Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 31, 1995 TAG: 9507310128
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MANUEL MENDOZA DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``It's hard to maintain that'' level of laughs, Michael Feldman offers generously, ``especially with Belushi dead.''
Michael who?
The latest performer trying to take a bite out of the ``SNL'' carcass, that's who.
Feldman hosts a popular Saturday morning public-radio show called ``Whad'Ya Know?''
The 46-year-old Wisconsinite also has taken the helm of a TV program that's being tested for eight weeks in eight cities, more or less opposite ``SNL.''
``I don't think it's that vulnerable that they have to worry about me,'' Feldman says with deadpan honesty. ``They're bad, but they're not that bad.''
The hourlong show, simply titled ``Feldman,'' sets him loose with a studio audience and wacky guests, such as the director of the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, who put an apparatus on his head that's supposed to measure character.
Told that his sexual enthusiasm was too high, and he needed to calm down, Feldman replied: ``If you clamped this somewhere else, I would.''
In case he needs a rim shot after such lines, Feldman sports a band as well as an announcer.
Feldman is a folksy cynic who is most comfortable reacting to ordinary people. He has been described as Garrison Keillor with a mean streak.
``Feldman'' is only one of several would-be challengers for the Saturday late-night crown.
With ``SNL'' slipping both creatively and popularly, Fox has put together the most formidable foe: ``Mad TV,'' a sketch-comedy show loosely based on Mad magazine, which is set to debut on Fox stations this fall.
Meanwhile, ``Night Stand With Dick Dietrick,'' a satire of sleazy daytime talk shows, will air in syndication, primarily against ``SNL.''
If the previews are any indication, both shows are going to give ``SNL'' a run for its mostly male adolescent audience.
CBS is also thinking of joining the fray by building a Saturday late-night program around The State, a comedy troupe whose bits have been airing on MTV.
The Tiffany Network has hired The State to produce a fall holiday special and a New Year's Eve show. If all goes well, a weekly berth will follow. If not, CBS is considering other comedies.
``Saturday Night Live'' has never had this kind of competition, which is strange considering that it's proved there's a sizable audience out there at that hour. This past season, it averaged more than 7 million viewers a show.
NBC is moving to protect the franchise. Fed up with critical pans and a steadily declining audience, the network brass ordered a housecleaning.
Only Norm McDonald, Mark McKinney and possibly David Spade are expected to return to the cast this fall, and most of the writers are gone. Auditions for new cast members have been held and Steve Higgins, head writer on the canceled ``Jon Stewart Show,'' has been hired to replace longtime producer and head writer Jim Downey.
The show has faltered before, only to come back. But can Lorne Michaels find another Dana Carvey or Mike Myers to create catchy recurring bits? And does it even matter if the show can come up with another Church Lady or Wayne's World? Maybe to the frat boys who now make up the core audience, but hasn't the original ``SNL'' crowd grown up?
Michael Feldman has. Sort of.
``Last I heard, Eddie Murphy was on it,'' he says. ``It was good - that Gumby thing.''
But Feldman sounds as if he doesn't expect to be among the ``SNL'' opponents come fall. If his test shows are successful, he says, the producers would prefer to air it Monday through Friday because that way they could sell more ads. He probably would go along, though he'd rather do one show a week.
``Television is a crock, let's face it,'' he says. ``I'd certainly like to do my part to contribute.''
Feldman acts as if the show is already a headache. He has to fly from his home base in Madison, Wis., to St. Paul, Minn., for the Wednesday tapings.
He says the show pays about the same as his radio gig, plus they've bought him three shirts and a pair of pants.
What should we expect on upcoming installments of ``Feldman''?
``The other two shirts,'' he says.
by CNB