THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 19, 1994 TAG: 9407190077
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
DATELINE: UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
GAIL O'GRADY, a striking actress from Detroit who is in the cast of ``NYPD Blue,'' said she'd be steamed if she lived in Hampton Roads today.
O'Grady wouldn't be upset because she hates paying tolls or wilts in the Norfolk humidity.
Being told that she can't see ``NYPD Blue'' on Tuesday nights at 10 would make the actress' temperature rise.
O'Grady was flat-out shocked to learn that in Hampton Roads, the 38th largest television market in the United States, the ABC affiliate refuses to show ``NYPD Blue'' because it might offend viewers who can't handle seeing life inside a Manhattan squad room.
Her message to WVEC's general manager: ``In this country, we pride ourselves on having the freedom to pick and choose what we read and what we, as adults, see on television. If I lived in Virginia, I wouldn't appreciate somebody else telling me what I could read or watch.''
Four actors who appear on ``NYPD Blue,'' including O'Grady, asked the general manager of the ABC affiliate in Norfolk and station bosses in 15 other markets where their show is blacked out, to reconsider their decision. They made their appeal at a gathering of the country's television critics.
One of the cast members, Nicholas Turturro, went so far as to say it's a crime that viewers in Hampton Roads are denied the opportunity to see a series that has won 11 major awards, including best TV series from the National Board of Review and best new drama from Viewers for Quality Television.
``Our show is a reality-based show which tells what happens to New York City detectives where they live and work. If you can't face reality, you have a problem,'' Turturro said. ``It's a crime not to give viewers in Virginia a chance to check out `NYPD Blue.' There aren't that many shows of high quality on television today. This is one of them. I hate to see people in and around Norfolk suffer the loss of this series. They're really missing out.''
Just a few months ago, Turturro, who plays an eager young detective named James Martinez, was a doorman in Manhattan. Now he's part of the most-watched TV drama among viewers aged 18 to 49, according to the Nielsen ratings.
O'Grady plays detectives' administrative aide Donna Abandando. Also appearing before TV critics here, and also abhorring the blackout imposed on Hampton Roads viewers by Channel 13, were Sharon Lawrence and Gordon Clapp.
Lawrence, who is from Charlotte, N.C., said she knows all about the sensibilities of Southerners. If ``NYPD Blue'' offends those with conservative tastes in programming, then they should cut the show off, she said.
``But under no circumstances should viewers in Hampton Roads be denied the right to watch,'' Lawrence said. ``Give people in the Norfolk area the chance to decide for themselves if our show is for them. But from what I know of the area, with its concentration of people in the military and medical field, this is a show that will appeal to them.
``Let's not punish the many for the feelings of a few.''
Clapp, who plays a detective (Greg Medavoy) involved romantically with O'Grady's character, wonders if the general manager at Channel 13 has ever watched the show from start to finish and, if so, why is he so opposed to airing it?
``I ask him if he has not seen events covered on his local newscasts that are far worse than anything we do on `NYPD Blue,' '' Clapp said.
Perhaps one day soon, the people in charge at the Be Lo Corp. in Dallas, and their partners at Channel 13 in Norfolk, will realize that we are mature enough to handle ``NYPD Blue.'' Hampton Roads will then get to see how reality bites Tuesday nights on ABC. MEMO: Television Columnist Larry Bonko is in Los Angeles for the twice-yearly
TV press tour. by CNB