`MURDER ONE' CHANGES FORMAT, LEAD ACTOR.Byline: Kate O'Hare Tribune Media Services Tribune Media Services ("TMS") is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company. The company is divided into two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products". It was a revolutionary concept for television: a drama series would follow a single Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. murder case for an entire season. The show was up against NBC's ``ER.'' It featured an unknown actor (to television). It was very nearly a disaster. Barbara Bosson (Mrs. Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco (born December 16, 1943) is an American television producer and writer. He has been involved in a number of popular hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue. ), who also received an Emmy nomination for her returning role as prosecuting attorney Miriam Grasso said: ``There was a period there when it was just definite we weren't coming back, because the numbers were so bad. They weren't just bad, they were baaad. ``Then we had that upsurge at the end; for the last three episodes, the numbers jumped. I guess the network figured, `Maybe more people were watching this than we thought. Maybe they were taping it, and the ratings don't reflect taping.' They thought that, maybe, with some changes, there was a possibility of life.'' By whatever reasoning network scheduling executives use, they decided to close out the first season with a bang. Two episodes aired back-to-back on April 22, with the season finale airing the next night at 10 p.m. in the slot usually occupied by ``NYPD Blue NYPD Blue is an Emmy Award-winning hour long-running American television police drama set in New York City. It was created by Steven Bochco and David Milch and inspired by Milch's relationship with a former member of the New York City Police Department Bill Clark (who .'' ``Then (ABC Entertainment ABC Entertainment is a network production company owned by The Walt Disney Company and ABC that created in 1982. It produced shows like America's Funniest Home Videos, America's Funniest People, and H.E.L.P.. chairman) Ted Harbert Ted Harbert was in charge of programming for ABC for several years in the 1990's. He held a similar position for E! Entertainment Television and Style Network until mid-October 2006, when he got promoted to the newly created position of CEO at the Comcast Entertainment said, `We're going to pick you up, and it's not cast-contingent,' Bosson recalls. `` So that was a real go-ahead that impressed us a lot.'' One thing that is certain is that the show's central character, high-powered defense attorney Ted Hoffman, played by Daniel Benzali, is not returning. Names were bandied about for his replacement, including Alan Alda Alan Alda (born January 28, 1936) is a five-time Emmy Award-winning, six-time Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated American actor. He is perhaps most famous for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the television series M*A*S*H. and Danny Glover. The new time slot Continuously repeating interval of time or a time period in which two devices are able to interconnect. is less impressive. ``Murder One'' landed on Thursdays at 9 p.m., up against ``Seinfeld'' and the highly touted ``Suddenly Susan.'' It has its season premiere there on Oct. 10. For the new season, there are three cases instead of one. Rather than going to a well-known TV personality to replace Benzali as head defense attorney, producers opted for another risky choice - Anthony LaPaglia. The New York-based actor's resume was a long list of film, theater and TV-movie credits, but not one appearance in a TV series. And ironically, LaPaglia's brother Jonathan can be seen on one of the other time-slot competitors of ``Murder One,'' Fox's ``New York Undercover New York Undercover is a one-hour police drama that ran on the Fox Broadcasting Company network from 1994 to 1998. The program was popular among its hip-hop orientated target audience, starred Malik Yoba as Det. J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Det. .'' LaPaglia plays James Wyler, a top prosecutor who quits his job to defend the enigmatic accused (Missy Crider) in the season's first case - the assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. of California's governor and his mistress. He steps in to head up Hoffman's law firm, adding public defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was Aaron Mosley (DB Woodside) to law associates Chris Docknovich (Michael Hayden), Arnold Spivak (J.C. MacKenzie) and Justine Appleton (Mary McCormack). On the prosecution side, Gregory Itzin returns as DA Roger Garfield and Bosson returns as Grasso - neither of whom are too happy about Wyler hopping to the other side of the aisle. According to Bosson, LaPaglia's friend Stanley Tucci, who had played enigmatic businessman Richard Cross in the first season of ``Murder One,'' talked to LaPaglia about the role. ``Stanley talked Anthony into it,'' said Bosson, ``or at least encouraged him to do it. He said, `If you're going to make a foray into television, the best way to do it is with Steven Bochco Productions, because the material you'll get to do is' - in his opinion, and certainly mine as well - `head and shoulders above the usual fare.''' Until Harbert's announcement that the show was being renewed, everyone connected with ``Murder One'' didn't know how else to save the ailing show. Elaborate back-story introductions were used to bring hoped-for new viewers up to date on the complex legal plot and characters, and the series was moved to Mondays at 10 p.m. Since the show had been set up that only the attorneys were definite to return, with the rest of the cast fleshed out by the case at hand, this gave producers the advantage of being able to give the show a near-complete facelift, while still staying true to the concept. And they weren't necessarily married to the idea of one case for the whole season. With almost everything up for grabs, Bochco and his team went into negotiations. The result of the show's facelift will be evident over the next few weeks. Murder One When: 10 p.m. Oct. 10 Network: ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Michael Hayden, DB Woodside, Mary McCormack, J.C. McKenzie, Barbara Bosson CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Cover--Color) Three cases, new faces `Murder One' t akes new stand in second season |
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