Mr. TV: A Homecoming

You’ve probably guessed by now that one of my favorite shows of all time is feel-good family drama The Waltons, and I vividly recall the episode when Mary Ellen’s husband Curt is “killed” at Pearl Harbor on the infamous day of Sunday, December 7, 1941. I use quotations around killed because when the writers were running out of story ideas, Curt was suddenly alive, impotent and secretly living in Florida. That’s right, even The Waltons “jumped the shark” at times.I bring up this 1978 episode because I recently had a chance to visit the real Pearl Harbor. After the summer Press Tour concluded, I flew to Honolulu to present my fall TV preview to the Hawaii Advertising Federation (AAF-Hawaii) and used a free day to visit the famous memorial located on the island of O’ahu. Like so many other events dramatized on the small screen, it pales in comparison to what actually exists, which is a true testimonial to some of the greatest heroes in our history.Aside from the amazing landscape in Honolulu, what struck me about Hawaii was how classic crime drama Hawaii 5-0 is still so strongly identified with the state. After 12 seasons (1968-80) and a massive 278 episodes, there seemed, on the show that is, to be a lot of nefarious activity in this small and picturesque city. In search of the perfect souvenir, I ended up coming home with a Hawaii 5-0 license plate, ideal for Mr. TV. After 15 days on the road, I was—needless to say—very happy to be home and ready to count down to the start of the new TV season. The biggest question mark, of course, is NBC’s unprecedented The Jay Leno Show. If I were a gambling man, I predict a range between 6 million and 9 million viewers a night, and a high-1 to a high-2 rating among adults 18-49 (depending, of course, on who the guests are and what the lead-in and competition is). Leno told us at the Press Tour that this show will be much more comedy driven, with no desk and only one or two guests per episode. But I think carving something more similar to The Tonight Show would have made more sense because viewers are already familiar with that format. Messing with success is always a risk and focusing on sketch comedy five nights per week seems like an impossible task.If you are playing an office pool, there are six new shows that I think will stick: CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles, a flawless fit out of the parent series; ABC sitcom Modern Family, which the critics seem to favor; ABC drama FlashForward, which had shades of Lost in the pilot; NBC sitcom Community, which features a rash of characters we can all relate to; Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show on Fox, which has already been picked up for season two; and The Vampire Diaries on The CW. I also think ABC will be patient with one or more of its new comedies (Kelsey Grammer as Hank is the least likely to succeed) and imagine NBC will work overtime to spin The Jay Leno Show into a hit.The first new series cancellation could, and should, be between CBS medical drama Three Rivers, which is far from a perfect fit out of The Amazing Race on Sunday, and painfully unfunny Fox comedy Brothers, which should not anchor Friday. I also think the ax will swing at some point during the year on ABC dramas The Forgotten and Eastwick; NBC medical dramas Trauma and Mercy, which could cancel each other out; Fox musical drama Glee, which did not preview well out of American Idol last May; and The CW drama The Beautiful Life. With wooden Mischa Barton leading the ensemble cast, the prognosis cannot be good. But only time will tell.

Convergent TV

Mr. TV: A Homecoming

Marc Berman

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Marc Berman