European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 10, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Lbs still ticking with �?~60 minutes a but beware Abby Rick do brow los Angeles times Tutlo match going into the second half of the stateside to season the Home stretch ratings drive is shaping up. Defending Cham p lbs led by 60 a mutes is trying to Ward off persistent Abc powered by Rose Anne. Despite Early impetus from the world series and the Murphy Row Abdan Quayle Flap lbs got whacked in the november ratings sweeps by Abc whose winners included the Jacksons an american dream. Lbs however May have the big gun in the february sweeps a a six hour ministries based on a Story from the late Alex Haley author of roots about his paternal grandmother. Its called Queen. The executive producers Are David Wolper roots and Bernard Sofronski and the cast includes Halle Berry Ann Margret Tim Daly Danny Glover Jas mimic Guy Ossie Davis Madge Sinclair Martin Sheen and Paul Winfield. The traditional ratings season ends in mid april. While lbs has the firepower to win its second. Crown Abc despite the mid season loss of a big Winner 1�? monday night football a has a potent sitcom lineup that includes Roseanne Home improvement and key to abcs chances May Well be How Tom a not do a new sitcom the Jackie Thomas show holds up in its Pivotal Slot following Roseanne his wife s series. Meanwhile the networks keep mane vering in their bids to finish Strong. Abc for instance later this month is moving civil wars starring Marie Hemingway and Peter Onorato into the tuesday time period after Roseanne and the Jackie Thomas show hoping to give the Legal drama a boost. Civil wars Well done but a ratings disappointment will displace the current tuesday series going to extremes which switches to wednesdays this week for what May be its final three episodes. Going to extremes a ratings Straggler about a Caribbean medical school is one of a number of softer style series to feel network impatience and bouncing around in an increasingly hard hitting prime time Era. Others include cd so Brooklyn Bridge Abc s Vii Fly away and abcs Home front. Abc it should be noted keeps making the Point that it really does t care about winning the Overall Abc Richard Karn and Tim alien Star in Home improvement which is a cog in abcs sitcom lineup. Viewer Rangs. A just the 18-to-49-year-Otd audience that advertisers want. Still when the network won the Overall november sweeps it boasted about its vie tory with a flood of facts and Fig urls. Everybody likes to win regardless of the official corporate stance. Its Good for prestige and morale. And Abc the Only. Network to show a profit isl season now is also a fairly serious contender to pick up All the marbles if lbs should stumble Silver lining first the newly revived today show gave hard pressed Abc something to smite about. And now another news entry dateline Abc with Jane Pauley is at least showing potential True its recent Eye opening seventh place finish a earning 26 percent of the audience a came Dur ing Christmas week which is unrepresentative in the ratings. But Abc news series have failed for so Long in prime time that the Pauley show should gel a major push by the network. On More time now Here a a real Elvis sighting. A ,. A in 1990, Abc aired an affectionate and generally Well received half hour series Elvis about the Early career of Elvis Presley with Michael St. Gerard playing the title role. But to the Surprise of Many who thought the show miss and would draw huge audiences it died quickly in the ratings a possibly because it was too Low keyed and gentle for viewers who expected something different about the King of Rock v Roll. This week however int Cable marking the 58th anniversary of Presley a birth is bringing the entire show Back As a two part seven hour ministries that will be broadcast wednesday and thursday it also has a new title Elvis a the Early years in addition int will rerun the entire seven hours on Friday and sunday. _ a the Eon also rises Ron Reagan a the Young one a hosts and produces a documentary about Quot censorship Battles that have made recent headlines Quot in an hour Outing on the a Cable network Jan. 24. Its called in censors we Trust and it deals with conflicts in such areas As television films pop music and funding by the National endowment for the aits. A second wind of so Here a Walter Cronkite at 76. He just signed a three year contract with the Dis Covey and learning channels he hosted a Kennedy Center special for lbs during the holidays he pm need and conducted at a Vienna new years musical program for pcs and he has been approached to appear on Murphy Brown. The Only place he Hasni to appeared enough in recent years is on lbs news a a King sized Boner by the broadcast organization. A Dan rather newscast with a few commentaries a week by elder statesman Cronkite would have been irresistible. So would a series of lbs Cronkite specials Hugh Downs of Abc s 20/20 is 71 and still going Strong. Frontier Dozer Jane Seymour s new lbs series or. Quinn Medicine woman is really bad. But it gets better after few shots of Jack Daniels. Two Lor the Rood the Best scenes on the Mary Ulyier Moore show were the exchanges be tween Moore and de Asner. And the amazing thing in watching the reruns is How both of them alternate instinctively in delivering the punch lines and playing straight for each other. Doing Thorois according to David Letterman one of the top 10 words used least in the Bible is Perky. A a a a a a a a january 10.1993 sunday Page 11
