Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 13, 1991 TAG: 9102130190
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
Rock fans complain that today's bands don't have the depth of the classic groups, movie lovers long for films with meaningful stories rather than high-tech gadgets and television addicts crave the comic genius of yesteryear over the safe formulas of current sitcoms.
Are the frustrated critics rightfully warning us to wake up and smell the coffee before all signs of artistic integrity have vanished, or would consumers be better off giving them all a trip in a time machine to prove it was never that euphoric?
For three consecutive nights beginning Saturday, television viewers have the chance to do some of their own comparisons.
Do "Cheers," "Saturday Night Live" and "Murphy Brown" stack up to "All in the Family," "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"?
Viewers can judge for themselves during "Classic Weekend," a series of specials highlighting clips and memories from these three landmark shows.
A few legends associated with these classics suggested why their series earned such accolades and why it is tougher for today's shows to attain that status.
"We were reaching for different values," said Norman Lear, creator of "All in the Family." "There isn't another situation comedy that was reaching for tears, real heart-wrenching feelings. I don't think anybody's managed to do it since.
" `Twin Peaks' and `The Simpsons' - those are innovative shows. But they are not climbing the same mountain. There's no ensemble anyplace the equivalent of those four actors" - Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers.
Lear, who hosts the special celebrating the series' 20th anniversary beginning at 8 p.m. on 8 1 CLASSIC Classic CBS (WDBJ, Channel 7 in the Roanoke viewing area), said comedies in the 1990s fail to live up to this standard because network executives are less willing to take a risk with a new show.
"And you have to have the time for an audience to find you," he added. "In TV today, six weeks is not time enough for a comedy or drama [to develop an audience]. The people who run the networks need to stay with the hits. When that need escalates, innovation suffers.
"[They should] say, `This isn't working, but we'll keep it on because [viewers] will find it and love it.' That happens far less because shows are on less [time before being canceled], and they're moved around [from night to night]."
Reiner, who played Mike Stivic on the classic sitcom, pointed to cable and Fox as the reason the "networks are now feverishly trying to retool and figure out how they can hold onto whatever audience share they have left. You're going to see the types of shows on the networks change, at least the attempts at the kinds of shows they'll make."
Allan Burns, co-creator and writer-producer of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," pointed to the consistency in the creative staff of writers and producers as one of the keys to his show's success.
"One of the things that was most exceptional, everybody stayed," Burns recalled. "These days, people do shows and are around for a year or so, and then they are off doing their own thing. We stayed because we loved doing it.
"And it was sort of a rare coming together of cast. Mary is extraordinary. There is nobody doing comedy today the way she did."
Moore, the show's star, hosts the tribute (10 p.m. Monday on CBS) reuniting all of the regular cast members (except the late Ted Knight). When asked why the show was so well-received, Moore said, "I wish I had a formula. But I know it begins with the writing. It was always so inspired and so natural."
Although Moore attempted to repeat this success in other television series, nothing came close to the acclaim she achieved playing Mary Richards. When asked if the image of that character prevented audiences from accepting her in another role, she cried out, "Yes!" followed by laughter and an afterthought.
"No, I don't think so. I'm happily ensconced in New York, and all the great writers are in Los Angeles," she said.
Burns added, "The problem today is the network programmers don't have faith in shows that are based on simple concepts and inter-relating characters. They want gimmicks, shows that grab the audience by the throat and pull them in. Those kind of ideas burn themselves out quickly.
"Most shows that are good shows don't hit right away. `Cheers' took 2 1/2 years. Look how that patience paid off. The network doesn't learn from these lessons. It's all economics. In the days we made the show, it cost $90,000 to make an episode; now it costs $450,000."
Burns, whose series won 29 Emmy Awards, has some sympathy for the difficult financial situation network executives face today, as their audience continues to shrink due to the increasing popularity of cable television and video rentals.
"TV audiences have changed because of alternatives," Burns said. "The networks are catering to a slightly different audience. A certain amount of people [who seek quality television] have been lost to cable. The quality of comedy is a little lower."
Burns suggested reasons for the shrinking number of funny shows over the years.
"We had a much longer time to work on scripts," he said. "Today you get put on the [fall] schedule in May and have to go into production in July.
"We had approximately 10 months from the time we started to when we went on the air. That was a big advantage. Now you don't have time to second-guess yourself."
The third show honored during "Classic Weekend" is not only regarded as top-notch, but stands in a class by itself because the genre it perfected no longer exists on today's television schedule.
The master of variety, Ed Sullivan's knack for presenting stars every week has never been equaled.
"It was the who's who of show business," said Andrew Solt, executive producer of "The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show" (9 p.m. Sunday on CBS) and owner of the full library of 23 years of programs.
"It was video vaudeville. It was the greatest show of its kind ever on TV. The other variety shows were built around the talents of the hosts. Sullivan couldn't sing or dance or tell a joke. His show was built around the talent of who he booked. He presented a lot of great artists in their prime. That was its key. He was able to get the names, like the time he heard about the Beatles."
"He was coming into Heathrow Airport at the same time [as] the Beatles, and the place was mobbed with teen-age girls. He said, `What is this? I don't know who they are, but we've got to get them.' He booked them without hearing their music.
"He knew what to put on, in what order, when to cut an act and who to bring back at the end - to keep each generation through the hour. He made a show that would appeal to people from 6 to 60. That was part of its charm.
"The ability to book the great acts - like Madonna - you can't pull it off anymore. Each artist is very cautious and always putting their exposure on their terms. In Ed's days, it got them seen and known throughout America. It's a whole different world now."
Carol Burnett takes a look back at the heyday of variety as host of "The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show," featuring clips of more than 50 legendary performers.
A television writer-producer for more than 20 years, Solt dis-agreed with his contemporaries by citing the audience, rather than high-powered executives, as being responsible for the current quality of television.
"TV is a very democratic box," he said. "Although it's molded by some, it's a reflection of our society - who we are and who we were. [In 1948, when Sullivan's show] started it was a more innocent time, and TV reflected it. You can see how the pace of the nation was much slower then. Through time, it gets faster and faster. Today you get more information across in a second than in a half-hour then.
"The best of TV today is really better than ever. The difference is the audience is so fractured because there's so many choices. TV's immediacy and presence in our living room is more powerful than ever. We need it. We depend on it. In a way it's responsible, and in a way it's blamed for many things. It's hardly a perfect medium."
CBS `CLASSIC WEEKEND' (WDBJ-Ch. 7): `All in the Family' 8 p.m. Saturday.
`Ed Sullivan' 9 p.m. Sunday.
`Mary Tyler Moore' 10 p.m. Monday.
by CNB