THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9409220049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
THE RECENT EMMY awards telecast was forgettable except for one moment.
That came when Jason Alexander of ``Seinfeld'' bounced out on stage to sing and dance his way through a medley of every TV theme song ever written.
``You're sure to get a smile from seven stranded castaways here on Gilligan's isle.''
Alexander was needling ABC Entertainment president Ted Harbert, who says he may order producers to can the themes. Harbert says they'll soon be as extinct as the tyrannosaurus rex.
``Long-running main titles and themes gives viewers an excuse to take the little remote in their hands and zap around. We have to find ways to stop them from doing that. You can find research that shows the average American male flipping channels every 47 seconds. That is an unhealthy amount of zapping, and I am doing everything I can to stop it,'' Harbert said.
The man realizes that channel surfing is America's No. 1 spectator sport. You've heard the line from Jerry Seinfeld, I'm sure: It's not enough for men to know what's on TV. They want to know what else is on TV.
For the past year or two, ABC has been trying to hold on to bigger chunks of its audience between shows on Tuesday nights by showing goofy moments that were edited out of ``Roseanne'' - a little show after the show.
While Harbert at ABC ponders whether to order an end to theme songs on ABC, NBC declared all-out war on channel surfers this week.
The peacock network introduced seamless programming throughout its schedule, moving breathlessly from show to show without a break for commercials. If you get up and leave the set to visit the fridge tonight when ``Mad About You'' ends at 8:30, you'll miss the start of ``Friends,'' a new series.
NBC dares you to go channel surfing. NBC execs Alan L. Cohen and John Miller refer to the seamless look as ``NBC 2000.''
``It will reduce zapping,'' said Miller, spilling over with confidence when we chatted on the TV critics press tour not long ago.
That's not all NBC is doing to keep you from changing channels. At the breaks, the network will be tossing in bits from backstage, outtakes and golden moments. They've even jazzed up the peacock.
NBC programmers are working harder than ever before to let the viewers know what station and what network they've landed on because more than a dozen affiliates were bought and sold in the past nine months.
``It's brought the biggest upheaval in viewing patterns we've ever seen,'' Miller said.
Suppose it had happened here. Suppose Fox Broadcasting bought WTKR, switched its programs to Channel 3 and then WTKR hitched up with NBC. Would you know where to find ``Frasier''? I don't think so.
NBC introduced the seamless look last season without any grand announcement. It happened on Thursday nights when ``Seinfeld'' eased into ``Frasier'' without missing a beat. One minute, Seinfeld was doing his closing monologue. The next minute, Dr. Frasier Crane was giving advice on his radio show in Seattle.
Seamless programming does not mean fewer commercials. They come later.
Judging from the calls I've received from readers who dial my Infoline number (640-5555, press 2486), channel surfing has taken hold in thousands of TV households here. A young caller named Ian Carlson said he's seen his father zapping channels in his sleep.
Tamara Meade believes the remote-control device has some kind of a mystical property. ``It gives the user a feeling of power,'' she said.
I heard from other readers who say their children drive them mad.
``I have a son who flips the channel every second,'' said a mother in Chesapeake. ``I'm going hoarse from saying, `Stop, stop, stop!' ''
Maybe the boy is searching for the ``Gilligan's Island'' theme song. by CNB