ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 13, 1996 TAG: 9612130014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: JENNIFER BOWLES AP TELEVISION WRITER
Behind a big wooden desk, surrounded by posters for ``The X-Files'' and ``Melrose Place'' - not to mention a formidable display of competing network schedules - Peter Roth occupies one of the hottest seats in television.
As Fox Broadcasting's newest programming chief, he's responsible for guiding Rupert Murdoch's waning fourth network back to its brash and brazen early days.
Given that pressure, time isn't something Roth has to waste.
This fall, on his first official day on the job, Roth promptly canceled two of the fledgling season's new sitcoms - ``Lush Life'' and ``Party Girl.''
Then, faced with a massive letter-writing campaign from 37 governors and hundreds of fans, he uncanceled the crime-fighting show ``America's Most Wanted.''
``It was something,'' Roth recalls of that September day.
Soon, ``Love and Marriage'' and the game show ``Big Deal'' got the ax. In fact, the only new show that survived Roth's punishing hand was the dark series ``Millennium,'' from ``X-Files'' creator Chris Carter.
``Wasn't it great? I thought the episode last Friday night was great,'' he said of ``Millennium.''
He uses rather blunt terms to explain why so many shows were junked.
``It's in the best interests of everyone involved to make strong, clear, firm, decisive moves, rather than to have a situation linger,'' he said.
And let's not forget those all-important November ``sweeps,'' which were just around the corner. With blocks of open airtime, Roth slipped in a series of ``reality TV'' specials, including ``When Animals Attack,'' ``When Disaster Strikes'' and ``Close Call: Cheating Death.''
The decision paid off, but with a price. The specials garnered high ratings, but generated some controversy for their graphic footage.
In addition to viewer complaints, Fox also took some heat from the auto-racing organization IndyCar, because ``When Disaster Strikes'' showed the death of a driver and a course worker in a track accident.
Still, Roth defends such specials as necessary for a ``balanced network schedule.''
``Just as you can put on `America's Most Wanted' and offer a very pro-social and a very important opportunity for the viewer to do something, there is room for simply commercial and highly entertaining specials. There's room for all,'' he said.
His goal is for Fox, within two to three years, to become the No. 1 network with viewers 18 to 49. And he's making inroads.
In the November ``sweeps'' period, Fox was the only network to show gains in any of the three key demographic groups. In the 18-49 demographic, Fox gained 6 percent and tied ABC for second place behind powerhouse NBC.
Roth, once an ABC executive, went on to head Stephen J. Cannell Productions, where he was involved in the creation of ``21 Jump Street,'' ``Wiseguy'' and ``The Commish.''
He spent the last four years at the helm of Twentieth Century Fox Television, which produces TV shows for Fox Broadcasting, as well as other networks.
In his new post, Roth replaced John Matoian, who was forced out in early September because he lacked the ``level of commitment'' needed for the network's challenges in the next few years.
Roth got the job, said Fox TV President David Hill, because he has a ``track record in the shows he's developed over the years that is quite remarkable. For example, in just one area, he was the one who championed `The X-Files' with Chris and saw the potential and saw it through.''
``He's got this unbelievable ability to communicate with the creative community and take the very seed of the idea through to a mighty oak tree.''
Roth is betting the future of Fox on ``Lawless,'' a new action-drama starring former football star Brian ``The Boz'' Bosworth; ``King of the Hill,'' a half-hour animated comedy series from the creator of MTV's wacky duo ``Beavis and Butt-head;'' and a series starring Pauly Shore.
``Pauly is a personality that, for Fox, is right on the money,'' Roth said. ``He is fun. He is outlandish. He has a very good series in what could be a companion piece with `Married ... with Children.'''
These shows, Roth hopes, will bring Fox back to its original mission.
`Fox succeeded most when we dared to be different, when we were distinctive in our approach toward programming, when we were bold, when we were daring, occasionally when we're audacious in our thinking,'' he said.
``We were the network that represented that in 1986 - the alternative to the monopolistic, fairly staid, three-network system. And that definition is all that I'm trying to do again, to reidentify the brand that has served this network so well, a brand that I think was not nearly as clear the last couple of years.''
|By JENNIFER BOWLES| |ASSOCIATED PRESS|
LOS ANGELES - Behind a big wooden desk, surrounded by posters for ``The X-Files'' and ``Melrose Place'' - not to mention a formidable display of competing network schedules - Peter Roth occupies one of the hottest seats in television.
As Fox Broadcasting's newest programming chief, he's responsible for guiding Rupert Murdoch's waning fourth network back to its brash and brazen early days.
Given that pressure, time isn't something Roth has to waste.
This fall, on his first official day on the job, Roth promptly canceled two of the fledgling season's new sitcoms - ``Lush Life'' and ``Party Girl.''
Then, faced with a massive letter-writing campaign from 37 governors and hundreds of fans, he uncanceled the crime-fighting show ``America's Most Wanted.''
``It was something,'' Roth recalls of that September day.
Soon, ``Love and Marriage'' and the game show ``Big Deal'' got the ax. In fact, the only new show that survived Roth's punishing hand was the dark series ``Millennium,'' from ``X-Files'' creator Chris Carter.
``Wasn't it great? I thought the episode last Friday night was great,'' he said of ``Millennium.''
He uses rather blunt terms to explain why so many shows were junked.
``It's in the best interests of everyone involved to make strong, clear, firm, decisive moves, rather than to have a situation linger,'' he said.
And let's not forget those all-important November ``sweeps,'' which were just around the corner. With blocks of open airtime, Roth slipped in a series of ``reality TV'' specials, including ``When Animals Attack,'' ``When Disaster Strikes'' and ``Close Call: Cheating Death.''
The decision paid off, but with a price. The specials garnered high ratings, but generated some controversy for their graphic footage.
In addition to viewer complaints, Fox also took some heat from the auto-racing organization IndyCar, because ``When Disaster Strikes'' showed the death of a driver and a course worker in a track accident.
Still, Roth defends such specials as necessary for a ``balanced network schedule.''
``Just as you can put on `America's Most Wanted' and offer a very pro-social and a very important opportunity for the viewer to do something, there is room for simply commercial and highly entertaining specials. There's room for all,'' he said.
His goal is for Fox, within two to three years, to become the No. 1 network with viewers 18 to 49. And he's making inroads.
In the November ``sweeps'' period, Fox was the only network to show gains in any of the three key demographic groups. In the 18-49 demographic, Fox gained 6 percent and tied ABC for second place behind powerhouse NBC.
Roth, once an ABC executive, went on to head Stephen J. Cannell Productions, where he was involved in the creation of ``21 Jump Street,'' ``Wiseguy'' and ``The Commish.''
He spent the last four years at the helm of Twentieth Century Fox Television, which produces TV shows for Fox Broadcasting, as well as other networks.
In his new post, Roth replaced John Matoian, who was forced out in early September because he lacked the ``level of commitment'' needed for the network's challenges in the next few years.
Roth got the job, said Fox TV President David Hill, because he has a ``track record in the shows he's developed over the years that is quite remarkable. For example, in just one area, he was the one who championed `The X-Files' with Chris and saw the potential and saw it through.''
``He's got this unbelievable ability to communicate with the creative community and take the very seed of the idea through to a mighty oak tree.''
Roth is betting the future of Fox on ``Lawless,'' a new action-drama starring former football star Brian ``The Boz'' Bosworth; ``King of the Hill,'' a half-hour animated comedy series from the creator of MTV's wacky duo ``Beavis and Butt-head;'' and a series starring Pauly Shore.
``Pauly is a personality that, for Fox, is right on the money,'' Roth said. ``He is fun. He is outlandish. He has a very good series in what could be a companion piece with `Married ... with Children.'''
These shows, Roth hopes, will bring Fox back to its original mission.
LENGTH: Long : 157 linesby CNB