THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270336
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
In a stunning reversal of policy, the ABC affiliate in Norfolk announced Monday that it will begin carrying the highly acclaimed but controversial police drama ``NYPD Blue'' when the show begins its second season Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 10 p.m.
``Those in this market wishing to see this show have been unable to do so,'' Channel 13 general manager Lee Salzberger said in Monday's announcement. ``Now those who want to see `NYPD Blue' will be able to see it.''
Salzberger did not comment further on the change.
Hampton Roads was one of only 14 TV markets in the nation - and at No. 38, the largest - in which the show had been blacked out.
Until now, Salzberger had been adamant about not giving clearances to the show, which was nominated for 26 Emmys this year and won six, including the prize for best actor in a drama series (Dennis Franz). Last September, when ``NYPD Blue'' premiered on ABC, Salzberger said his station would not carry the show because it violated his company's television program standards.
``We screened three episodes and talked to the network about our concerns over profanity, nudity and violence. We believe this program goes one step beyond existing fare on free-over-the-air television, and is not consistent with our company's program standards,'' he said at the time.
Salzberger would not say Monday what led him or his bosses at the A.H. Belo Corp. in Dallas to change their minds about airing ``NYPD Blue.''
Since the show's big score in the Emmy nominations, the tide of public opinion in this market has been rising against the Channel 13 blackout.
Last week, when WNIS talk-show host Perry Stone tossed the subject out to his listeners in afternoon drive-time, callers in favor of seeing ``NYPD Blue'' outnumbered the dissenters 10 to 1.
``NYPD Blue,'' created by Steven Bochco, is a gritty police drama set in a Manhattan precinct. Bochco accents squad-room realism, showing cops as they really talk and act. He also delves into their private lives.
The result is a prime-time drama with frank dialogue and flashes of nudity in and out of bed.
In Los Angeles not long ago, Bochco expressed hope that the WVEC bosses would reconsider their decision to keep ``NYPD Blue'' off the air. He said viewers in Hampton Roads should be up in arms against what he called censorship.
``I am genuinely dismayed at people's willingness to give in to censorship,'' he said. ``The show is not violent. It isn't prurient. It is a really good cop show with really good stories and really compelling characters. If you watch, you will see that `NYPD Blue' is not what it has been represented to be by people who have never seen the show.''
Long before the first episode of ``NYPD Blue'' aired, Bochco and ABC faced strong opposition from elements of the religious right.
When ``NYPD Blue'' started out on ABC in September 1993, 57 network affiliates did not carry the show. That equated to about 10 percent of ABC's coverage. The number fell to 30 over the summer.
Now, with WVEC's change of policy. it's down to 18. In five of those 18 markets, stations other than the ABC outlet will broadcast ``NYPD Blue.''
For a week or two last fall, the show was on the air here. Fox affiliate WTVZ picked it up from ABC on Tuesday night at 10, but lost it just as fast when the station's management decided to censor scenes without permission from Bochco. Since then, Hampton Roads has been ``Blue''-less.
After Salzberger made his announcement in Norfolk, ABC spokeswoman Janice Gretemeyer in New York City said the network was happy that WVEC was giving Hampton Roads viewers the opportunity to see the show at last.
``We consider `NYPD Blue' to be a high-quality police drama,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Franz
by CNB