Save That Show Networks Get Ready To Clear The Underachievers From The Schedule

Beleaguered defense attorney Ted Hoffman of “Murder One” could use letters of support. The same goes for TV writer Kim Cooper of “Almost Perfect,” personnel director Drew Carey of “The Drew Carey Show” and novelist Johnny Eliot of “The Single Guy.”

Even Miss Piggy needs some kind words this spring.

It’s time for another round of: Can this series be saved?

Before network executives unveil their fall schedules next month, fans might want to speak up for programs in danger of cancellation.

A series’ renewal doesn’t depend solely on ratings or fans’ letters. Among the other factors: How is the network doing? (Top-rated NBC has fewer slots for marginal series.) Does the network see a future for the show in question? (Hasn’t “The Dana Carvey Show” doomed itself with too many lame skits?) And how does the series stack up against pilots for next fall? (The networks will know more in coming weeks.)

This season, a few worthy series have to overcome another hurdle: viewer apathy.

“It’s hard to get excited this season about the shows,” said Dorothy Swanson, president of the advocacy group Viewers for Quality Television. “It was not a good year at all.”

That’s for sure. None of the 42 series introduced in the fall became a break-out hit. The networks have slogged through a midseason that, so far, has yielded only one bona fide success: NBC’s “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

Still, that shouldn’t stop viewers from acting to rescue a beloved series. Last season, save-the-show campaigns helped extend Fox’s “Party of Five” and NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street.”

To make such crusades work, viewers should throw their support behind series with critical acclaim, Swanson said.

UPN’s “Nowhere Man,” CBS’ “Almost Perfect” and ABC’s “Murder One” are good choices. There’s no guarantee a letter will save a show, she adds, but it could make the viewer feel better.

“I think networks understand that if one person writes a letter, that represents more than one person,” said Paul Schulman, whose Manhattan agency buys TV time for advertisers.

Many new series this season aren’t worth saving, said Schulman, a respected analyst of prime time.

“I think anyone who’s going to get the ax deserves it,” he said. “Very few shows have terrific writing. Those that do, prosper.”

Here’s a look at each network’s schedule, based on conversations with industry observers and network insiders.

NBC

The top-rated network hasn’t announced any renewals for next season, but no one should worry about “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and “ER.” “Sisters” and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” will bow out this season after long runs.

The outlook is hazier for “The Single Guy,” “JAG,” “Hope & Gloria,” “Brotherly Love,” “In the House,” “Malibu Shores” and “The Home Court.”

“Caroline in the City” will return, Schulman predicts. But “The Single Guy” might not make it if NBC decides it prefers “Boston Common,” a high-rated midseason replacement.

“JAG” is “a long shot,” Schulman said, and he sees no chance for “Malibu Shores,” “Brotherly Love” and “The Home Court.”

ABC

The No. 2-rated network has renewed “Home Improvement,” “Roseanne,” “Coach” and “Lois & Clark.” The returns of “Monday Night Football,” “PrimeTime Live” and “20/20” are also certainties.

But ABC has endured major setbacks with midseason sitcoms. “Champs,” “Buddies” and “Aliens in the Family” bombed. “The Faculty” muddles along.

The wildly uneven “Dana Carvey Show” has lost viewers after a strong start. “I don’t think Dana Carvey is worth the aggravation,” Schulman said.

“High Incident,” the midseason police drama from Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks, has no chance, Schulman predicts.

Some new entries last fall did nothing for ABC’s ratings. The Tony Danza sitcom “Hudson Street” and “Maybe This Time” with Marie Osmond don’t look like keepers.

Viewers’ letters might help “Murder One,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “The Naked Truth,” “Muppets Tonight!” and “Second Noah.” But Schulman is skeptical about most of them. “Second Noah,” a family drama, “has a chance because it’s so advertiser-friendly,” he said.

Schulman predicts cancellations for “Drew Carey” and the risque “Naked Truth,” because ABC wants to return to “family type shows.” And yet ABC management is reportedly high on Carey, and no replacement series has performed as well in the 8:30 p.m. Wednesday slot.

Beloved Kermit and Miss Piggy could face the ax for failing to draw viewers to “Muppets Tonight!” on Fridays. “I would be surprised if they keep it,” Schulman said.

Even “Murder One,” the most-acclaimed new series last fall, won’t survive, Schulman predicts. “I think it was done when it was scheduled on Thursday night opposite ‘ER,”’ he said.

“When they moved it to Monday at 10, it was too late.”

“Murder One” is the only new series this season fully endorsed by the Viewers for Quality Television. A letter could boost the show’s renewal, president Swanson said, but she won’t be surprised if it’s axed.

The format was “a lot to ask of viewers,” she said. For one season, the series followed a high-profile murder case. Missing an episode was like skipping a chapter in a mystery, and millions didn’t stick with it.

Other factors could spell the end of “Murder One”: Did the show go off on too many tangents? Was Daniel Benzali miscast as defense attorney Hoffman? Will the public buy the series if it’s reintroduced?

CBS

The No. 3-rated network has renewed its Saturday lineup and “Cybill.” “Murphy Brown” will return for another season, and viewers can expect to see other CBS hits like “60 Minutes,” “Chicago Hope” and “The Nanny.”

“Murder, She Wrote,” one of CBS’ long-running successes, will bow out in May.

Viewers’ letters could help “Almost Perfect,” “Can’t Hurry Love,” “Good Company” and “Due South.”

The shows that probably are beyond rescue: “Bonnie,” “The Client,” “The Louie Show” and “Picket Fences.” CBS introduced 11 series in the fall, and most (“American Gothic,” “Courthouse,” “New York News”) have disappeared.

VQT’s Swanson “loves” “Bonnie” and applauds star Bonnie Hunt. “She’s so good, I’m hooked,” Swanson said. “But I don’t think it stands a chance. It’s not a laugh-out-loud show.”

Of the 42 series introduced in the fall, “Almost Perfect” looks like one of the few keepers, Schulman said. “It’s excellent,” he said. “I love Kevin Kilner and Nancy Travis.” But do CBS executives think the stars have chemistry?

CBS honchos had to be pleased by the strong performance of Don Johnson’s “Nash Bridges.” But it’s too early to predict renewal.

Fox

The No. 4-rated network will bring back “Party of Five,” “The Simpsons,” “Living Single,” “Melrose Place” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Viewers can expect to see more “Married … With Children.”

Series that could use letters of support: “New York Undercover,” “Ned and Stacey,” “Partners,” “Space: Above and Beyond,” “The Crew,” “Sliders,” “The Show,” “Local Heroes” and “Strange Luck.” So far, Fox has not picked up “Martin” for another season. It’s too soon to get a handle on other midseason replacements like “Kindred: The Embraced.”

Schulman’s prognostications: “Space,” “The Show” and “Local Heroes” are bombing, and “Sliders” has “an outside chance.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Who are you going to write? Where to write to try to save your favorite TV show from cancellation: ABC: Program Director/(Name of Show), 77 West 66th St., New York NY 10023 NBC: NBC Viewer Complaints, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York NY 10112 CBS: CBS Audience Services, 51 W. 52nd St., New York NY 10019 Fox: Johnathan Littman, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills CA 90213