Firefly was mentioned in a Boston Globe article by tvdir

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Firefly was mentioned in a Boston Globe article

POSTED BY: TVDIR
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 25, 2002 10:45
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Wednesday, December 25, 2002 10:45 AM

Posted on Wed, Dec. 25, 2002

TV auteurs struggle to keep fresh
By Matthew Gilbert
BOSTON GLOBE

'CSI: MIAMI" and its swampy gore are a Nielsen top 10 hit, a loud confirmation of the wonders of TV franchising. There was a high-powered pitch meeting last year, someone said, "It will be the same as 'CSI,' only in Florida," and now CBS is in McDrama heaven -- the same heaven NBC has found with its "Law & Order" triumvirate. The creative process for "CSI: Miami" was fast and factory-like, but many millions are being served -- and made.

Meanwhile, in October, David E. Kelley's latest curiosity, "girls club," was summarily axed by Fox after only two episodes. The architect of the "Ally McBeal" zeitgeist, the poster boy for network "creative genius," Kelley received a very public slap on the wrist. Symbolically, it was a strike against Kelley's quirky visionary approach, the same approach that has made industry stars of the likes of Steven Bochco and younger talents such as Joss Whedon of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Kevin Williamson of "Dawson's Creek."

And so the classic Man vs. Machine struggle surfaces in the world of network TV drama, and the Machine may be winning. Numbers-minded network programmers are discovering the huge potential of McDramas, which this season occupy no fewer than five slots in the Nielsen top 20. While NBC took nine years to capitalize on "Law & Order" with sequel series, CBS waited only two to clone "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" for an instant payoff. And that payoff will extend to syndication, where franchises such as "Law & Order" have a more ratings-rich afterlife than most dramas because they don't rely on serial plots. The franchising of prime-time TV has only begun, with a European "CSI" already a possibility.

Getting the boot

At the same time, network programmers are becoming less patient with TV's drama auteurs and their hit-or-miss records. The Kelley flop was not the only recent blow against handcrafted projects. Many writer-producers known for their artistic ambition have gotten network and Nielsen -- if not critical -- thumbs down. CBS recently canceled Michael Mann's stylized crime drama, "Robbery Homicide Division," and two weeks ago Fox gave Whedon's unique sci-fi Western, "Firefly," the ax. Chris Carter, celebrated for "The X-Files," and Williamson have two failures apiece since they hit it big, and cult creator Judd Apatow (of "Freaks and Geeks") hasn't taken a series beyond one season. Bochco's "Philly" lasted a year, while David Lynch couldn't get a contract for "Mullholland Drive," the movie that he intended as a series.

Likewise, a number of auteurs are dealing with diminishing ratings and the threat of cancellation. A strong viewership continues to elude J.J. Abrams, creator of "Felicity," whose "Alias" loses to NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" every Sunday. And, of course, Aaron Sorkin is a hyphenate in trouble, as "The West Wing" faces backlash from viewers and critics.

TV auteurism reaches back to writer-producers such as Rod Serling and, on the comedy side, Norman Lear, whose series depended on their distinctive vision and not network decision-by-committee. "Auteurs are looking for a new way to move forward in terms of personal expression," says David Bushman, television curator for the Museum of Television & Radio in New York. They are the small-screen equivalent of movie directors such as Quentin Tarantino and John Sayles, who represent the antithesis of the sequels and Tom Cruise projects that are destined to clean up at the box office. Their talents are formidable, and when they strike the right chord, the result is timely and top-notch television on the order of Bochco's "Hill Street Blues."

But the pressure is on at the networks, as viewership steadily declines. With MTV's "The Osbournes" and its video music awards, FX's "The Shield," Lifetime movies, and almost all of the HBO series, viewers are turning to cable in ever-increasing numbers. The networks don't have the luxury of time to develop an audience. They are in damage-control mode, and franchises are looking mighty good.

"If you are a network programmer watching the erosion of audiences, you need as many winning pieces as possible, as soon as possible," says Stacey Lynn Koerner, senior vice president of broadcast research at Initiative Media. "It's about how to fill limited shelf space. If you have Tide, why not have Tide with bleach? You know you have a winning combo with one, so bring audiences to another."

Franchise series tend to have a significant built-in audience, especially when a show such as "CSI" introduces the "CSI: Miami" cast in one of its episodes. They're presold, unlike an unusual, genre-twisting series such as "Firefly." A network promotional team faces a hard road bringing viewers to "Firefly," even with the Whedon imprimatur. "From the maker of" helps but goes only so far. Whedon's "Angel" has a small, loyal viewership more because it's a "Buffy" spinoff than because Whedon's name is attached to it.

Struggle isn't new

"It's a tough environment out there for auteurs," says curator Bushman. But, he adds, "It has always been a struggle for the auteurs in the network environment." He points out that ABC did give Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz three years to improve the ratings for "Once and Again," and that NBC has made a commitment to Graham Yost's "Boomtown" despite its mediocre ratings. Franchising isn't going to completely erase originality on the networks, he says, particularly since the networks need fresh shows from which to clone.

Still, Bushman says that the networks have become more wary of risky "creative" projects, and a number of network auteurs are bringing their ideas to cable outlets such as HBO. "It's an attractive option. They benefit from HBO in terms of freedom of content, and they don't have to deal with the Nielsens." Bochco and another "NYPD Blue" producer, David Milch, each has his own HBO project currently in the works. "They see what David Chase is able to do with 'The Sopranos,'" Bushman says, "and they must be envious. He's outside the box in such a great way. He doesn't even have to worry about it being a mob show -- if he wants to do marriage, he does marriage."

HBO is gaining a reputation as the anti-franchise channel, as it makes hits out of original concepts such as Alan Ball's "Six Feet Under" and Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Tom Fontana, formerly of NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street," has won enormous support from HBO for his transgressive prison drama, "Oz," which enters its final season next month. "And it's not only about content," says Koerner. "It's about the way HBO does business. They commit to the concept and to the creators, and then they let them go ahead.

"A lot of people who gravitate to HBO are uncomfortable at first because they're not used to all the freedom. It's atypical of the business models that creative people are used to."

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