THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994 TAG: 9411030049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
THE TEAM BEHIND the ``Star Trek'' franchise will soon go boldly where no other television producers have gone before - into orbit with a brand spanking new coast-to-coast television network.
When the United Paramount Network launches at 8 p.m. on Jan. 16 - Portsmouth independent WGNT is one of 72 stations signed up by UPN - what will it mean to you in Hampton Roads, dear viewer?
It means you will get to see the much anticipated, much talked about third ``Star Trek'' spinoff, ``Star Trek: Voyager.''
On this journey through the cosmos on Channel 27, the actress who once played Mrs. Columbo (Kate Mulgrew) is at the helm of the starship Voyager. Wonder what James T. Kirk thinks of that?
UPN president and chief executive officer Lucy S. Salhany, speaking to TV reporters by way of closed-circuit the other day, announced UPN's first lineup of prime time programming. ``Star Trek: Voyager'' will be joined by two sitcoms, two dramas and a third drama in reserve starring the man we know as MacGyver, Richard Dean Anderson.
UPN begins modestly in January with two nights of programming. No sports. No news. No kid shows. No late-night talk. No soap operas. Not yet.
Salhany, who landed in tall clover two months after getting the boot as the head of the Fox network, said UPN plans to be on the air seven nights a week before the 1990s expire. She acknowledged that it has been a bitter race between her network and Warner Brothers to establish a fifth commercial network.
When asked if a sixth network could make it, Sulhany said no way.
``We'll survive. Warner Brothers has been left behind.''
Not quite. The new Warner Brothers network (WB) signs on Jan. 11 with one night's programming, covering 73 percent of U.S. TV homes.
Sulhany said it is cheaper to start from scratch than to buy an established network. She refused to say how much is being invested in the startup of UPN.
``Just say it's a lot.''
In the 1980s, when cable TV was growing faster than kudzu in Georgia, there was talk about the demise of the big networks. Now it's the 1990s, and the networks have been reborn. It seems that everybody wants one. Ted Turner. The Disney folks. Paramount. Warner Brothers.
Networks are broadcasting's crown jewels, said Sulhany.
``They give local stations a national identity. Networks make local stations more valuable. Networks give them outstanding programming to put on the air.''
At Channel 27, they will tell you that Paramount and Warner Brothers heavily courted WGNT to crack into this, America's 38th largest TV market.
What was once a little ol, sleepy, money-losing UHF station in Portsmouth has become hot stuff.
UPN will survive and prosper, said Sulhany, because it will do what no other network is doing at the present - programming virtually all its shows to appeal to young audiences, and young males in particular.
``That's the `Star Trek' crowd which has been underserved in prime time,'' she said. After the original ``Star Trek'' finished its run on NBC in 1969, the ``Star Trek'' franchise grew and prospered in syndication.
Come January, Paramount will pass up what surely would have been a lucrative syndication market for ``Star Trek: Voyager'' to include the series on its own network.
UPN will sign on Jan. 16 with the two-hour ``Star Trek: Voyager'' premiere. There will be a Vulcan in the cast, a dude named Tuvok.
Would you believe that producers Rick Berman, Mike Piller and Jeri Taylor considered Patty Duke for the captain's role?
On Monday, Jan. 23, UPN begins its full rollout with ``Star Trek: Voyager'' at 8 followed by two sitcoms, ``Platypus Man'' and ``Pig Sty.'' Richard Jeni plays a bachelor who hosts a cooking show in ``Platypus Man.'' It's from the creators of ``Golden Girls.''
The story line in ``Pig Sty'' is that five guys share three bedrooms with a dog in an apartment building with a sexy super. Some of the talent that made ``Cheers'' a sitcom for the ages is involved in this show.
On Tuesdays, UPN leads off at 8 p.m. with ``Marker,'' a drama set in Hawaii about a guy who goes through life paying off his father's debts. Don't ask me why. Richard Grieco is the star. The producer (Stephen J. Cannell) has had his share of successes in syndication and prime time.
Tuesday's second drama at 9 is ``The Watcher,'' which is set in Las Vegas.
I gather it's to be a series about the dark side of life. Waiting in the bullpen is Anderson with a show (``Legend'') that unfolds in the early 1900s. I get the impression that it's ``The Wild Wild West'' updated.
At the moment, UPN's affiliates embrace 65 percent of the U.S. television markets. Sulhany said she expects the figure to reach 85 percent by January.
Anderson also spoke to TV reporters on closed-circuit TV. He sounded as upbeat about the new network as Sulhany. ``We expect to grow old and rich together,'' he said.
Don't look now, but Mrs. Columbo is the captain of a starship.
``On Cue''
WGNT moves into local programming ever so slowly this autumn. Channel 27 recently launched ``On Cue,'' a half hour show covering the local landscape from politics to art. The producer and host is Gerald Walsh.
``On Cue'' is on Channel 27's schedule at a terrible time - 6 a.m. on Sunday. WGNT general manager Howard Jernigan has promised Walsh a better time slot. Walsh concentrates on politics on the Sunday show.
And soon to appear on WGNT will be Perry Stone, the mouth that roars on WNIS talk radio. WGNT promotions-community relations director Jeanne Penningtson said the Stone show will debut on Nov. 17, at 30 minutes past midnight. It will be produced by Stone and friends. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
You'll see Kate Mulgrew in the third "Star Trek" spinoff, which will
air on UPN in January. by CNB