THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290037
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
ON ``CAROLINE in the City,'' the sitcom with the best timeslot in television, they have this Siamese cat that does things on cue, such as jumping out of windows and reaching for the catch of the day in a tank full of goldfish.
My 17-year-old Siamese male knows one stunt. He can find his bowl of 9-Lives in the dark.
How do they get Salty, the Siamese on ``Caroline in the City,'' to do all the stuff she does? Bribes.
``Tuna fish is her reward,'' said Lea Thompson, who stars in the NBC show situated between the No. 1-rated program on television, ``ER,'' and the second highest-rated, ``Seinfeld.''
If there is no tuna, what then?
``She just sits there.''
We chatted recently in Southern California at one of those glittery parties for which Hollywood is famous. It was a splash for NBC's prime-time darlings. Thompson is ever perky. Her complexion is pale, her bob red.
When ``Caroline in the City'' airs on NBC Thursday nights at 9:30 after ``Seinfeld,'' the network loses viewers in about 1.8-million homes. They come back again at 10, to be joined by another 5.4 million tuning in for ``ER.''
Is ``Caroline in the City'' nothing more than what TV insiders call a ``hammock hit''? Successful only because it is on the schedule between two shows among the most popular in the history of primetime television? Wouldn't even ``My Mother the Car'' pull a 30 share on NBC at 9:30 on a Thursday night?
The success of her show is no accident, no gift from the scheduling god - NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield, says Thompson.
``I'm sure if NBC moved us to another night, we would not do as well in the ratings. What show would? Thursday night is a blockbuster on NBC. The truth is that the people have spoken, and they like our show.
``If they didn't, they would change channels. It's insulting to people to say they watch a show just because it comes on before `ER' and after `Seinfeld.' They can make choices. They know how to use a remote control,'' said Thompson, who showed she can handle light comedy in the ``Back to the Future'' trilogy.
Had Thompson heard the ugly rumor that NBC is displeased with her work and wants to make a change? That the network bosses say she can't hack it as the lead in a sitcom?
``Isn't that mean?'' Thompson said of The Rumor. ``It was started in a supermarket tabloid. What disturbs me is that people believe what they read in those things. When I brought it up to a network executive, he said, `Why would we think of moving somebody who is delivering us a 30 share?' ''
Should the Caroline of ``Caroline in the City'' leave, what would NBC call the show?
``I don't know. `In the City'?''
Thompson is feeling so secure that she laughs about The Rumor.
At the same time, she admits that in the sitcom's first weeks she did have trouble with her timing.
``I've done comedy in films. But sitcoms are different because I'm expected to deliver the dry, wry punch lines with perfect timing. Setting up the punch lines for another actor isn't hard. But hitting the punchline yourself is difficult.''
Example: Marriage came up in a recent episode.
Says Caroline to friend Annie, ``This was not my one and only proposal. Allan Etherton in the second grade proposed to me, and if not for the fact he ate paste, he was quite a catch.'' Bingo! Roseanne could not have done it better.
Thompson as Caroline Duffy is often seen in tight, short skirts - hemlines almost as high as Heather Locklear's on ``Melrose Place.'' Is that a stratagem to pull in the guy viewers?
Could be, said Thompson. I saw a wink.
``I'm the mother of two who still has it. I say, if you have it, flaunt it.'' Thompson is flaunting it on the fourth most popular show on television, right there between ``Seinfeld'' and ``ER.'' by CNB