The Washington Post
May 18, 2000 | Lisa de Moraes
Advertisers, studio executives, and The Reporters Who Cover Television gathered this afternoon in Carnegie Hall to hear about CBS’s exciting fall lineup–especially that new sitcom starring the incomparable Bette Midler and a planned remake of “The Fugitive.”
The presentation started a little after 3. We watched magician David Copperfield turn a pretty woman into CBS’s top sales guy and pull him out of a box. We heard Greg Gumbel talk about football and getting sick on a rice bowl. We watched David Letterman deliver some very corny and sometimes funny jokes. We heard Faith Hill sing a nice song. We sat through a movie in which CBS Network CEO Leslie Moonves played Moses and, yes, he parted the Red Sea and spoke directly to God, played by Viacom President and COO Mel Karmazin– who didn’t want to take the role, Les said, ’cause he thought it was a demotion.
A little after 4, someone onstage finally mentioned one of the new shows.
In the journalism business, we call this burying the lead. CBS buried it, but it was good—the same way as at last year’s presentation. To paraphrase my esteemed colleague Tom Shales: Thus, it can truly be said that CBS has done it again.
Too bad, because some of the shows looked good. Like Midler’s show, in which she plays, well, Midler. She walked onstage today at Carnegie Hall, and the crowd erupted in applause—just for showing up. If they hadn’t been so tired by the time Midler was trotted out, they might’ve given her a standing ovation, the same way they did the cast of NBC’s “West Wing” earlier in the week. We’ll never know.
CBS is putting “The Bette Show” on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.–right up against ABC’s newest night of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” The sitcom is being teamed to fight Rege with “Welcome to New York,” a sitcom starring Christine Baranski, who deserves a better time slot for having put up graciously with Cybill Shepherd for all those years on the CBS sitcom “Cybill.”
On Mondays, CBS has made only one change: it has put the new sitcom “Yes, Dear” in the 8:30 time slot, replacing “Ladies Man,” on which CBS has performed a mercy killing.
Also removed from the Eye Network’s lineup are “Chicago Hope,” “Martial Law,” “Early Edition,” and “Now and Again.” Bill Cosby called it quits on “Cosby” and “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” though the latter may return as a handful of specials next season.
CBS has done well on Tuesdays and is making no change there: “JAG” still leads the night, starring the famous David James Elliott, followed by “60 Minutes II” and “Judging Amy.”
Thursdays, “48 Hours” and “Diagnosis Murder” will be flip-flopped to get the news mag out of the 10 p.m. slot, where it was destined to be creamed by ABC’s “Primetime,” with its “Millionaire” lead-in. “City of Angels,” Steven Bochco’s medical show, has been scheduled opposite “Millionaire” at 9. The series, which has a predominantly black cast, has a strong black audience but has failed to find a wider audience since its January launch. Which, ironically, may make it a good foil for ABC’s game show: “City of Angels” beat “Millionaire” in black television households on Feb. 2 and March 1, the two days the programs aired head to head.
Most of CBS’s seven new shows have been saved up for Fridays and Saturdays–two Regis Philbin-free evenings. That remake of “The Fugitive,” starring Tyne Daly’s brother Tim and Mykelti Williamson, will lead Friday night, followed by another crime drama, “C.S.I.,” starring Marg Helgenberger.
While ABC and NBC go with action movies on Saturdays, CBS sticks with drama series. “Walker, Texas Ranger” is back, but at 9, and its 8 p.m. lead-in is a new chic drama called “That’s Life”–and what’s up with that? It stars the actress who played the bartender in NBC’s dreadful “Stark Raving Mad.” At 10, a new drama, “The District,” stars Craig T. Nelson as a guy who’s brought in to shake up the D.C. police department; this show is very loosely based on well-known cop consultant Jack Maple.
CBS is making no changes to its Sunday lineup.
CBS has a 50 percent ownership stake in all of its new programs except “The Fugitive,” owned by Warner Bros. Television.
On Thursday, Fox will launch a new prime-time schedule that includes an all-David Kelley Monday night, James Cameron’s better-late-than-never drama series on Tuesdays, and a new sitcom block on Wednesday nights.
Kelley’s teacher drama is now on its third name, “Boston Public.” His “Ally McBeal” is also set in Boston. I smell crossover episodes here.
Cameron’s series, “Dark Angel,” about post-apocalyptic America, seems destined for the Tuesday 10 p.m. slot, following two sitcoms– probably returning “That ’70s Show” and “Titus.”
Sources report that Wednesday will be gutted. John Goodman is expected to lead the night in the comedy “Don’t Ask”; he plays a gay single dad. It’ll probably be paired with a sitcom about something, but after reading descriptions of the shows I culled from several sources, I still can’t figure out what. We’ll just hope for the best. After that show comes Darren Star’s new “The Street,” a prime-time soap opera about Wall Street.
Thursday is movie night on the new Fox schedule; Fox hasn’t had a regular movie night for several seasons. Friday is also all-new, said to be starting with “Fearsum” —a drama series from the “Blair Witch Project” guys—followed by a paranormal anthology series that the network is torn between calling “Night Terror” and “Night Visions.” Some six-figure marketing suit will get to figure out which.
Fox’s Saturday is untouched, and Sunday will feature “Futurama,” “King of the Hill,” “The Simpsons,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” and “The X-Files,” which star David Duchovny now seems likely to return to after money talks with the network.
UPN’s Washington affiliate, WDCA, will air “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger’s controversial TV talk show this fall.
WDCA, Channel 20 officials could not be reached at press time, but an official at Paramount Television Group, which produces and distributes the show, confirmed the sale to the local UPN station.
The announcement comes a day after Procter & Gamble said it’s pulling out as a show advertiser because of remarks Schlessinger has made about homosexuals on her radio show.
Cathy Renna, director of regional media for GLAAD, a gay activist group that has been an outspoken critic of Schlessinger, said she had called WDCA General Manager John Long to request a meeting about the station’s pickup of the show.
Renna said GLAAD plans to “mobilize an effective group of people to rally” against WDCA’s decision.
