A special episode of The Simpsons and the series premiere of the critically slammed Normal, Ohio combined to draw bigger ratings for Fox in the 8:00-9:00 p.m. period on Wednesday than the World Series had in the same hour a week earlier. The Simpsons special posted a 6.3 rating and an 18 share, beating CBS's Bette, starring Bette Midler (3.6/10) and NBC's Titans (2.8/8), but proving to be no match for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which jumped to a 13.9/22. Next week, Fox plans to air Malcolm in the Middle in the time period (setting up a Middle vs. Midler rivalry).

Source: Studio Briefing