Equalizing CBS´ Programer |
Article by
Martin G. Grant  22 /
Published 31 Dec 2003, 12:09
Last updated 31 Dec 2003, 12:09
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I´m sure Jeff Sagansky, who is replacing Kim LeMasters as the head of programming at CBS, is a genius. He is the man they said they wanted in the first place, except he was too expensive. If they wanted Sagansky, they´d have to buy Columbia Pictures, too. Or something. I never completely understand all these complex, multimillion-dollar deals for creative geniuses. Poor Kim LeMasters was not alone in making some of those decisions, like what they did to Beauty and the Beast last week. He obviously had a lot of help from Howard Stringer, whose entertainment experience includes having been president of CBS News, and Larry Tisch, a veteran broadcaster in his own right. Since this is a time of good cheer to all men, I´ll give them all credit. The question I would ask in judging his qualifications is where he stands on the great issues of our time, such as The Equalizer?
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The Equalizer, which began in 1985, was an unusual CBS program about a man named Robert McCall. He was the guy who used to ride around the streets of New York in the black Jaguar XJ6, the wonderful guy who put the ads in the papers: "Got a problem? Odds against you? When there´s no place to turn, the Equalizer will take care of you." He was a combination of Dr. Bernard Meltzer and Charles Bronson.
McCall was played by Edward Woodward, a truly outstanding British actor, one of the five best on TV, a man of intensity and consummate craftmanship. The fourth and final season of "EQZ," as its fans know it, had its ups and downs, and changing moods, caused by adjustments in the story after Woodward´s 1987 heart attack. But it remained one of TV´s most finely produced series, one of the few intelligent dramas.
"EQZ" was sometimes violent and scary. And, finally, unpredictable: You never knew when it was on. It had not been the easiest show to watch from the beginning. Originally, it was on Wednesdays at 10. So were many of my other favourite shows: St. Elsewhere, Dynasty. There are just so many things even my VCR can do at one time
And then CBS started moving it around. You had to buy a paper in the morning and hope the last change in the schedule was made in time to catch the daily listings in the paper. And then last summer, they started a unique programming innovation: Two weeks on. . .pre-emption. . .two weeks on. . .pre-emption. . .schedule change. . .and so forth.
Total mystification is not a good way to develop a large, loyal following. Before they started moving it around so much, The Equalizer always had those wonderful lead-ins. First Mary and Dick, then TV 101, and finally Hard Times on Planet Earth. Even L.A. Law couldn´t have survived those.
Toward the end of 1988 and the beginning of 1989, the pre-emptions seemed to be outnumbering the fresh episodes. Where was The Equalizer? This seemed like a job for McCall, the Equalizer himself! Too late. The show was equalized. Kaput. The end.
CBS blamed "slipping demographics" and less popular support than Beauty and the Beast. It was then that "EQZ" fans discovered that their protest letters and numbers were being added to the mail being received in support of Beauty and the Beast. The way the "EQZ" people found out about this chicanery was a form letter from Ray Failoa, director of Audience Services at CBS, "thanking them for their enthusiasm and interest in Beauty and the Beast." This was adding insult to injury.
I´ve heard of attempts to minimize viewer response. But this was not cricket. Or even baseball. It was called "cheating." Imagine sending "B&B" letters to "EQZ" fans!
How could they do such a thing? "I figure it had to be one of three reasons," explained Frances Nuss of the Bronx, who got one of the famous Failoa letters. "Either it was somebody´s idea of a joke. Or stupidity in action. Or CBS really believed those were ´Beauty´ letters."
CBS said it was an error, and it wouldn´t happen again. But it went on for three months. There is no telling how many "Equalizer" letters were miscounted on the wrong pile. CBS further minimized the response, saying it hadn´t had time to count the "EQZ" letters.
It didn´t take too long to count the "B&B" mail, though. That was because they had already decided to save "B&B" and kill "EQZ." And they didn´t mind lying, cheating and scheming to deceive the public.
It also said something about the effectiveness of crusades in general. They decide in advance what shows are dead and alive, no matter how much you write. They have their secret research; they go out and get facts to support their conclusions. To hammer home the nails in the coffin, CBS last summer also started spreading rumors about Woodward´s health.
Mr. Woodward had become "gravely ill" they said, and wished to return to England to rest. You had the feeling he was on his deathbed. For someone who was so gravely ill, the man looked bloody marvellous on the Carson show in the fall and just as wonderful on pre-Emmy interview shows. It must have been the English air that made possible such a remarkable recovery.
Why was CBS conducting such a calculated campaign of innuendos and disinformation about Woodward? Why were they against one of their shows so much? I don´t know. The only thing I can think of LeMasters and his accomplices in the death plot were under the control of Control. Maybe Control didn´t want him to continue to give away any secrets. Or am I being paranoid? I better stop.
I´m ruining the holidays just thinking about this outrageous, inexplicable situation. So while everybody is crowing about the arrival of Jeff Sagansky, and what a programming genius he is, I reserve judgement. I want to know where he stands on The Equalizer, not to mention the other crimes and misdemeanors of the previous regime, such as the neutering of Beauty and the Beast last week.
Someday, the new network programming presidents will run on platforms, so viewers will know whether to get excited about them or whether it´s just more of the same.
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From "The Marvin Kitman Show" - Executive Producer: Marvin Kitman.
All rights reserved. Newsday, December 19th, 1989. |
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