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September 15, 2004
Few Wednesday shows are sure bets in the television ratings
By Charlie McCollum
Mercury News
In the television industry, it's called a ``jump ball'' -- a time period or even a whole night that's up for grabs in the ratings.
Lately, Wednesday has been anything but a jump ball. NBC has dominated, thanks to the strength of ``The West Wing'' and the original ``Law & Order.'' But this season looks as if it will be very different, with ``West Wing'' and ``L&O'' faltering and the network's new (and very bad) crime show, ``Hawaii,'' already looking like a ratings loser.
Once one of TV's best dramas, ``West Wing'' went south last season after the departure of creator Aaron Sorkin. It just wasn't the same smart, funny, fast-paced show it had been. Viewers deserted the Bartlet administration in droves.
As a result, there will be changes this season, changes leading either to the end of the show, or maybe to a whole new ``West Wing.'' Josiah Bartlet's presidency will enter its final year, with the campaign to replace him scheduled to begin around midseason. The leading candidates: Jimmy Smits as a Texas congressman and Alan Alda as a Republican senator from California, which proves that ``West Wing'' really does exist in a parallel universe.
``Law & Order'' -- entering its 15th season -- also has seen some audience erosion. This season, it faces the loss of Jerry Orbach, who played Detective Lennie Briscoe for 12 years, and the biggest ratings challenge it has had in a long time: ``CSI: NY,'' the ``CSI'' spinoff with film star Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes from ``Providence.''
In other words, the door has been kicked open on Wednesdays, and the other networks are looking to charge in.
Certainly, CBS has a chance.
In addition to ``CSI: NY,'' an almost-guaranteed hit, it has a strong newsmagazine in the Wednesday edition of ``60 Minutes'' (it has dropped the ``II'' from its title) and a good, viewer-friendly sitcom in ``King of Queens.'' The weak spot: the new ``Center of the Universe,'' which is almost painful to watch as it wastes a superb cast, including John Goodman, Jean Smart and Olympia Dukakis.
ABC could take a run at NBC, too, with a revamped lineup anchored by the returning ``The Bachelor.'' While hardly the cultural touchstone it once was, the reality dating show might have another season of ratings juice left in it.
Surrounding ``Bachelor'' are two new shows: ``Lost,'' whose opening episodes are so good that they look like a feature film, and ``Wife Swap,'' a vastly entertaining and surprisingly intelligent reality series.
Co-created by J.J. Abrams of ``Alias,'' ``Lost'' may be the most intriguing new drama of the season. Part sci-fi and part scripted ``Survivor,'' the show's opening two hours are a first-rate thrill ride as a group of strangers tries to survive after a fiery plane crash leaves them stranded on a tropical island. But not just any island. This one has at least one nasty, man-chewing ``something'' out in the jungle.
As for ``Wife Swap,'' it's the show Fox tried to rip off with ``Trading Spouses.'' But where ``Spouses'' is mindless drivel, ``Swap'' -- based on a hit British show -- is about as good as reality TV gets, with some real emotion and very slick production.
And pay attention to what's happening over on UPN. Not only is UPN bringing back its highly addictive ``America's Next Top Model,'' but it also has a new drama that could become a legitimate hit. ``Kevin Hill'' takes a very tired premise -- swinging single guy inherits young child -- and turns it into something with rich emotion and humor. Certainly, Taye Diggs (``Chicago'') is a charming, sexy leading man.
That leaves Fox and the WB as the only networks out of the Wednesday race.
Fox will do some business with its Wednesday comedies. But ``That '70s Show'' is on its last legs, ``Bernie Mac'' has never been the creative or ratings force it could have been, and ``Quintuplets'' and ``Method and Red'' are weak new sitcoms with little to recommend them.
Over on the WB, efforts are being made to juice up ``Smallville,'' the Superman-as-teenager drama, after viewership took a sharp drop last season. (Clark Kent flies for the first time; Lois Lane shows up as a recurring character.) Meanwhile, ``The Mountain'' is so bad that it looks like a parody of a WB teen drama.
Posted by Jo at September 15, 2004 08:27 AM