SAME OLD, SAME OLD; IT'S DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN - JUST LOOK AT NETWORKS' FALL SHOWS.Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Television Critic Network executives have found a new way to fight cable television. Unfortunately, it's not with quality. In the annual state-of-the-network addresses they give to unveil the new fall lineups to Madison Avenue Madison Avenue, celebrated street of Manhattan, borough of New York City. It runs from Madison Square (23d St.) to the Madison Bridge over the Harlem River (138th St.). In the 1940s and 50s, some of the major U.S. advertisers, the network executives presented charts and graphics and their own spin on ratings to prove that cable is not the threat it claims to be. Broadcast networks, they shouted loud and clear, are the only places to reach a large, diverse, affluent audience. They even threw around a new buzz phrase buzz phrase n. A phrase used as a buzzword. : ``audience optimization.'' They talked about giving this optimum audience something fresh, bold and daring. For instance: ``If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, and I know some of you are keeping count,'' Fox Entertainment president Peter Roth Peter Roth may refer to:
In the same sales pitches, also known as the ``upfront presentations,'' entertainment presidents proudly displayed snippets from their new shows, which either looked like their old shows, like really old shows or cheap ways to fill the time around the commercials. With that it was clear that the networks would rather spend their time and money developing snappy slogans and mind-boggling interpretations of statistics than good programming. And they act like no one will notice. ``The schedule you are about to see is very, very strong,'' said Robert Iger Robert A. "Bob" Iger (born February 10 1951) is head of the Walt Disney Company. He has been president since January 2000 and CEO since October 2005. Early Life Iger was born in Oceanside, New York. , the president of 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. Inc., in his keynote to advertisers. The schedule he spoke of includes the new ``Fantasy Island This article has multiple issues: * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It needs additional references or sources for verification. ,'' a new sitcom starring the Olsen twins called ``Two of a Kind,'' ``America's Funniest Home Videos'' and three installments of ``20/20.'' ``I think the networks have totally lost their way,'' said Robert Thompson Robert Thompson may refer to:
A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy and watch reruns of `From the Earth to the Moon' all fall.'' The bottom line Funny he should mention reruns. One of the 11 hours on the WB lineup is a scheduled rerun re·run n. The act or an instance of rebroadcasting a recorded movie or a recorded television performance. tr.v. re·ran , re·run, re·run·ning, re·runs To present a rerun of. of its family drama ``7th Heaven.'' That is the type of maneuver that cable has been ridiculed for. The deja vu See DjVu. approach is not the only cost-saving, creativity-squashing programming method employed by broadcasters, who often waste money to attach stars to a project, rather than finding the next Jerry Seinfeld This article is about the comedian. For the character, see Jerry Seinfeld (character). Jerry Seinfeld (born Jerome Seinfeld on April 29, 1954 in New York City, New York) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor and writer. , Tim Allen or Dennis Franz Dennis Franz (born October 28, 1944) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a gritty police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. . Instead, Melanie Griffith is given $1.5 million for a show that was not picked up on CBS' fall schedule. She reportedly was spooked working in front of a live audience. Such loss leaders have created the need for 10 hours of newsmagazines and 6-1/2 hours of reality shows (i.e. video clip A short video presentation. jobs such as ``America's Funniest Home Videos America's Funniest Home Videos (often simply abbreviated to AFV, previously AFHV), is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. ,'' high-concept/low-cost retreads like ``Candid Camera candid camera n. A small, easily operated camera with a fast lens for taking unposed or informal photographs. Noun 1. candid camera - a miniature camera with a fast lens ,'' and day-in-the-life vehicles, for example ``Cops'') making up a significant chunk of prime time. ``Reality shows do really well, so the accountants are telling them this is the way to go,'' Thompson said. ``From an MBA MBA abbr. Master of Business Administration Noun 1. MBA - a master's degree in business Master in Business, Master in Business Administration standpoint, this is where to go. In the end, I don't think the MBA mentality is going to work. It takes away any sense of loyalty or excitement. The networks are putting one nail after another into that coffin. They shouldn't be asking statisticians Statisticians or people who made notable contributions to the theories of statistics, or related aspects of probability, or machine learning: A to E
lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to an English professor than they would a social scientist.'' The financial structure of television is obviously way out of whack. The license fee for ``ER'' is a whopping $13 million a week, when as Thompson put it, ``In its trajectory, I think (`ER') is headed earthward earth·ward adv. & adj. To or toward the earth. earth  wards adv. , and that is a real symptom of what is wrong with television.'' Meanwhile, the network, which offered Jerry Seinfeld $110 million to come back for one season, raked in $32 million from his final episode and doesn't seem to have spent any of the cash to find a replacement, adding three shows from its own production company to make sure any profits remain in the family. Add into this equation the fact that NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. did not spend $4 billion over the next eight years to broadcast football on Sundays, as Fox and CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. did, and you'll see that the bottom line for the new lineup was the bottom line. Subsequently, other leisure-time alternatives are likely to lure neglected viewers. Network era over? After welcoming advertisers to ``the first annual Jerry Seinfeld surprise benefit,'' NBC president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Bob Wright admitted, ``Programming hits isn't easy. As a matter of fact, it seems to be getting harder all the time.'' Sure it is when your schedule includes five hours of ``Dateline''; a drama called ``Wind on Water,'' in which Bo Derek Bo Derek A slang term used to describe a perfect stock or investment. Notes: The term comes from the name of the actress (Bo Derek) in the 1979 movie "10," in which she portrayed the "perfect woman. plays the mother of two cattle-ranching extreme-sports studs; and a weekly hourlong time-filler of sports and reality specials. ``The network era is over,'' Thompson said. `` `Seinfeld' made us think back briefly about how much we miss the old days. That we talk about `watercooler' shows says a lot. All shows used to be watercooler shows, and the fact that we describe some shows as watercooler shows proves that we admit most of the schedule will not be worth watching.'' Similarity breeds mediocrity, and the fact that nine of the 15 new dramas on the schedule are either about law-enforcement types or medical professionals is solid proof. Although he believes that dramas are the creative strength, Thompson said if he ran a network he would put a moratorium on cop, lawyer and doctor shows and ``anything with Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza[1] April 21, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York), is an American actor best known for starring in two popular TV series, Taxi and Who's the Boss? in it.'' His example was Steven Bochco's ``Brooklyn South Brooklyn South is a short-lived American television police drama. It aired from 1997-1998 on CBS for only one season and was cancelled due to poor ratings. One of the show's producers was Steven Bochco, creator of many well-known police dramas such as ,'' a highly anticipated entry to last fall's sweepstakes that was killed off last week. The show, Thompson, argues, was good, even brilliant at times, but it wasn't as good as ``Hill Street Blues,'' which debuted 17 years ago. Nevertheless there are new cop and doctor shows on the air, including ``L.A. Docs'' and ``To Have and to Hold'' (about a blue-collar cop married to an Ivy League Ivy League Group of eight universities in the northeastern U.S., high in academic and social prestige, that are members of an athletic conference for intercollegiate gridiron football dating to the 1870s. lawyer), both on CBS. Another problem is that many of the new shows are from the same people responsible for the old shows. The creators of ``Friends'' add their third show to the NBC Thursday night lineup with ``All My Life,'' starring ``Married ... with Children's'' Christina Applegate. It is loaded with television cliches. She is a single mom whose father is an Archie Bunker type. He even runs a bar as Bunker did after his show went downhill. TV copying itself If producing shows that resemble past ones wasn't bad enough, now we get remakes of old series. ABC's ``Fantasy Island'' (which originally debuted in 1978) joins UPN's ``The Love Boat: The Next Wave'' (1977) and CBS' ``Kids Say the Darndest Things'' and ``Candid Camera.'' The latter two represent the trend toward inexpensive shows where the stars work for free. The former two indicate an obsession with nostalgia and the '70s, which also can count in the new Fox sitcom ``Feelin' All Right,'' a nostalgic look at the disco decade the same way that ``Happy Days'' investigated the '50s, 20 years ago. It's really a wonder that the usually nattily nat·ty adj. nat·ti·er, nat·ti·est Neat, trim, and smart; dapper. [Perhaps variant of obsolete netty, from net, elegant, from Middle English, from Old French; see attired entertainment chiefs like Warren Littlefield and Les Moonves didn't hit the stage wearing bell bottoms, polyester shirts and puka shells. ``I think the nostalgia phenomenon hit them so deeply,'' Thompson said, ``and they dominated America once with programming. Maybe the thinking is, `Maybe we should go back to the programs we dominated with and we will dominate again.' So they are looking at the mid- to late '70s and saying, `Let's see what was on.' But the big hit from 1978 may not be appealing anymore. There were no other choices. Now there is HBO, Blockbuster Video, Cinemax 2, HBO 3 and all the rest of them.'' You really have to go beyond the Big Three networks to find the cutting-edge entertainment that inspires anticipation. Meanwhile, the three most established broadcasters basically give you nothing. Maybe it's their way of trying to latch onto the greatness of ``Seinfeld,'' the self-proclaimed show about nothing. Hey, fellas, in case you didn't realize, they were kidding. PRIME-TIME 1998-99 UPN UPN User Principal Name (Microsoft Windows 2000) UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation Monday 8 p.m.: ``Guys Like Us''x 8:30 p.m.: ``DiResta''x 9 p.m.: ``The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer''x 9:30 p.m.: ``Malcolm & Eddie'' Tuesday 8 p.m.: ``Moesha'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Clueless'' 9 p.m.: ``Mercy Point''x Wednesday 8 p.m.: ``Seven Days''x 9 p.m.: ``Star Trek: Voyager'' Thursday 8 p.m.: The UPN Way Out There Movie x Friday 8 p.m.: ``Legacy''x 9 p.m.: ``Love Boat: The Next Wave'' FOX Monday 8 p.m.: ``Melrose Place'' 9 p.m.: ``Ally Mcbeal'' Tuesday 8 p.m.: ``King of the Hill'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Costello''x 9 p.m.: ``Brimstone''x Wednesday 8 p.m.: ``Beverly Hills 90210'' 9 p.m.: ``Party of Five'' Thursday 8 p.m.: World's Wildest Police Videos'' 9 p.m.: ``Hollweird'' Friday 8 p.m.: ``Living in Captivity''x 8:30 p.m.: ``Getting Personal'' 9 p.m.: ``Millennium'' Saturday 8 p.m.: ``Cops'' 9 p.m.: ``America's Most Wanted For the professional wrestling tag team, see . For the United States FBI list of fugitives, see . America's Most Wanted is a long-running TV show produced by 20th Century Fox. : America Fughts Back'' Sunday 7 p.m.: ``The World's Funniest'' 7:30 p.m.: ``Holding the Baby''x 8 p.m.: ``The Simpsons'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Feelin' All Right''x 9 p.m.: ``The X-Files'' CBS Monday 8 p.m.: ``Cosby'' 8:30 p.m.: ``The King of Queens''x 9 p.m.: ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' 9:30 p.m.: ``The Benben Show''x 10 p.m.: ``L.A. Docs''x Tuesday 8 p.m.: ``JAG'' 9 p.m.: ``CBS Tuesday Night Movie'' Wednesday 8 p.m.: ``The Nanny'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Maggie Winters''x 9 p.m.: ``To Have and to Hold''x 10 p.m.: ``Chicago Hope'' Thursday 8 p.m.: ``Promised Land'' 9 p.m.: ``Diagnosis Murder'' 10 p.m.: ``48 Hours'' Friday 8 p.m.: ``Kids Say the Darndest Things'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Candid Camera'' 9 p.m.: ``Buddy Faro''x 10 p.m.: ``Nash Bridges'' Saturday 8 p.m.: ``Early Edition'' 9 p.m.: ``Martial Law''x 10 p.m.: ``Walker, Texas Ranger'' Sunday 7 p.m.: ``60 Minutes'' 8 p.m.: ``Touched by an Angel'' 9 p.m.: ``Sunday Night Movie'' ABC Monday 8 p.m.: ``7th Heaven'' (new episode) 9 p.m.: ``Hyperion''x Tuesday 8 p.m.: ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' 9 p.m.: ``Felicity''x Wednesday 8 p.m.: ``Dawson's Creek'' 9 p.m.: ``Charmed''x Thursday 8 p.m.: ``The Wayans Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .'' 8:30 p.m.: ``The Jamie Foxx Show'' 9 p.m.: ``The Steve Harvey Show'' 9:30 p.m.: ``For Your Love''x Sunday 7 p.m.: ``7th Heaven,'' (repeat) 8 p.m.: ``Sister, Sister'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Smart Guy'' 9 p.m.: ``Unhappily Ever After'' 9:30 p.m.: ``The Army Show''x NBC Monday ``Suddenly Susan,'' 8 p.m. ``Conrad Bloom,'' 8:30x ``Caroline in the City Caroline in the City is an American sitcom that ran from September 21, 1995, to May 11, 1999, on the NBC television network. Premise Caroline Duffy is a cartoonist living in a Manhattan loft. ,'' 9 ``Will & Grace,'' 9:30x ``Dateline,'' 10 Tuesday ``Mad About You,'' 8 p.m. ``Encore! Encore!'' 8:30x ``Just Shoot Me,'' 9 ``Working,'' 9:30 ``Dateline,'' 10 Wednesday ``Dateline,'' 8 p.m. ``3rd Rock From the Sun,'' 9 ``NewsRadio,'' 9:30 ``Law & Order,'' 10 Thursday ``Friends,'' 8 p.m. ``All My Life,'' 8:30x ``Frasier,'' 9 ``Veronica's Closet,'' 9:30 ``ER,'' 10 Friday ``Trinity,'' 8 p.m.x ``Dateline,'' 9 ``Homicide,'' 10 Saturday ``Wind on Water,'' 8 p.m.x ``The Pretender,'' 9 ``Profiler,'' 10 Sunday Various reality and sports programming, 7 p.m.x ``Dateline,'' 8 NBC Sunday Night Movie, 9 WB Monday 8 p.m.: ``7th Heaven'' (new episode) 9 p.m.: ``Hyperion''x Tuesday 8 p.m.: ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' 9 p.m.: ``Felicity''x Wednesday 8 p.m.: ``Dawson's Creek'' 9 p.m.: ``Charmed''x Thursday 8 p.m.: ``The Wayans Bros.'' 8:30 p.m.: ``The Jamie Foxx Show'' 9 p.m.: ``The Steve Harvey Show'' 9:30 p.m.: ``For Your Love''x Sunday 7 p.m.: ``7th Heaven,'' (repeat) 8 p.m.: ``Sister, Sister'' 8:30 p.m.: ``Smart Guy'' 9 p.m.: ``Unhappily Ever After'' 9:30 p.m.: ``The Army Show''x x indicates new series CAPTION(S): 7 Photos, Box Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Bo Derek in `Wind on Water' (2--Cover--Color) Matt Craven, Ken Olin, Rick Roberts in `L.A. Docs' (3--Cover--Color) Malcolm McDowell in `Fantasy Island' (4) Fox's ``Feelin' All Right'' is nostalgic about the disco era in the way ``Happy Days'' was about the 1950s. (5) Jason Beghe and Moira Kelly play a married cop and attorney in ``To Have and to Hold'' on CBS. (6) ABC is bringing back Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen in ``Two of a Kind.'' (7) From the creators of ``Friends'' comes NBC's ``All My Life,'' starring Christina Applegate. Box: PRIME-TIME 1998-99 (See Text) |
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