Favorites of `Must-See-TV' battle failures to boost NBC's ratings
MATT KILLEN
Scene Writer
After last year's ratings loss to "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" is again at the top of the Nielsen ratings. With the exception of Thursday and Wednesday shows, however, the rest of the week seems to follow a bumpy road in the way of viewership.
The tent pole for Thursday is still "Friends" and "ER." While both of these shows remain strong and entertaining, they both suffer from a similar problem — the number of original cast members. "Friends" needs to drop the Geller siblings. Both Courtney Cox and David Schwimmer are drags on an otherwise funny show.
Meanwhile, "ER" suffers from the opposite problem — a lack of its original cast. The newer members are obnoxious and bothersome, while the few remaining originals are stuck with little to work with.
Thursday night also brings in one of NBC's new sitcoms — a show called "Cursed." This show is going the way of "The Single Guy" and "Veronica's Closet" very soon, so those "Wings" fans (all three of you) should enjoy the Steven Weber fix while you can.
Thursday does host the peacock's two strongest sitcoms: "Will & Grace" and "Just Shoot Me." Both of these shows are extremely funny and neither shows signs of slowing down.
Neither does a former Thursday night show, "Frasier." Now on Tuesday nights, "Frasier" shows signs of returning to the wit and quirky humor of its heyday — a big improvement from the lackluster past seasons. Along with "Frasier" on Tuesdays is "3rd Rock from the Sun," a once-mediocre sitcom that should have been cancelled last year.
Joining these two shows on Tuesdays are "The Michael Richards Show" and "DAG." "DAG" premieres Nov. 14, but Michael Richards' new show has been on for a few weeks. The former Kramer on "Seinfeld" stars as a wacky detective, but his goofy character comes crashing down here.
Richards is too much like Kramer, and this simply doesn't work without Elaine, George, and Jerry. The supporting characters he does work with, however, are one-dimensional and have no comedic abilities of their own.
NBC's other new sitcom "Tucker" has been cancelled, along with "Daddio," — and ratings show neither will be missed. NBC has also cancelled "Deadline," the Oliver Platt drama about a newspaper columnist.
While this show showed potential, Deadline played after "Daddio" and "Tucker" on Mondays. This proved fatal, as all were summarily beaten by "Monday Night Football," CBS's lineup of comedies, and FOX's "Boston Public" and "Ally McBeal." Thus, NBC's Monday lineup is currently in a state of flux.
NBC's strongest new show is its dramedy "Ed," airing on Sundays. Thomas Cavanaugh plays the title character, a lawyer who also owns a bowling alley. This is a great comedy from David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Inc.
"Ed" has a great blend of comedy and dramatic elements. This light touch is not only entertaining but also an excellent example of how both comedy and drama can be mixed together successfully.
NBC's other freshman drama that's still on the air is the Aaron Spelling soap opera "Titans," starring Yasmine Bleeth and Casper Van Dien. This show is nothing more than a soap opera with a big budget. If NBC had any brains at all, they would bring "Deadline" back and replace it with "Titans" with the Wednesday timeslot.
Instead "Titans" is the lucky reaper of the benefits of having the lead-in slot to "The West Wing." This Presidential drama has started its season with a succession of brilliant episodes, proving that its Emmy win was well-deserved.
"Law & Order" has been surprisingly sluggish this year, but storylines are picking up. Along with "The West Wing," this NBC favorite continues to be among the best dramas on television.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Scene Stories for Wednesday, November 15, 2000
