Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 8, 1993 TAG: 9305080361
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A rare number of outstanding series are on the air and on the line this year, including "Homefront," "Brooklyn Bridge" and "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." Fans are braced.
"I think this could be the biggest massacre ever," said a glum Dorothy Swanson, founder of the 9-year-old, 2,500-member Viewers for Quality Television.
The group is calling on each network to keep at least one outstanding but low-rated show when the 1993-1994 schedules are announced next month.
Support is being rallied elsewhere: Newspapers and magazines are drawing readers into rescue campaigns. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People expressed its dismay to NBC that "Homicide: Life on The Street" may be canceled.
The networks deserve credit for giving some pretty terrific programs a tryout. But when ratings sink, so do the hearts and good intentions (yes, they claim to have both) of TV executives.
For a moment, let's admire some sterling, endangered members in the 1992-93 flock:
"Homefront," on ABC, is an evocative take on post-World War II America that boasts a uniformly excellent cast. CBS' "Brooklyn Bridge" is another nostalgic look back, examining the life of a Jewish family circa 1950.
ABC's "Young Indiana Jones" has filmmaker George Lucas' guiding hand behind it as it plays ingeniously with history and heroism.
More riches on the small screen: NBC's "Homicide," from another acclaimed movie director, Barry Levinson, offers a fresh, gritty look at the cop drama.
CBS' "Picket Fences," a well-spun tale from writer-producer David E. Kelley, gives us imaginative stories and the chance to savor the acting of Kathy Baker and Tom Skerritt each week.
And perhaps the most lamented, NBC's "I'll Fly Away."
"To think, in our society, out of the hundreds of hours of television, there's not room for an hour or two a week for something that beautiful," says "Brooklyn Bridge" co-producer Sam Weisman, a "Fly Away" fan.
Cancellations will carry a harsh message, Swanson contends.
"It means a segment of the viewing audience is being dismissed along with these shows," she said. "It is the same viewers who are watching all these shows, intelligent viewers who don't go into a vegetative state in front of the TV."
The networks, trying desperately to keep their footing amid growing competition, insist they can't back shows that lack mass viewership. Forget the idea of a loss leader, as some hopeful boosters suggest.
The argument that a No. 1 network like CBS can reserve a tiny niche for quality just doesn't wash, the industry insists. Business is business - and television is first and foremost a business.
If a show doesn't carry its own weight, and quickly, it isn't getting a break.
In the early 1980s, because of the enthusiastic support of then-NBC President Grant Tinker, "Cheers" survived two low-rated seasons before it went on to become a hit.
If you want to find loyalty and steadfastness like that now in TV, flip on "Lassie" reruns.
"Brooklyn Bridge" may draw an impressive 26,000 letters of support, but as CBS Entertainment President Jeff Sagansky framed it, "I just pray that most of those people have televisions."
Sagansky also neglected to footnote his remark: Viewers have to include members of the Nielsen tribe.
Producers of low-rated shows insist they DO have an audience, it's just not one with a Nielsen life-support system hooked up to the TV set.
"I'm convinced there's a lot of people who watch the show," says "Brooklyn Bridge's" Weisman. "If there weren't, the actors wouldn't be recognized in parking lots. CBS wouldn't get the mail they have."
Levinson shares the same doubts about ratings.
"Homicide" and "Brooklyn Bridge" have both tended to hover in the bottom third of the ratings, far from the heady territory of sitcom darlings "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement."
The producers and Swanson say it's time for another evaluation of the Nielsen system. They question who is being monitored, how it's done, and how the networks use the information.
The A.C. Nielsen Co. refuses to take the rap. It stands by the accuracy of its random sample of U.S. television households.
"When they're getting ratings, it's the program," says Jack Loftus, a Nielsen vice president. "When the numbers are down, it's Nielsen's fault."
Enough finger-pointing. All we can do now is hope. After all, even the Titanic had survivors.
by CNB