Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290257
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By HARRIET WINSLOW THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"We would like our audience to be moved - whether they laugh or cry - and afterwards think a little," said Michael Pressman, the show's co-executive producer.
But the CBS Friday-night show took perhaps its most bizarre turn when it won three major Emmys - for best actor, best actress and best dramatic series - for 1993. Even the show's fans, accustomed to the show's meaty scripts, grade-A talent and controversial plot lines, were surprised.
But they also were accustomed to the show's being generally ignored, especially by their fellow viewers. Why should the Emmy voters be any different? The sudden recognition was a shock.
"Picket Fences" has crept up to 45th place in viewership out of 109 shows rated so far this season. But if "Fences" is so darned good, how come it's not a hit?
The show is designed to be challenging, the type of series that often takes a while to find a wide audience.
The man responsible for that demanding tone is executive producer and writer David E. Kelley, a major force behind "L.A. Law" in its glory years.
Week after week, Kelley scripts controversy within the confines of Rome, Wis., and the family of Jimmy and Jill Brock, Rome's sheriff and chief surgeon, played by Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker.
As Sheriff Brock, Skerritt fits the part of a soft-spoken man with etched lines on his handsome face. A veteran of three decades of feature films, recently as the strict father in "A River Runs Through It," Skerritt seems content focusing on the small screen, commuting from Los Angeles to his home in Seattle.
"Our credo from the outset was to do the best we possibly can," Skerritt said. "And we knew we would have to retrain the audience somewhat, because they're used to watching different patterns." The goal: to offer both sides of an argument, allowing viewers to make their own decision. There is never a predictable outcome on "Picket Fences."
Pressman described "Fences" as "a show that sort of attacks social issues and uses the framework of life in a small town and all these characters as a way to give a new and different viewpoint to problems in our society. We constantly are dealing with prejudices and bigotries, social injustice - all areas revolve around our characters."
Pressman, who also directs, described how the show has changed during its two seasons.
"Last year I think we used humor with which to get into the stories, to take one by surprise, and then to pull the rug out from underneath and to find out that there's some real serious issues behind what appeared to be light. Here this season we're really starting off the bat with a dramatic situation," he said.
A typically thought-provoking episode centered around a man with a tumor that may have prevented him from recognizing his brother in the dark. Claiming he mistook him for a burglar, the diseased man killed his brother. Then it is revealed that the dead brother was having an affair with the shooter's wife, and a large insurance settlement awaited the survivor. His guilt or innocence is not revealed until the last lines of the episode.
Pressman said, "I think what was important this season was to remove the association with quirky and `Northern Exposure' and bizarre and get right down to the mainstream of social issues, which is an area where the show is very strong. We were misperceived last year," he said. "We're not just a show that wants to lead with heartfelt emotions."
But fans of the show know that humor is infused throughout, often with subtlety. "I think the comedy is really appearing in the series here as a relief from the drama," Pressman said.
Other cast members who contribute to the zaniness of the show - in their diverse personalities, if nothing else - are Lauren Holly and Costas Mandylor as cops, Ray Walston as Judge Henry Bone, Zelda "Poltergeist" Rubinstein as the police receptionist, Don Cheadle as the young district attorney, Kelly Connell as a zealous medical examiner, and Fyvush Finkel as an omnipresent, boisterous lawyer. Holly Marie Combs, Justin Shenkarow and Adam Wylie - with his ever-present trombone - play the three Brock children.
Part of the enthusiasm behind producing the series comes from the cast. Kathy Baker, who plays Rome's chief surgeon and wife of Sheriff Brock, said that David Kelley is responsible for the cast's getting along so well. She praised him for "choosing a good cast, and avoiding actors with bad reputations, if that's what it takes."
And it's Baker's character who adds a certain grounding to the stories.
Baker gushed about working on "Fences." She said she has noticed that dramas that have premiered since "Picket Fences" aired, namely "Homicide," "NYPD Blue" and "Birdland," lack female roles as full-bodied as hers. "None of them has a major woman's role," she said. "I was lucky enough to get this role - Jill Brock is such a good role."
by CNB