MOSES RETURNS TO MOUNTAIN TOP

After being knocked into second place a year ago, when it competed against basketball, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses, averaged 7.05 million viewers. That compares with the dismal 5.88 million who tuned in for the ABC telecast of the holiday classic a year ago. In 2009, ABC’s telecast of Commandments drew 6.6.81 million; in 2007 and 2008, 7.87 million and 7.91 million respectively. In 2006 the network debuted a two-part Commandments miniseries with Dougray Scott as Moses. It took a drubbing from critics but nevertheless attracted more than 14 million viewers. But that was on a Monday and Tuesday, when far more people are watching TV than on a Saturday.