THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501260078
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
THE GOOD NEWS is that viewers in Hampton Roads will have the opportunity to see tonight's season finale of ``My So-Called Life'' after all. The bad news is that they will have to wait until Friday morning at 1 a.m.
Crank up those VCRs.
Channel 13 is pre-empting the 19th episode of what many critics, including your humble columnist, regard as the best new series in prime time. Instead of another hour of Angela's angst, it will be ``When War Came to America'' on WVEC tonight at 8.
The local ABC affiliate also bumped a new episode of ``My-So Called Life'' last Thursday night. It was not rescheduled because few if any viewers called the station to ask, said a spokesman in programming.
So that one is history.
Assuming that there will be a number of viewers who want to see the last show, WVEC is doing them a service by running it from 1 to 2 a.m. That beats not seeing the finale of a series in which 16-year-old Claire Danes is the shiniest light in an excellent cast.
Pity we missed the next-to-the-last episode. A gem like this doesn't come along on network TV very often - the imperfect life and times of Angela's, and the lives of her friends and family. When I talked to the show's producers in Los Angeles not long ago, they said tonight's episode ties up all the loose ends.
Maybe we'll get to see Angela finally dump her selfish boyfriend, Jordan, for good.That would be worth waiting up until 1 a.m. for.
It would have been doubly frustrating to be shut out of tonight's episode because this could be the last time ABC runs the series. It's gone from the schedule after tonight, and there is no guarantee ``My So-Called Life'' is coming back, no matter how loudly the ABC brass says it loves the show.
``My So-Called Life,'' hovering around No. 100 in the ratings, has not found an audience. It rates low among young viewers, which astounds the show's producers who thought Angela and her gang would eventually be as popular as the characters on ``Beverly Hills 90210.'' Executive producer Marshall Herskovitz said the show never had a chance in its time slot up against ``Mad About You'' on NBC. ``We felt doomed because we are doing an intelligent, demanding, sophisticated show up against an established show that is also intelligent and sophisticated. Eight o'clock on a Thursday night is not a good time for serious drama,'' he said. The actors and producers say ``My So-Called Life'' is a 10 p.m. show.
When the three executive producers and the cast met with the TV writers, optimism was in the air. ``We haven't been canceled. We fulfilled a full order of 19 shows. The network loves and supports the show. As far as we're concerned, we're on hiatus waiting to start up next season,'' said Herskovitz.
ABC said it won't decide the fate of ``My So-Called Life'' until the 1995-96 prime-time schedule is drawn up in May. It's not certain that the show will return even in summer reruns.
``The support for the show has been passionate,'' said Herskovitz. Trouble is, there hasn't been enough of it. ``My So-Called Life'' attracts about 10 million viewers a week, which is small by prime-time standards.
There has been talk of reviving the series on cable if ABC drops it.
It would be a pity if the series were canceled, said Bess Armstrong, listed first in the credits, because here's a show the American family has been waiting for. ``We're a bridge between two generations. After watching our show, mothers have written to me and said thanks for showing me how to talk to my daughter. And children are saying we've helped them to talk to their parents.''
Perhaps this series is more of real life, and the trials of adolescence than young viewers can handle. It sure isn't ``Saved by the Bell.''
``It's very real,'' said Danes. Too real, perhaps. by CNB