Hey! Where'd my show go?
These days, when a network can pull a series after just two ("Wonderland") or three outings ("Harsh Realm"), one ought to feel fortunate when a decent program hangs around for an entire month. That probably comes as small consolation to the cast of "Battery Park," shown here. NBC pulled the sitcom off its Thursday-night sked after four episodes.
This is a shame. I saw three of the four "Battery Parks" that aired and I'd certainly rate it among the top sitcom entries of the year. Not that that's saying much, but it's surprising the show would bomb given the "Spin City" pedigree of its producers and an ideal placement following "Frasier," which seemed as simpatico a show as you could get to "Battery." The show had a "Spin City" look and feel to it: lots of walking and talking, a goodly-sized ensemble of characters of varied sophistication and a major urban institution as the butt of jokes (in this case, a police district).
On the other hand, pulling the show was a no-brainer for NBC, which saw its 9:30 audience drop precipitously during "Battery Park" time. In fact, it can be safely said that the "hammock" is gone at 9:30 — that supposedly safe haven when a new show could be stretched out between those two pillars of "must-see" TV, "Frasier" and "ER." And the reason is simple: NBC kept putting duds in the time period, from two years of "Veronica's Closet" to "Stark Raving Mad" and now "Battery Park" (although why the "Frasier" crowd didn't take a cotton to this last one is a mystery).
But the larger story here may be that even fewer sitcoms will be offered up this fall than last fall, and you'll recall 1999 was a low-water-mark for the genre. Of the few new comedies airing this season, only "Malcolm in the Middle" seems to have had any staying power. (In the Sunday overnights, "Malcolm" scored an 8.7 rating and 13 share in households, edging out a "Touched by an Angel" repeat on CBS but trailing "The Ten Commandments" on ABC, which scored a 10.6/16 in the half hour. As it has done most weeks since its January debut, "Malcolm" improved slightly on its "Simpsons" lead-in.)
Instead, network executives are now sweet on "nontraditional" types of entertainment, including the kinds their predecessors once dismissed as so much cable-park trailer trash. Take a look, for instance, at NBC's decision, to be announced today, that it is forming an "alternative series" unit that will develop more reality-based programs, game shows and basically anything else that doesn't fall under the heading of traditional broadcast TV.
In other words, the network that brought you "Battery Park" is looking for a prime-time jump start, and it doesn't care whether it gets one from a Cadillac or a beat-up Chevy truck.
"Wonderland" producer shops show to other networks
Pick To Click: A League of His Own
It's nice to see basketball legend Bill Russell back on television again, doing that commercial for a financial advisory firm. Did you notice, though, that Russell never looks us in the eye in those ads, but is always pointed off-camera? It's a telling detail when you think about Russell's perception by today's sports media, where Michael Jordan's status as the greatest player ever is rarely disputed. Could it be that Jordan gets points for being accessible and quotable and for always talking to the camera like an old friend?
In this way, "Bill Russell: My Life, My Way" (10 p.m. Monday, HBO), the latest stellar biography from HBO's sports division, makes a compelling case that Russell's career eclipsed all others in nearly every respect — except when it came to respect. The program shows how dramatically Russell altered the way basketball was played, at the college and pro levels. But his intimidating style of play unsettled spectators as well as opponents. His racial pride flared up whenever he perceived he was being slighted (oftentimes rightly so). Most of all, Russell's refused to play along with the sports media and had an unrequited relationship with the Boston fans — he had his jersey number retired in an empty Boston Garden in 1972. Thus he turned his back on the very accolades to which he also felt entitled.
Eric Mink: Why only an hour long?
The daily digest ... for April 17, 2000: Longtime TV Barn readers will recall that for a couple of weeks I was posting the menu from the NBC Commissary in Burbank. Turns out it's no joke: The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that "some NBC employees believe that a class structure is being developed at the cafeteria" because the network's entertainment chief, Garth Ancier, has upgraded the eatery along the lines of the restaurant at the studio lot of Warner Bros., just a couple of miles away. (Ancier used to work for the WB.) Disgruntled workers told THR that the Commissary has become "an expensive five-star restaurant that discriminates against low-level staffers who cannot afford the increased prices." But another source says executives and their clients "were fleeing the building because the food was bad," which ought to be no surprise to anyone who ever listened to a Johnny Carson monologue. By the way, have you tried the Cobb salad?
Previously on TV Barn:
14 April: Ellen's new show
13 April: Reader mail
12 April: "Freaks and Geeks"
11 April: "Star Trek" protests
10 April: Zehme on Letterman
7 April: CBS's loaded sked; "Phantom Menace" on video
6 April: ReplayTV and TiVo
5 April: "Wonderland" protests; Fox hits new low
4 April: "Falcone" v. "Sopranos"; new sci-fi stars
3 April: iCraveTV; BET v. Univision
31 March: Video kiosks; Tavis Smiley; Peabody Awards; quit griping about Oscar
Coming up next ... subject to last-minute changes:
Monday: TBA
Tuesday: Sci-fi loft
On this date... in 1989, NBC realizes that none of its viewers can stand watching their channel all day long. Thus the CNBC network is born — all business during the day, but willing to slip into something more comfortable after hours. While Janice Leiberman gives consumers reports among the daysiders, Dick Cavett and John McLaughlin are allowed to creep out any guests willing to show up at their respective studios. And how does a financial network succeed in business without really trying? First, buy your way onto as many cable systems as you can. Then, buy out your competition (NBC acquires Financial News Network in 1991). -- Tom Heald
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