Networks Need To Give Shows Time

When the broadcast networks met with advertisers in New York last week to unveil their fall schedules, you’d have thought all six were being run by Rip Van Winkle, just up from his 20-year nap and longing to see “The Love Boat” and “Fantasy Island” again.

Last season? Hey, it never happened.

Of the 36 new shows that ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and the WB launched last fall, all but five - ABC’s “The Wonderful World of Disney” and “Dharma & Greg,” Fox’s “Ally McBeal” and NBC’s “Veronica’s Closet” and “Working” - had been canceled.

Among the dead were many shows that probably never should have been picked up in the first place: NBC’s “Jenny” and “Union Square,” CBS’ “Dellaventura” and “Meego,” ABC’s “Hiller and Diller” and “You Wish,” and UPN’s “Hitz.”

Buried with them, though, were some promising series: ABC’s Peabody Award-winning “Nothing Sacred” and “Cracker,” CBS’ “Brooklyn South,” “Michael Hayes,” “George and Leo” and “The Gregory Hines Show,” NBC’s “Built to Last.”

Had any of these shows received a fraction of the promotion and support that Fox gave “Ally McBeal” this season, this fall’s schedule might look very different.

Instead, they became the latest victims of a wasteful trend that has network execs throwing new show concepts against the wall, then waiting an episode or two to see if anything sticks before scheduling a second helping of “Home Improvement.”

Not only does this seem to actually encourage bad writing - how much time would you spend working on a project with a half-life measured in minutes? - it’s guaranteed to speed the audience’s flight to cable.

Note to the suits: This is not how you build audience loyalty, guys.

It’s certainly not how you build a “Seinfeld,” a “Cheers,” a “Hill Street Blues,” a “M.A.S.H.”

You remember them, right? Do you happen to recall what they have in common, other than being among the most-loved TV series of all time?

All barely escaped cancellation after their first season.