Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 26, 1993 TAG: 9309230123
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY RICHMOND LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
PEERING OVER "FENCES": In the immediate aftermath of the surprising Emmy wins for CBS' "Picket Fences" in the drama series and lead dramatic actor (Tom Skerritt) and actress (Kathy Baker) categories, a question emerged: what is "Picket Fences"?
Here's the short version. It's a quirky drama created and executive produced by David E. Kelley - the onetime leader of "L.A. Law" - that chronicles the life of a family living in Rome, Wis.
Skerritt plays the town sheriff. Baker is his doctor wife. They have kids. They have bizarre problems and toss lots of sexual innuendo back and forth in trademark "L.A. Law" style.
Perhaps it was that naughty streak that wowed the Emmy folks. Maybe it was the fact this was a quality show in its first season, a sure-fire formula for Emmy notoriety.
But "Picket Fences" was so low-rated and buried on CBS' Friday night schedule that it was clearly a forgotten show until Emmy came a-callin'.
And now?
"Now this confirms us," said "Picket Fences" co-executive producer Michael Pressman. "It gives us the full season without worrying [about getting renewed] and probably the third year, too.
"This was a validation that we needed. I can't tell you how ecstatic we all are. This gives us a real chance of bringing in the viewers we didn't bring in the first season."
History tells us that Pressman may be just a tad overexcited, however. Emmy wins are hardly a sure-fire guarantee of ratings improvement, and "Picket Fences" has a lot of improving to do.
For all of its Emmy glory - winning eight of the statuettes in its first season - "Hill Street Blues" never rose higher than 21st place in the seasonal ratings for any of its seven years on NBC. Most of the time, it was mired back in the 35th or 40th position.
Of course, this is a different era. But "Picket Fences" figures to have its work cut out. It finished way down in the 82nd position on the annual A.C. Nielsen Co. network prime-time chart and once again finds itself smack up against ABC's powerhouse "20/20" on Friday nights at 10.
Does Pressman hold out hope that the show might be moved?
"Eventually, that's possible," said Pressman. "But I think we'll be staying on Friday nights for the immediate future and trying to make it work. I'm hoping we have the leverage to make it work now. Emmys give us something to sell."
And if it does get moved, some potential candidates would be 10 p.m. Thursdays (where the new CBS soap "Angel Falls" is presently dying) or perhaps even 10 p.m. on Mondays, with current inhabitant "Northern Exposure" moved to another night (like Thursdays).
On the other hand, "Picket Fences" remains a strong candidate for public service advertising on milk cartons, as in: "Have you seen this program? If so, call 1-800-JUST-SAW."
THE NEW QUALITY LEADER, HBO: It's no great news flash that Home Box Office makes the consistently finest television product in the business. The real news is that the Emmy voters have finally caught on.
One reason that HBO has supplanted NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox is surely its freedom from advertiser interference and conformity. And operating as a pay-cable service, it need not operate under the same confining set of content standards as the other guys.
This means that HBO doesn't need to concern itself as much with how a violent episode might be interpreted, or minding its P's and Q's in the area of language to punctuate a point.
It's a little bit absurd in this day and age that there are two very different and distinct sets of guidelines governing broadcast and cable TV. But at least HBO takes advantage of the freedom from interference that its fellow networks can't boast.
But HBO's level of quality extends beyond its relative creative freedom. It is also a by-product of a mandate to produce meaningful drama and absurdist satire that the other guys simply don't bother with.
At a time when ABC, NBC and CBS, in particular, balance everything with a cost sheet, HBO has a joint concern: making a difference. And it is.
The tragedy is that HBO is beamed into fewer than 20 percent of all U.S. television homes. Chevy Chase, meanwhile, is available everywhere.
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO PASADENA?: It was explained after he won for lead comedy actor that Ted Danson couldn't make it to the Emmys because he was shooting a movie in San Francisco.
Let's see, last time I checked, that was only a one-hour flight each way. Danson could have left the Bay Area by 3 p.m., arrived at the Emmys on time for the 5 p.m. taping and been back in Northern California by 10 or 10:30 p.m.
But where there's no will, there's no way.
by CNB