CBS Television Distribution's The Doctors had the right medicine for major ratings growth in the week ending Oct. 11, scoring a 46% increase over last year at this time, which was the largest year-to-year gain of any show in syndication.

The week also saw steady to slightly higher results for most daytime shows despite facing tougher than usual competition in some markets from 12 divisional playoff baseball games on cable during the week.

The Doctors hit its highest ratings since late April, climbing 6% from the week before to a 1.9 and passing Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres for the first time this season. Ellen was down 10% to a 1.8.

Talk Shows

At the top of the talk list, CBS Television Distribution's Oprah inched up 2% to a 5.1; CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil rose 4% to a 2.7 after a show featuring the Dr. Phil family was up 11% to a 3.0 on Oct. 5.

Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly was unchanged at a 2.4; NBCU's Maury and CBS Television Distribution's Rachael Ray held steady at 1.7 and 1.6, respectively; while Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams jumped 40% to a 1.4 with about half of that gain coming from its cable run on BET getting a new time period following the red hot Mo'nique. Williams also posted a 26% gain among women 18-34 and women 18-49 in broadcast and was up 50% in those demos overall.

Court Shows

CBS Television Distribution's Judge Joe Brown was the biggest gainer among the courtrooms, with an 11% surge to a 2.1 in households and a 25% increase among women 18-49. The show has now been the second-highest rated court behind CBS Television Distribution's Judge Judy for 562 consecutive weeks. Judge Judy, meanwhile, held steady at a 4.1.

Warner Bros.' People's Court and its Judge Mathis were flat at 1.8 and 1.5, respectively; Twentieth's Divorce Court and its Judge Alex were each up 8% to 1.3; and Warner Bros.' Judge Piero was flat at a 0.9.

Freshman Shows

Among rookies, NBCU's The Office rose to its highest ratings yet with a 4% increase to a 2.9. Among women 18-34, The Office was up 4% to a 2.5 and ranked as syndication's No. 2 show in the key demo.

Twentieth's My Name is Earl, CBS Television Distribution's Everybody Hates Chris and Disney-ABC's America' Funniest Home Videos were all flat, at 1.7, 1.4 and 0.6, respectively, while Trifecta's Cold Case Files debuted on the chart at a frosty 0.3.

Sony's Dr. Oz continued to crush its first-run competition with a 4% gain to a 2.6; Twentieth's Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? was flat at a 1.6; and Litton's Street Court rebounded 20% to a 0.6.

Magazine Shows

CBS Television Distribution's Entertainment Tonight was the highest rated magazine, as usual, holding steady at a 4.3 with a 43% ratings margin over second-place CBS Television Distribution's Inside Edition, which was unchanged at a 3.0. NBCU's Access Hollywood was down 5% to a 2.0; Warner Bros.' TMZ and CBS Television Distribution's The Insider remained firm at 1.9 and 1.8, respectively, while Warner Bros.' Extra dropped 6% to a 1.6.

Game Shows

Game shows did little except for Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud, which was up 9% to a 1.2. CBS Television Distribution's Wheel of Fortune, its Jeopardy!, Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire and NBCU's Deal or No Deal were all flat at 6.6, 5.4, 2.3 and 1.1, respectively.

Off-Net Sitcoms

Off-net sitcoms were mixed. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men and Twentieth's Family Guy were flat at 4.7 and 3.4, respectively; Sony's Seinfeld was up 4% to a 2.6; CBS Television Distribution's Everybody Loves Raymond rose 10% to a 2.3; Warner Bros.' George Lopez Show lost 9% to a 2.1; Twentieth's King of the Hill fell 5% to a 2.1; Sony's King of Queens dropped 20% to a 1.6; CBS Television Distribution's Frasier slipped 7% to a 1.4; and Debmar-Mercury's House of Payne tumbled 29% to 1.2.

Weekend

Among off-net weekly hours, CBS Television Distribution's CSI: NY was down 12% to a 3.0; while NBCU's Law & Order: Criminal Intent jumped 19% to a 2.5; CBS Television Distribution's CSI: Miami slipped 8% to a 2.2; NBCU's House was down 9% to a 2.1, tying Twentieth's Bones, which was unchanged at a 2.1; and Disney-ABC's Grey's Anatomy was flat at a 1.8.