Thanks to Jennifer007 for sending this in!<\/p>\n
From: Contra Costa Times
\nby Chuck Barney<\/p>\nTV roulette<\/p>\n
Watched or not: Networks may ax some great shows<\/p>\n
PICTURE THIS: Lined up, with their backs to the wall, are several scrawny,
\nsadly neglected Phys-Ed students. While the very indifferent team captains
\nmethodically stock their lineups, these sad sacks wait there in nervous
\nagony, crying out inside:<\/p>\n“Pick me! Pick me!”<\/p>\n
It could easily be a scene from the poignant high school dramedy “Freaks and
\nGeeks.” But it’s also analogous to the television program selection process.
\nWith a little more than two months left in the season, networks are busy
\nweeding out their ratings weaklings.<\/p>\nThat means plenty of shows now find themselves on the proverbial bubble
\nbetween renewal and cancellation — a purgatorylike state in which their fate
\nwill be determined by the strength of new pilots and ratings reports during
\nthe coming weeks. Pink slips start going out in May.<\/p>\nOn NBC, sturdy rookie shows like “The West Wing,” “Third Watch” and “Law &
\nOrder: Special Victims Unit” already have earned spots on the roster for next
\nseason. Meanwhile, the critically adored but Nielsen-starved “Freaks and
\nGeeks” is forced to sweat it out.<\/p>\nOther NBC shows that could be in trouble include “Veronica’s Closet,”
\n“Suddenly Susan” and “Stark Raving Mad.” The latter series earns good ratings
\nas part of the network’s Thursday-night “Must See” lineup, but drops a
\nwhopping 21 percent from its “Frasier” lead-in.<\/p>\nABC, meanwhile, reigns as the No. 1 network, but still may not want to lug
\naround an underachieving player like “Sports Night” for another season. Also
\non the ABC bubble is the vapid sitcom “Two Guys and a Girl.”<\/p>\nCBS is pondering the future of “Early Edition,” “Martial Law” and “Chicago
\nHope,” while beleaguered Fox could give the ax to “Party of Five,” Jennifer
\nLove Hewitt’s “Time of Your Life,” “Get Real” and “Family Guy.”<\/p>\nOver at the little weblets, the WB’s “Roswell” and even “Felicity” are in
\nserious trouble, and on UPN, “Dilbert” is shaky and “Shasta McNasty” looks
\nlike a sure goner.<\/p>\nOf course, some shows will hardly be missed. Whenever “Shasta” departs, it
\nwill do so with a heartfelt “good riddance” from this viewer. Meanwhile,
\n“Veronica’s Closet” has used up its nausea quotient.<\/p>\nThen there are shows such as “Party of Five” that have enjoyed a
\ndistinguished run, but should ease into retirement before their glory days
\nare but a blurry memory.<\/p>\nEvery year, though, there are a few young, vibrant on-the-bubble shows that
\nhave plenty of creative juice in them. But for various reasons, they’ve
\nstruggled to gain viewer attention.<\/p>\nThat short list this spring is topped by “Freaks and Geeks” and “Sports
\nNight.” Good arguments can also be made for “Roswell” and “Get Real.” They’re
\nshows that deserve to survive but may not.<\/p>\n“Freaks and Geeks” (8 p.m. Monday, channels 3 and 4) has the strongest case
\nof all. Here’s a class act that resists convention and Hollywood styling as
\nit wonderfully embodies all the contradictions, oddities and hopes and fears
\nof high-school life. The show is set in 1980, but has a timeless resonance.
\nThe cast is superb. The writing is heartwarming and funny.<\/p>\nThose qualities should make “Freaks and Geeks” a can’t-miss proposition.
\nObviously, though, smart and frank exploration of teen angst doesn’t always
\ntranslate into mass appeal.<\/p>\nBut it also hasn’t helped that the show has been victimized by NBC
\nprogrammers. “Freaks and Geeks” premiered in September on Saturday, the
\nleast-watched night of TV. It was off the air for three weeks after its
\nsecond episode. It was then on for three weeks and off for four while being
\nswitched to Monday. During February sweeps, it was missing in action.<\/p>\nIs that any way to build momentum?<\/p>\n
The show experienced its third “relaunch” this week, and NBC execs have said
\nthey’re committed to an uninterrupted eight-episode run to get a sustained
\ngauge on audience acceptance. Still, it may be too late.<\/p>\nThe case for ABC’s “Sports Night” (9:30 p.m. Tuesday, channels 7, 10 and 11)
\nis slightly less compelling, if only because it has had nearly two full
\nseasons to prove itself. Like “Freaks and Geeks,” “Sports Night” is a show
\nthat dares to be different and consistently rewards discerning viewers.<\/p>\nCreated by Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing”), “Sports Night” is urbane and
\ncharming, deep and rhythmic. Although it has had its uneven moments this
\nseason, it’s still the sleekest, smartest workplace show on TV.<\/p>\nBut no one is watching — or at least not enough people to keep it off the
\nendangered species list. Why? You can’t blame the schedule. ABC now has it
\nriding on the coattails of the “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” Goliath.<\/p>\nI used to think the glib, syncopated — and sometimes tedious — wordplay of
\n“Sports Night” might be a viewer repellent, but Sorkin and his crew have
\neased up this season. If anything, the show is more accessible than ever.<\/p>\nABC will give “Sports Night” a solid run right up until the May sweeps,
\nduring which it will get banished to the bench. If ABC doesn’t renew the
\nseries for next season, there is talk that it could end up on another network
\nor possibly even HBO.<\/p>\nAs for “Roswell” (9 p.m. Wednesday, channels 20 and 58), the spirited teen
\ndrama about aliens hiding out in a New Mexico high school, started in October
\nas one of fall’s most promising series. Five months later, it ranks 128th in
\nthe ratings with a measly average viewership of 3.8 million.<\/p>\n“Roswell” has been undermined by an all-encompassing malaise at the WB. Plus,
\nit faces strong competition on Wednesday nights against “The West Wing” and
\n“The Drew Carey Show” (ABC). That’s too bad because “Roswell” contains an
\nintriguing blend of suspense and romance that’s hard to resist if you give in
\nto the fantasy.<\/p>\nThe WB, looking to shake things up, will move “Roswell” to Monday nights
\nbeginning April 3. The network also reportedly plans to revamp the series by
\nplaying up the sci-fi angle (here’s hoping they don’t tinker too much).
\nMeanwhile, “Felicity,” which has gone into a Nielsen nosedive, will move from
\nSunday to “Roswell’s” former spot on Wednesday.<\/p>\n“Get Real” (9 p.m., Wednesdays, channels 2 and 40) is the final show on my
\nlist of keepers. My argument for this offbeat family drama would have been
\nmuch more passionate early in the season, before the series became a bit too
\nearnest and not as humorous.<\/p>\nStill, I’m pulled in by the multigenerational dynamics of the show, its
\nvisual quirkiness and the solid ensemble acting. “Get Real” probably would
\nhave been a goner by now if Fox didn’t have so many gaping holes in its
\nschedule.<\/p>\nInstead, it will finish out the season and then join the group of overlooked
\noutcasts with their backs against the wall.<\/p>\nPut it in writing
\nThe 2000 fall TV schedules will be announced in May, so this is the time of
\nthe year when passionate viewers should be sending out an SOS (Save Our Show)
\nto the network head honchos. Some helpful hints:<\/p>\nWrite BEFORE the show is canceled. It does no good to complain after the fact.<\/p>\n
Handwritten letters carry way more weight than typed letters or e-mail. Keep
\nyour correspondence from looking like a computer-generated mass mailing.<\/p>\nKeep it concise. One page is enough.<\/p>\n
Voice your concern in a civil manner. Nasty rants and raves are quickly
\ndismissed.<\/p>\nNetworks value demographic info. So include your age, occupation, number of
\nchildren, etc.<\/p>\nIf your passion knows no bounds, consider writing your local affiliate and
\nthe show’s sponsors as well.<\/p>\nHere’s a rundown of addresses:<\/p>\n
ABC
\nStu Bloomberg
\nABC Entertainment President
\n2040 Avenue of the Stars
\nLos Angeles, CA 90067<\/p>\nCBS
\nLeslie Moonves
\nCBS President and CEO
\n7800 Beverly Blvd.
\nLos Angeles, CA 90036<\/p>\nFox
\nDoug Herzog
\nFox Entertainment President
\nP.O. Box 900
\nBeverly Hills, CA 90213<\/p>\nNBC
\nGarth Ancier
\nNBC Entertainment President
\n3000 W. Alameda Ave.
\nBurbank, CA 91523<\/p>\nUPN
\nDean Valentine
\nUPN President and CEO
\n11800 Wilshire Blvd.
\nLos Angeles, CA 90025<\/p>\nWB
\nSusanne Daniels
\nWB Entertainment President
\n4000 Warner Blvd., Building 34 R
\nBurbank, CA 91522<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thanks to Jennifer007 for sending this in! From: Contra Costa Times by Chuck Barney TV roulette Watched or not: Networks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[40],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-roswell","tag-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crashdown.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}