move forward with a five-part series of “Saturday Night Live” clips. NBC owns the copyrights to all “SNL” episodes, but a 2002 licensing deal allows E! to air edited versions of at least 625 old episodes. NBC claims the clip show, “101 Most Unforgettable ‘SNL’ Moments,” would compete with NBC’s own compilation shows, while E! claims the promotional nature of the show is covered under the current licensing agreement. Despite E!’s defense, the network pulled this Sunday’s scheduled airing of the first episode. Future airings have not been decided.