Critic's Notebook
Please save NBC's finest
By Doug Elfman Chicago Sun-Times Television Critic April 22, 2007
You travel to another country and feel disoriented. But then you see something you recognize. A McDonald's. A Burger King. Suddenly, you get your bearings again.
"Law and Order" is like that on TV. It's comfort food, but 1,000 times better than a Big Mac.
It's rare when TV surprises me. Yet I'm taken aback by reports that NBC might cancel "Law & Order," especially now that it is solely responsible for launching the potential presidential campaign of Republican actor Fred Dalton Thompson.
I doubt I'd vote for Thompson -- too closed-minded, big frowns, plus he's an actor -- but how many shows have the power to make a thespian a possible future president? He's polling better than John McCain.
Every year, we TV critics write about "bubble shows" -- shows that are struggling in the ratings and may or may not be canceled in the next few weeks. "Law & Order" is the most accomplished series on the bubble.
Other critics are rallying around younger shows that appeal to younger audiences, like NBC's teen-footballers-in-Texas "Friday Night Lights" and one of my very favorites, the CW's "Veronica Mars." At influential E!, Kristin Veitch took an online vote among readers, who want to save the CW's "Gilmore Girls."
Those are fine choices for "save our show" campaigns. Few other shows deserve another chance. Do we really need another season of "The Nine"? No.
Above all else, I want "Law & Order" saved because it's still one of the best dramas on TV, and I don't know how I'd travel the channels without having the original "Law & Order" to rest on.
"The mothership is a real discussion," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told Variety last week. "Nothing goes on forever."
Industry insiders use the term "mothership" when distinguishing "L&O" from the other "L&O" shows, but it's more than that. It's the detective show that prepped TV viewers to get sucked into all other existing detective shows.
Creator Dick Wolf agrees there's a glut of copycats. "Between the 'Law & Orders' and the 'CSIs,' that's six hours right there, not to mention 'Without a Trace' and 'Cold Case,' " he once said. "There [are] a lot of procedurals. But the good ones are still here."
The best one is "Law & Order." It and "Veronica Mars" are the only shows that nail gritty elements of neo-noir: the murky conversations between detectives and cons; the moral grayness of good guys; the attempt to do good despite a cynical viewpoint on life.
Ratings are down for "L&O," but that's partly due to NBC shoving it onto must-miss Friday nights, and partly because the drama lost an anchor when Jerry Orbach left the show and died. Usually, "L&O" has changed one cop and one prosecutor slowly. It's been too much of a revolving door for a few years, commercially speaking (creatively, the cast has been solid).
But each half-hour remains steadied by Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green, S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Anita Van Buren, and Sam Waterston as prosecutor Jack McCoy. Martin is one of the most underrated actors on TV. Merkerson and Waterston earn icon status.
Yes, the show has aired for 17 years. But it isn't running out of steam. It's just been eclipsed in pop-culture chatter by rising stars.
NBC's problem is it's got the best lineup of quality shows this season, but it's getting whipped in the ratings. NBC has become a counter-programmed network, having to figure out what to run against "American Idol," "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," etc.
And what's it gonna do, run "Law & Order" after sci-fi youth show "Heroes" on Mondays? Against "Lost" on Wednesdays? You could look all over for a perfect time slot and find no perfect counter-programming opening for "Law & Order."
But that's true of most things on NBC, and that won't change until the pendulum swings back and viewers take to comedies again (NBC will be sitting pretty then with "30 Rock") and again prefer tightly written detective shows to cheesy but good-looking "CSI" shows.
Network executives must think only a new fall drama has the chance of becoming a lightning-strike hit against rival shows. But if "Law and Order" goes away, what comfort-food show will keep devoted, longtime NBC fans tuning in? "ER"? I don't think so.
WORTH SAVING
"Law & Order" (NBC): Old but great.
"The Loop" (Fox): The best comedy you don't watch. It gets one last chance with new episodes in June.
"Veronica Mars" (CW): The third season wasn't its best, but it's still a fun mystery.
DEFINITELY OR PROBABLY DONE
"20 Good Years" (NBC)
"Andy Barker, P.I." (NBC)
"Armed & Famous" (CBS)
"Big Day" (ABC)
"The Black Donnellys" (NBC)
"Deadwood" (HBO; two finale episodes planned)
"Extras" (HBO, finale special planned)
"Help Me Help You" (NBC)
"In Case of Emergency" (ABC)
"The King of Queens" (CBS; finale on May 14)
"The Knights of Prosperity" (ABC)
"The Loop" (Fox)
"The O.C." (Fox) »
"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (Bravo; ends this summer)
"Rome" (HBO)
"7th Heaven" (CW; finale on May 13)
"Six Degrees" (ABC)
"Sleeper Cell" (Showtime)
"The Sopranos" (HBO; finale on June 10)
"Standoff" (Fox)
"Stargate: SG-1" (Sci-Fi; finale planned for June)
"The Wedding Bells" (Fox)
"The War at Home" (Fox)
RENEWED OR PRESUMED SAFE
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"60 Minutes" (CBS)
"Amazing Race" (CBS)
"American Dad" (Fox)
"American Idol" (Fox)
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (ABC)
"America's Most Wanted" (Fox)
"America's Next Top Model" (CW)
"The Apprentice" (NBC)
"Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (Fox)
"The Bachelor" (ABC)
"Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi)
"The Biggest Loser" (NBC)
"Big Brother" (CBS)
"Big Love" (HBO)
"Bones" (Fox)
"Boston Legal" (ABC)
"Brothers and Sisters" (ABC)
"The Closer" (TNT)
"Cold Case" (CBS)
"Cops" (Fox)
"Criminal Minds" (CBS)
"CS." (CBS)
"CSI: Miami" (CBS)
"CSI: NY" (CBS)
"Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
"Dexter" (Showtime)
"Entourage" (HBO)
"ER" (NBC)
"Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC)
"Family Guy" (Fox)
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
"Heroes" (NBC)
"The Hills" (MTV)
"House" (Fox)
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (FX)
"King of the Hill" (Fox)
"The L Word" (Showtime)
"Las Vegas" (NBC)
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC)
"Lost" (ABC)
"Men in Trees" (ABC)
"My Name is Earl" (NBC)
"NCIS" (CBS)
"Nip/Tuck" (FX)
"Numb3rs" (CBS)
"October Road" (ABC)
"The Office" (NBC)
"Prison Break" (Fox)
"Project Runway" (Bravo)
"Rescue Me" (FX)
"The Sarah Silverman Program" (Comedy Central)
"Shark" (CBS)
"The Shield" (FX)
"The Simpsons" (Fox)
"So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
"South Park" (Comedy Central)
"Supernanny" (ABC)
"Ugly Betty" (ABC)
"Survivor" (CBS)
"Weeds" (Showtime)
"Wife Swap" (ABC)
"Without a Trace" (CBS)
"The Wire" (HBO)
"WWE Smackdown" (CW)
BUBBLE' SHOWS
Because of their lackluster (but not deadly) ratings, it wasn't certain at press time whether these series would be canceled or if they'd return for another season next fall. They're "on the bubble."
"1 vs. 100" (NBC)
"20/20" (ABC)
"According to Jim" (ABC)
"All of Us" (CW)
"Beauty and the Geek" (CW)
"The Class" (CBS)
"Close to Home" (CBS)
"Crossing Jordan" (NBC)
"Dirt" (FX)
"Friday Night Lights" (NBC)
"The Game" (CW)
"The George Lopez Show" (ABC)
"Ghost Whisperer" (CBS)
"Gilmore Girls" (CW)
"Girlfriends" (CW)
"Identity" (NBC)
"Jericho" (CBS) »
"Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV)
"Law & Order" (NBC)
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC)
"Medium" (NBC)
"Nanny 911" (Fox)
"Nashville Star" (USA)
"The New Adventures of Old Christine" (CBS)
"The Nine" (ABC)
"Notes from the Underbelly" (ABC)
"One Tree Hill" (CW)
"Raines" (NBC)
"The Riches" (FX)
"Rock Star" (CBS)
"Rules of Engagement" (CBS)
"Scrubs" (NBC)
"Smallville" (CW)
"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (NBC)
"Supernatural" (CW)
"Thank God You're Here" (NBC)
" 'Til Death" (CBS)
"The Unit" (CBS)
"Veronica Mars" (CW)
"What About Brian" (ABC)
"The Winner" (Fox)
WHERE TO WRITE
If you want to make sure your favorite show isn't canceled, now's the time to make your opinion known. Write to network programmers at these addresses:
Stephen McPherson, ABC, 2300 Riverside Dr., Burbank, CA, 91521
Nina Tassler, CBS, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
Peter Liguori, Fox, Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA, 90213
Kevin Reilly, NBC, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA, 91523
Dawn Ostroff, CW, 11800 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90025
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainmen...2.articleprint
Please save NBC's finest
By Doug Elfman Chicago Sun-Times Television Critic April 22, 2007
You travel to another country and feel disoriented. But then you see something you recognize. A McDonald's. A Burger King. Suddenly, you get your bearings again.
"Law and Order" is like that on TV. It's comfort food, but 1,000 times better than a Big Mac.
It's rare when TV surprises me. Yet I'm taken aback by reports that NBC might cancel "Law & Order," especially now that it is solely responsible for launching the potential presidential campaign of Republican actor Fred Dalton Thompson.
I doubt I'd vote for Thompson -- too closed-minded, big frowns, plus he's an actor -- but how many shows have the power to make a thespian a possible future president? He's polling better than John McCain.
Every year, we TV critics write about "bubble shows" -- shows that are struggling in the ratings and may or may not be canceled in the next few weeks. "Law & Order" is the most accomplished series on the bubble.
Other critics are rallying around younger shows that appeal to younger audiences, like NBC's teen-footballers-in-Texas "Friday Night Lights" and one of my very favorites, the CW's "Veronica Mars." At influential E!, Kristin Veitch took an online vote among readers, who want to save the CW's "Gilmore Girls."
Those are fine choices for "save our show" campaigns. Few other shows deserve another chance. Do we really need another season of "The Nine"? No.
Above all else, I want "Law & Order" saved because it's still one of the best dramas on TV, and I don't know how I'd travel the channels without having the original "Law & Order" to rest on.
"The mothership is a real discussion," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told Variety last week. "Nothing goes on forever."
Industry insiders use the term "mothership" when distinguishing "L&O" from the other "L&O" shows, but it's more than that. It's the detective show that prepped TV viewers to get sucked into all other existing detective shows.
Creator Dick Wolf agrees there's a glut of copycats. "Between the 'Law & Orders' and the 'CSIs,' that's six hours right there, not to mention 'Without a Trace' and 'Cold Case,' " he once said. "There [are] a lot of procedurals. But the good ones are still here."
The best one is "Law & Order." It and "Veronica Mars" are the only shows that nail gritty elements of neo-noir: the murky conversations between detectives and cons; the moral grayness of good guys; the attempt to do good despite a cynical viewpoint on life.
Ratings are down for "L&O," but that's partly due to NBC shoving it onto must-miss Friday nights, and partly because the drama lost an anchor when Jerry Orbach left the show and died. Usually, "L&O" has changed one cop and one prosecutor slowly. It's been too much of a revolving door for a few years, commercially speaking (creatively, the cast has been solid).
But each half-hour remains steadied by Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green, S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Anita Van Buren, and Sam Waterston as prosecutor Jack McCoy. Martin is one of the most underrated actors on TV. Merkerson and Waterston earn icon status.
Yes, the show has aired for 17 years. But it isn't running out of steam. It's just been eclipsed in pop-culture chatter by rising stars.
NBC's problem is it's got the best lineup of quality shows this season, but it's getting whipped in the ratings. NBC has become a counter-programmed network, having to figure out what to run against "American Idol," "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," etc.
And what's it gonna do, run "Law & Order" after sci-fi youth show "Heroes" on Mondays? Against "Lost" on Wednesdays? You could look all over for a perfect time slot and find no perfect counter-programming opening for "Law & Order."
But that's true of most things on NBC, and that won't change until the pendulum swings back and viewers take to comedies again (NBC will be sitting pretty then with "30 Rock") and again prefer tightly written detective shows to cheesy but good-looking "CSI" shows.
Network executives must think only a new fall drama has the chance of becoming a lightning-strike hit against rival shows. But if "Law and Order" goes away, what comfort-food show will keep devoted, longtime NBC fans tuning in? "ER"? I don't think so.
WORTH SAVING
"Law & Order" (NBC): Old but great.
"The Loop" (Fox): The best comedy you don't watch. It gets one last chance with new episodes in June.
"Veronica Mars" (CW): The third season wasn't its best, but it's still a fun mystery.
DEFINITELY OR PROBABLY DONE
"20 Good Years" (NBC)
"Andy Barker, P.I." (NBC)
"Armed & Famous" (CBS)
"Big Day" (ABC)
"The Black Donnellys" (NBC)
"Deadwood" (HBO; two finale episodes planned)
"Extras" (HBO, finale special planned)
"Help Me Help You" (NBC)
"In Case of Emergency" (ABC)
"The King of Queens" (CBS; finale on May 14)
"The Knights of Prosperity" (ABC)
"The Loop" (Fox)
"The O.C." (Fox) »
"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (Bravo; ends this summer)
"Rome" (HBO)
"7th Heaven" (CW; finale on May 13)
"Six Degrees" (ABC)
"Sleeper Cell" (Showtime)
"The Sopranos" (HBO; finale on June 10)
"Standoff" (Fox)
"Stargate: SG-1" (Sci-Fi; finale planned for June)
"The Wedding Bells" (Fox)
"The War at Home" (Fox)
RENEWED OR PRESUMED SAFE
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"60 Minutes" (CBS)
"Amazing Race" (CBS)
"American Dad" (Fox)
"American Idol" (Fox)
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (ABC)
"America's Most Wanted" (Fox)
"America's Next Top Model" (CW)
"The Apprentice" (NBC)
"Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (Fox)
"The Bachelor" (ABC)
"Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi)
"The Biggest Loser" (NBC)
"Big Brother" (CBS)
"Big Love" (HBO)
"Bones" (Fox)
"Boston Legal" (ABC)
"Brothers and Sisters" (ABC)
"The Closer" (TNT)
"Cold Case" (CBS)
"Cops" (Fox)
"Criminal Minds" (CBS)
"CS." (CBS)
"CSI: Miami" (CBS)
"CSI: NY" (CBS)
"Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
"Dexter" (Showtime)
"Entourage" (HBO)
"ER" (NBC)
"Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC)
"Family Guy" (Fox)
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
"Heroes" (NBC)
"The Hills" (MTV)
"House" (Fox)
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (FX)
"King of the Hill" (Fox)
"The L Word" (Showtime)
"Las Vegas" (NBC)
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC)
"Lost" (ABC)
"Men in Trees" (ABC)
"My Name is Earl" (NBC)
"NCIS" (CBS)
"Nip/Tuck" (FX)
"Numb3rs" (CBS)
"October Road" (ABC)
"The Office" (NBC)
"Prison Break" (Fox)
"Project Runway" (Bravo)
"Rescue Me" (FX)
"The Sarah Silverman Program" (Comedy Central)
"Shark" (CBS)
"The Shield" (FX)
"The Simpsons" (Fox)
"So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
"South Park" (Comedy Central)
"Supernanny" (ABC)
"Ugly Betty" (ABC)
"Survivor" (CBS)
"Weeds" (Showtime)
"Wife Swap" (ABC)
"Without a Trace" (CBS)
"The Wire" (HBO)
"WWE Smackdown" (CW)
BUBBLE' SHOWS
Because of their lackluster (but not deadly) ratings, it wasn't certain at press time whether these series would be canceled or if they'd return for another season next fall. They're "on the bubble."
"1 vs. 100" (NBC)
"20/20" (ABC)
"According to Jim" (ABC)
"All of Us" (CW)
"Beauty and the Geek" (CW)
"The Class" (CBS)
"Close to Home" (CBS)
"Crossing Jordan" (NBC)
"Dirt" (FX)
"Friday Night Lights" (NBC)
"The Game" (CW)
"The George Lopez Show" (ABC)
"Ghost Whisperer" (CBS)
"Gilmore Girls" (CW)
"Girlfriends" (CW)
"Identity" (NBC)
"Jericho" (CBS) »
"Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (MTV)
"Law & Order" (NBC)
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC)
"Medium" (NBC)
"Nanny 911" (Fox)
"Nashville Star" (USA)
"The New Adventures of Old Christine" (CBS)
"The Nine" (ABC)
"Notes from the Underbelly" (ABC)
"One Tree Hill" (CW)
"Raines" (NBC)
"The Riches" (FX)
"Rock Star" (CBS)
"Rules of Engagement" (CBS)
"Scrubs" (NBC)
"Smallville" (CW)
"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (NBC)
"Supernatural" (CW)
"Thank God You're Here" (NBC)
" 'Til Death" (CBS)
"The Unit" (CBS)
"Veronica Mars" (CW)
"What About Brian" (ABC)
"The Winner" (Fox)
WHERE TO WRITE
If you want to make sure your favorite show isn't canceled, now's the time to make your opinion known. Write to network programmers at these addresses:
Stephen McPherson, ABC, 2300 Riverside Dr., Burbank, CA, 91521
Nina Tassler, CBS, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036
Peter Liguori, Fox, Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA, 90213
Kevin Reilly, NBC, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA, 91523
Dawn Ostroff, CW, 11800 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90025
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainmen...2.articleprint
