Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 10, 1990 TAG: 9003102739
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Now, the ultimate irony occurs. Harper's latest television series is on CBS during the same time period that NBC airs "The Hogan Family."
"Oh, that's funny," Harper said, when she learned of the coincidence.
"That's the most ironic thing. First of all, we have nothing to do with that. Jeff Sagansky (CBS Entertainment president) placed us there," the comedian said. "And if you look at the schedule, we couldn't be happier than to be between `Major Dad' and `Murphy Brown.'
"Our show fits well into the evening," Harper said. "The style of comedy and the tone of the piece. It just happens to be across from `The Hogan Family'."
While Harper said she is hopeful her new show "City" will win the time period, she also would like the "The Hogan Family" to remain strong on NBC for more than just the financial rewards she gets as owner. She has remained friendly with the cast and the crew.
Other than that, Harper gives "The Hogan Family" little thought. Her attention is focused on "City," a sitcom that CBS believes has a strong shot to become a hit.
"City" includes an ensemble cast that is supposed to represent the employees of a city manager's office. Harper plays the city manager.
"I think a city manager's office could be hilarious," Harper said. "It could be much like `Night Court.' `Night Court' and `Justice for All' are closer to jurisprudence than `Perry Mason' ever was. It's that feeling of foxhole humor, of doing an impossible job.
"The office of city manager I found real interesting because that's the person who really does it. That's the person who has to pay for the garbage trucks and make sure they're gassed up and that every civic building is cleaned. It's the person who tries to deliver on the politicians' promises."
Harper said the entire concept is rich with ideas.
"I know the pilot came from something that happened in Los Angeles," Harper said. "That bulldozing of the cemetery actually happened in Los Angeles. The county slid over the city line, and then the county tried to dump it on the city and the city tried to say, `No, they're your bodies.'
"You hear that stuff, and you can hardly believe it," Harper said. "You think that's the stuff of a very fertile writer's mind."
While the bulldozing incident happened in Los Angeles, Harper said "City" is careful not to pattern itself after any specific community.
"We don't want to use anything but `city,' so we can avoid lawsuits," Harper said. "It's a medium-sized city. I guess it's going to live in the realm that `Hill Street (Blues)' did, an undesignated (city) but very specifically a city."
A technical adviser who did work in a city administration is on the producers' team to help walk the writers - headed by Paul Haggis - through the steps of a city manager's office, Harper added.
While the show's stories revolve around city government, Harper said the focus remains on the relationships among the people.
"I find cities to be like families," she explained. "And in any community of people, people bump into stuff, and stuff gets tied up and tangled and doesn't move. That's when conflicting interests and ego come into it."
For Harper, the people relationships are especially important. It's a valuable lesson she learned from James Brooks, who was the executive producer of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Harper played Rhoda on that successful show of the '70s, until the character was spun off and she had her own hit sitcom, "Rhoda."
"I remember Jim Brooks saying the No. 1 commitment of a situation comedy is to be funny," Harper recalled. "He would say, `You must be funny.' He also said, `You can't go after issues. You really need to be about people coping with themselves and life.'
by CNB