ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 6, 1997 TAG: 9704040032
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Tom Shales
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: TOM SHALES
It was, perhaps, a better world 10 years and a couple of days ago. That was before the Fox Network came into the world, on April 5, 1987. Has Fox helped raise the standards of television in its decade of existence? No. Yet it certainly has become a farce to be reckoned with.
But Fox has improved. As the network celebrates its 10th anniversary this month it boasts its best lineup ever of prime-time programming. Fox now has five excellent and distinctive weekly shows: ``Party of Five,'' ``The Simpsons,'' ``King of the Hill,'' ``New York Undercover'' and ``The X-Files.'' It could be argued that ``X-Files'' is the most imitated show on TV.
Fox probably has more good weekly entertainment series than ABC. Not counting shows produced by ABC News (like ``20/20''), ABC's outstanding entertainment shows are pretty much limited to ``NYPD Blue'' and ``Dangerous Minds.'' ABC's Friday night sitcom ``Sabrina, The Teenage Witch'' is fine family fun, but calling it essential viewing seems a stretch.
CBS is in even worse shape when it comes to entertainment programming. Many people love ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' and ``Touched By An Angel,'' but these are the kinds of shows the late Michael Landon was producing 10 and 20 years ago. ``The Nanny'' still has bounce, but ``Murphy Brown'' is all bounced out. ``Cosby'' is a grand classy comedy, but that's about it for CBS.
Again, we're eliminating news programming such as ``60 Minutes,'' an American classic. That's partly because Fox didn't really have an active news division until 1996, and Fox News still shows few signs of life.
And over at NBC, for the record, there are those TV titans ``Seinfeld,'' ``ER,'' ``Frasier,'' ``Homicide'' and ``Law and Order,'' but otherwise the NBC prime-time schedule is chock full o' schlock.
It has been said that Fox's success came from aiming young - from targeting shows to young adults and teens who traditionally spend freely and are therefore adored by advertisers. But it could just as easily be said that Fox succeeded by aiming low - airing gross and vulgar humor that the older established networks wouldn't have touched.
Fox's first hit and, really, its signature show is ``Married ... with Children,'' a nasty minded, lowbrow romp that is about as subtle as a whoopee cushion.
But with the arrival in early 1990 of ``The Simpsons,'' the best prime-time animated show in TV history, Fox achieved some measure of respectability. Other Fox shows of quality in succeeding months and years included the smartly written sitcom ``Roc,'' the intelligent high school drama ``Class of '96,'' the elegantly original satirical drama ``Profit,'' and Chris Elliott's riotously ridiculous comedy ``Get A Life!''
With only a few exceptions, however, the quality shows tended to last only a few weeks before nervous Fox programmers yanked them and replaced them with junk. One of those few exceptions, and probably the most glorious, is ``Party of Five,'' a very affecting drama with a very attractive cast. It's the story of five kids (one of them over 21 and the legal guardian) facing life's problems alone, after their parents have died.
Fox recently announced that ``Party of Five'' has been renewed for next year, but only after its ratings improved dramatically this season. Several times during the show's run, Fox looked like it was going to be a ``Party''-pooper and kill it.
The great financial turning points for Fox came in 1993, when it won NFL football away from CBS, and in 1994, when Fox owner Rupert Murdoch made a deal that got him 10 new Fox stations previously affiliated with ABC, CBS or NBC. There's no question Fox has become a profitable part of the landscape.
And now that Fox has made it as a network, perhaps its management can try to make Fox a good citizen, a good neighbor, and maybe even a good influence on American life as well. So far, it is none of those.
- Washington Post Writers Group
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB