Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994 TAG: 9404090107
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Patricia Brennan The Washington Post
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In fact, Post said, "He was the center of the show. Anybody who is a fan of Rush is not going to not like this show. Any fan of ours is not going to not like this show."
CBS hopes the same double-negative logic will turn into a positive for the series as it enters a crucial trial period. Having aired "Hearts Afire" in an early-evening time period this season, CBS will now give the romantic comedy a later prime-time slot (Monday nights) during April before deciding whether to renew the series for a third season.
Planting "Hearts Afire" in the middle of CBS's potent Monday-night comedy lineup essentially gives the show an audience it has to hold rather than chase away.
The series' original later-evening slot allowed Ritter's and Post's hot-blooded characters to frolic fairly unfettered, but the show was moved and practically had to reinvent itself to accommodate family viewing. Post said there was even some talk of retitling it.
Instead, writer-producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason made certain that characters John Hartman, a legislative aide, and Georgie Ann Lahti, a press secretary, tied the knot, then moved them from Capitol Hill to small-town Missouri (Bloodworth-Thomason's home turf), where they bought a newspaper. At that earlier time slot, the sexual by-play was cooled.
Ritter, Post and Jordan, who plays their Southern-drawling neighbor Lonnie, were in Washington recently to promote the show as it enters what will probably be a do-or-die test.
It was Earth Day 1992, Ritter recalled, when Limbaugh called him "an environmentalist wacko." Ritter was piqued but offered an invitation: "I said, `Rush, I invite you to come onto "Hearts Afire" and play with us,and we'll all be friends.' I said, `Peace, brother.' Linda (Bloodworth-Thomason) didn't know I did that."
Not long afterward Post, attending a dinner in Washington, made another connection.
"I had never met him," she recalled, "but I have conversations with him all the time, you know, into the radio. Some of his views are so hard to take."
Post introduced herself and found Limbaugh was "so sweet and gentle and kind and thrilled that I wanted to meet him."
In Los Angeles for a book-signing party, Limbaugh called Post, who invited him to the "Hearts Afire" set and then to dinner with the producers and lead actors. "We played Trivial Pursuit until 3 in the morning," Post said. "And he went back on his show and talked about us as though we were best friends."
Ritter recalled the night: "There were some people with us who were very skeptical, but it turns out that no gauntlets were thrown, no insults."
After this week "Hearts Afire" gets two more Monday outings in the slot that belonged this season to "Love & War."
Ritter and Post offered divergent views on the Monday night try-out.
"We've got four chances up at bat with "Hearts Afire,' " Ritter said. In his view, if they don't score substantial ratings in that period, they may get canceled.
"I see us coming back next year, but we want to secure that time slot," Post said. "I don't believe we're fighting with anybody but ourselves. I think we have to absolutely prove ourselves in that spot, and if we do, we'll have that spot."
by CNB