THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607190084
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
LENGTH: 68 lines
ATTENTION ALL you creeps and criminals who jumped for joy a few months ago when Fox said it was canceling ``America's Most Wanted.''
The party's over.
For a few months at least, ``America's Most Wanted'' returns to hunt down bad guys with new shows starting Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. A week before that, ``America's Most Wanted'' is back on the Fox schedule with a repeat - ``Alcatraz: The Escape.''
Then it's all fresh stuff right through Aug. 31, when ``America's Most Wanted'' moves to Saturday night at 9. The show's return to the Fox schedule is only temporary, said Fox's entertainment group president - a bad-news, good-news deal for crooks.
``America's Most Wanted'' has helped to bag 400 bad guys. That noise you hear is the cell door slamming shut on them. Clang!
John Matoian announced the program's stay of execution when he faced the TV press gathered here to preview the new season.
Despite serving the public well by helping cops round up those who break the law, ``America's Most Wanted'' is not wanted by Fox.
It costs too much to produce, said Matoian, who added: ``We had to keep the show in production 52 weeks a year. That's expensive.''
Fox prefers sitcoms, which attract young viewers, do well in reruns and sell for millions in syndication.
And one more thing about ``America's Most Wanted,'' said Matoian, ``The show did not do well against challenging competition during ratings' sweeps.''
However, heeding the outcry of viewers and law enforcement agencies who bombarded Fox with mail and E-mail when the show was dropped in May, the network is bringing back ``America's Most Wanted'' in August. And it may still be on the air in September and October when the Fox schedule will be fractured by the baseball playoffs and World Series.
(With all the baseball, it could be Halloween before you see new episodes of ``The X-Files,'' which moves from Friday to Sunday at 9 this season).
By the time the frost is on the pumpkin, ``America's Most Wanted'' will likely be history as a weekly show on Fox. But host John Walsh is not breaking his ties with Fox.
``He'll be doing movies and specials. We've signed a new deal with Walsh,'' Matoian said. ``One way or another, you'll be seeing a lot of John Walsh on Fox.''
Walsh is also expected to contribute reports to the Fox all-news cable channel when it launches later in 1996.
Matoian also announced that Fox in January will begin airing ``13 Bourbon Street'' weeknights at 11:30. It's a late-night soap opera set in New Orleans. ``A soap that's a mystery, too,'' said the Fox executive.
Also new from Fox, starting at 9 a.m. Aug. 12: ``Fox After Breakfast.''
It's a one-hour show that has evolved from ``Breakfast Time,'' which is seen on the fX cable channel. Bob the puppet will be back, and the seven-room Manhattan apartment, and the Road Warriors who in the past reported stories from Hampton Roads.
It wasn't much of a year for Fox in 1995-96. No breakout hits. No shows that had people buzzing as did ``The Simpsons'' and ``Melrose Place'' a few years ago. ``We didn't show tremendous growth,'' said Matoian.
This year, Fox brings on a couple of offbeat, edgy comedies (``Party Girl'' and ``Lush Life``) in which offbeat, edgy women star on Monday night. The creator of ``The X-Files'' is producing another dark drama (``The Millenium'') for Friday night at 9.
And Matoian is moving the network's most talked about show, ``The X-Files,'' to a new time slot. These changes could invigorate the Fox schedule or wreck Sunday, Monday and Friday nights.
Should ``The X-Files'' falter on Sunday might, it will be moved elsewhere, and moved quickly, said Matoian. Even on Sunday nights when the football games often run past 7 p.m., Fox will make sure ``The X-Files'' starts on time at 9. by CNB