Wednesday, April 21, 1999
Networks weighing shows on the edge
Fans have a month to voice opinions
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Will Homicide get another shot? Can L.A. Doctors survive? Will they pull the plug on NewsRadio?
We'll know in a month, as the networks decide which shows to renew and cancel for fall.
Tristate natives Jenny Robertson, Vicki Lewis, Marjorie Monaghan and Carmen Electra — and hundreds of others — could be looking for work when new series are announced the week of May 17.
WHERE TO WRITE
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Worried about a favorite show on the bubble? Express your support to these chief programmers at the broadcast networks:
• ABC: Jamie Tarses, ABC Entertainment president, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, Calif. 90067
• CBS: Nancy Tellum, CBS Entertainment president, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles 90036
• Fox: Doug Herzog, Fox Entertainment president, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 90035
• NBC: Scott Sassa, NBC Entertainment president, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, Calif. 91523
• UPN: Tom Nunnan, UPN Entertainment president, 11800 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90025
• WB: Susanne Daniels, WB Entertainment president, 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank 91522
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Big finales are planned for a handful of favorites that have announced they're going off the air — The Nanny (May 19), Melrose Place and Mad About You (May 24), Home Improvement (May 25) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (June 2).
But many more series may be flushed down the tubes without warning. Remember the surprise exit of CBS' Dr. Quinn last year?
So it's time for an SOS (Save Our Shows) for series in trouble. Direct your letters to the network presidents listed on
This is one critic's best guess of shows that may not survive another season, along with the ranking (among 171 programs) this season.
• Diagnosis Murder (No. 34, CBS): Don't be lulled into complacency by Dick Van Dyke's ranking. CBS renewed a dozen shows in early February, and this one wasn't on the list. It's no secret the network wants to lure a younger audience, so the Emmy-winner and TV Hall of Fame member could find himself collecting Social Security this fall.
• Promised Land (No. 49, CBS): Executive producer Martha Williamson's family drama starring Gerald McRaney and Wendy Phillips hasn't been Touched by an Angel,her other drama series. Don't be surprised if CBS starts over on Thursday nights this fall.
• Two of a Kind (No. 64, ABC): It's never a good sign when a show is yanked off the air in April, leading into the big May sweeps (starting April 29). That's what happened to the Olsen twins' sitcom, the lowest-rated of ABC's four “TGIF” comedies.
• Homicide: Life on the Street (No. 69, NBC): Ratings for Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana's excellent police drama have never matched the reams of critical praise. Plus Homicide was a pet project of Warren Littlefield, who was axed in October as NBC Entertainment president. Homicide may be a victim next month when NBC's Scott Sassa and Garth Ancier announce their first fall schedule.
• L.A. Doctors (No. 73, CBS): CBS canceled Brooklyn South a year ago figuring that Ken Olin's medical series would be the perfect companion to the 8-10 p.m. Monday comedy block. It didn't happen. CBS' most popular Monday night doctor is Ted Danson's Becker, ranked No. 22 at 9:30 p.m., before a ratings plunge. If ratings don't jump for Dennis Rodman (April 26), Vanessa Williams and Patricia Wettig (May 3), these Docs could be working for an HMO.
• NewsRadio (No. 76, NBC): Anderson Township native Vicki Lewis and her radio newsroom comedy pals are the Rodney Dangerfields of NBC. They get no respect. Trigger-happy NBC has constantly shelved the show throughout its four-year run. NewsRadio is still on only because NBC canceled Al Franken's Lateline after one telecast in March.
• Caroline in the City (No. 90, NBC): NBC has so little faith in Lea Thompson's sitcom that the season finale will air Monday (8 p.m., Channels 5, 22), four days before sweeps start. Producers have made a cliffhanger around Caroline and Richard (Malcolm Gets) planning to get married — which may never be resolved, if NBC cancels the show.
• Maggie Winters (No. 101, CBS): There hasn't been a Maggie Winters sighting in months, which doesn't bode well for the buddy comedy starring Faith Ford and Oak Hills High School graduate Jenny Robertson. They probably sense they're history, seeing themselves surrounded on the season-to-date ratings by shows already canceled (Buddy Faro, Trinity, Encore! Encore!).
• Vengeance Unlimited (No. 114, ABC): This wasn't one of my personal favorites, but Michael Madsen's vigilante series was just beginning to develop a buzz among some TV critics when episodes ran out in February. I don't think any letter-writing campaign can save this one, which languishes a few spots north of ABC's other dramatic failures: Strange World (118), Fantasy Island (119) and Cupid (121).
• Millennium (No. 116, Fox): The truth may be out there, but enough viewers aren't for this Chris Carter series which never developed the mass appeal of The X-Files. Low third-season ratings probably means Lance Henricksen will have a new job before the millennium.
• Rescue 77 (No. 131, WB): Ratings on the WB and UPN are deceiving. A show ranked this low would be toast on the Big Four (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox), but not on the “emerging” networks. Rescue 77, the ensemble drama with Colerain Township native Marjorie Monaghan, is one notch below WB's Felicity (131), and only a few steps south of WB's Dawson's Creek (124), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (125) and Charmed (126). And Ms. Monaghan's series has drawn more viewers than Carmen Electra's Hyperion Bay (146), which it replaced in March.
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. His column appears Monday and Wednesday. Write: 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330.
