‘Homicide’ Faces Execution Highly Acclaimed Drama May Fall Victim To Nielsen Numbers
“Homicide: Life on the Street” is in cardiac arrest again, and that’s a crime.
Television’s best police series - in a photo finish with “NYPD Blue” could be breathing its last tonight with a stellar season-ending episode featuring guest star Bruno Kirby (“City Slickers”). If so, “Homicide” will be another prominent victim of television’s most notorious, remorseless serial killer.
Lowly Nielsen ratings keep getting away with murder by pinning it on viewers.
Even a show named “Homicide” isn’t immune; Tom Fontana, co-executive producer of the Baltimore-based series, has conditioned himself to expect the worst when NBC announces its fall schedule in mid-May.
“I’m never confident,” he says from his mother’s house in Buffalo. “I’m very cynical and very jaded. The ways of the networks have always been strange to me.”
“Homicide’s” creative team, which also includes film director Barry Levinson, has tried to talk NBC executives into granting another stay of execution.
“We went out there in March and put on our top hats and soft shoes and did our dance,” Fontana says. “And they applauded politely and said, ‘We’ll let you know.”’
NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield, who will be instrumental in making the call, says only that “Homicide” is “at the top of its game” creatively. It otherwise has been a lossleader in a resurgent year for NBC.
Household ratings: “Homicide” finished the 30-week regular season in 88th place among 146 series, including all those bottom-feeders on the new WB and United/Paramount networks. Its two Friday night competitors, ABC’s “20/20” and CBS’ “Picket Fences,” respectively placed 17th and 64th.
Advertiser-friendly 18- to 49-year-olds: “Homicide” ranked an even worse 95th, again trailing “20/20” (No. 24) and “Picket Fences” (No. 73).
“Homicide” also ran third among teens, 25- to 54-year-olds and viewers 50 years of age and over. Littlefield says it’s “attention television” that requires viewers to - ding, ding - pay attention.
Fontana applauds NBC’s consistent treatment of the series this season.
Fans of “Homicide” at least know they can find it on Fridays at 10 p.m. In its first two truncated seasons, a grand total of 13 “Homicide” episodes popped in and out of NBC’s Wednesday- and Thursday-night lineups. This season has yielded 20 first-run “Homicides” and an end to hit-and-run scheduling.
Still, it’s been no picnic for fans of Emmy-caliber drama series. Picking “Picket Fences” over “Homicide” - or vice versa - is hardly an easy call.
Both shows accordingly have suffered in a season when first-rate dramas otherwise have been scoring at the expense of newsmagazine programs.
“Homicide” deserves at least nine lives and has used only two of them. This is a drama for the ages, if not for everybody. NBC knows this and must act accordingly. It must sentence “Homicide” to life.