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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Marc Peyser

Aired May 18, 2002 - 08:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as Jamie Kellner, my boss, said in that piece with Michael Okwu just a few moments ago, the question is how do I prevent losing my audience?

Let's pose that question to "Newsweek's" television critic, Marc Peyser, joining us from New York.

That kind of sums it all up, doesn't it, Marc?

MARC PEYSER, "NEWSWEEK" TV CRITIC: Yes. It's not an easy game, either.

O'BRIEN: Well, what's going on? I mean we, of course, the death of broadcast television has been predicted now for, what, 15 or 20 years, and yet it continues. What's really happening?

PEYSER: Well, I mean, as you know, there is more and more competition from the cable networks all the time. HBO has been appointment television on Sunday nights, which it has been a difficult night for the networks to lose. People have actually started programming around "The Sopranos," which is really the first time networks have gotten out of the way of a cable program.

But it's not even the pay cable stations. There are other basic cable programs that are getting a lot of buzz. "The Osbournes" was really the big hit of this year on MTV.

So it's getting really more and more difficult. The pie is getting smaller and smaller for the networks.

O'BRIEN: I've got to say, everything that seems new and fresh to me is not on an NBC a CBS or an ABC. And with that, let's go to NBC. It's considered the juggernaut, number one. They're sitting pretty. Let's talk about what they have in store.

PEYSER: Well, they introduced the fewest number of new programs, just five new programs, because they are the number one network. You know, they're in a really good position. Thursday nights are very strong for them. Wednesday nights are very strong for them. It's always early, it's early to tell about anything. I think the show that they are most talking about is the sitcom on Thursday nights called "Good Morning Miami" about a young producer who goes to a low rated TV program in Miami and tries to revamp it. O'BRIEN: Well, what's interesting if it's a Harvard educated young producer who goes to a morning program, which is not unlike the president of the network's story.

PEYSER: Exactly. It's surprising how.

O'BRIEN: Is this for -- interesting how that works.

PEYSER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that might be too much of an inside baseball kind of thing?

PEYSER: Well, you know, television is obsessed with doing television program shows.

O'BRIEN: Ah, yes.

PEYSER: And they almost never work. This is a show that's done by the people who do "Will and Grace," which is obviously a very successful and popular show. So you can expect it to be a little bit unusual. That being said, do we really want to watch television people tell us more about television people?

O'BRIEN: I assume you're overlooking "Mary Tyler Moore" and a few others?

PEYSER: "Mary Tyler Moore" is, you know, among the exceptions.

O'BRIEN: There's a few number of shows on television. Anyway, let's move along to ABC. ABC is losing all their franchise players. Jeez, I guess they finally, "Millionaire" finally ran its course.

PEYSER: "Millionaire" ran its course a while ago, actually. They were just holding on for dear life.

O'BRIEN: They played that player, too, a little too long, one too many seasons, maybe. Maybe two too many seasons. What does it, where does that leave them, though?

PEYSER: That leaves them in a really bad spot. They're introducing nine new shows, which is the most of any network, and instead of sort of going out there and beating the drums for any one particular show, they're trying to brand a whole hour. They are trying to claim the eight to nine o'clock every night of the week as sort of family hour, going back to the "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley" roots of ABC, letting parents think that this is where they can come for the whole family.

That being said, all the shows are starting to sort of feel alike. It's obviously, again, it's early but people aren't really buzzing about the new ABC shows either.

O'BRIEN: Hmmm, interesting. All right, let's go to CBS, shall we? CBS, not too long ago when you thought of CBS, you thought of Angela Lansbury and "Murder She Wrote." They've changed that perception, haven't they?

PEYSER: Yes, in a big way. I mean that's really the TV story of the last couple of years, the old fogey network really has a lot of speed and a lot of juice. "CSI" has been a huge hit for them. It's the number one drama on television now. Obviously, "Survivor" is a marquis show for them. You really don't think of CBS as a place that you have to go to watch shows with your grandparents anymore.

O'BRIEN: "CSI Miami," a little spin-off deal there.

PEYSER: It's not so little. That's a big spin-off deal.

O'BRIEN: That's a, I'm sorry, a big spin-off. But it just proves that there's really nothing new in television, is there?

PEYSER: Well, yes. I mean there's never anything new in television until someone comes up with something new. That's what you would have said last year, the sitcom was dead. And then we saw "The Osbournes." So, you know, yes, you're right, almost always you're seeing imitations of things you've seen before.

O'BRIEN: There's never anything new until something new comes on. I like that. I like that, Marc.

PEYSER: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: I'm going to use that one. All right, let's go on now and let's talk about Fox. They really also are losing a lot of franchise players, "X-Files" being chief among them. Where do, do they go back to raunchy sitcoms? Is that the way to make a buck, do you think, for them?

PEYSER: Well, they are going back to sitcoms, though they're not sort of the raunchy variety. The last couple of years Fox's stock in trade in the sitcom world has been sort of dysfunctional family sitcoms, "Malcolm In the Middle" being sort of the chief example of that. So they have rolled out a bunch of new sitcoms like that. Again, they're starting to all look alike, this one, you know, these are under achievers, these are wacky this and that. But that is what they're going to be doing in the sitcom world.

O'BRIEN: And this "Firefly" thing, what about that?

PEYSER: The "Firefly" thing is sort of their most exciting entry. It's by Josh Whedon, the guy who created "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." People had expected Fox to put it on Sunday nights to take the place of the "X-Files." Instead they're putting it on Friday night, which is a little tough play because Friday's not a hugely watched night.

O'BRIEN: Well, Sunday is...

PEYSER: But it looks like a cool show.

O'BRIEN: Sunday night has always been the Fox night. I mean, going back to "The Simpsons," right? PEYSER: And "The Simpsons" is still there. "Malcolm In the Middle" is still there. But people are getting afraid of Sunday nights because HBO has this powerhouse at nine o'clock on Sunday nights called "The Sopranos."

O'BRIEN: Yes.

PEYSER: And there's "Sex In the City" at other times of the year, "Six Feet Under." Sunday night is not the easy play that it once was.

O'BRIEN: It's really not a level playing field, too, when you're talking about a broadcast network versus HBO. I mean the fare that they can handle and deal with and the language, everything, the material, the content is just a lot better if you're an adult, isn't it?

PEYSER: Well, the networks have been whining about that for a couple of years. There was an NBC, famous NBC memo that came out last year complaining, why can't we compete with this? How can we compete with this?

The fact is you don't have to have dirty words and sex to make a good program. You have to have good writing and a great cast. And the networks obviously do it here and there. They don't have the budgets, perhaps, that they do on HBO on a minute by minute basis. But you can do it.

O'BRIEN: All right, good writing and a great cast, you're full of all kinds of good slogans this morning. Let's move on.

PEYSER: They should hire me, right?

O'BRIEN: I think so.

All right, let's talk about UPN. Does anybody care about UPN?

PEYSER: Ha, there are people who care about UPN.

O'BRIEN: You care deeply, right?

PEYSER: You obviously don't care about UPN. That's right. We all care deeply about UPN.

O'BRIEN: Yes, tell me how deeply I should care. Please. Convert me.

PEYSER: Well, UPN is a network that has appealed to African- American viewers for a couple of years. That's been their mainstay of their programming. And they are continuing in that vein. One of the interesting things about UPN is that it's now sort of aligned much more closely under the aegis of the CBS guru, Les Moonves. They're both Viacom networks.

So I think you're going to see a little bit more attention focused on UPN. You'll see programs with a little bit more heat. That's not to say that this year's programs are jumping out as that much different from the past, but...

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, speaking of, you know, imitation and nothing being new on television, we're talking about "The Twilight Zone" here, for god's sake.

PEYSER: Yes, kind of weird. I mean...

O'BRIEN: That's as old as it gets, right?

PEYSER: Yes. And I feel like there have been a bunch of "Twilight Zone" knockoffs in the past. This one is going to be hosted by Forest Whitaker, who's a very well known and respected actor. So it's obviously a big play for them. But I don't know that I'm dying to see another, you know, "Twilight Zone."

O'BRIEN: Submitted for your disapproval, perhaps. Who knows?

All right, let's go finally now to, you know, full disclosure here, the W.B. is part of the great and wonderful Time Warner family here. But that doesn't mean you have to pull your punches, Marc. Give us the straight dope. How's the W.B. shaping up?

PEYSER: The W.B. is making an interesting play. They're sort of going more for sitcoms this year. They've always been a network that was known for dramas. Their audience is much younger. They go for young adults and teens. It'll be interesting to see what they do. They are also making, doing a repeat, sort of a remake show of "Family Affair," of all things, with Jim Currie as the butler. It'll be interesting to see if that works.

They have a drama called "Everwood" which is a show that's gotten more buzz than most shows, about a family, a high charging New York doctor family that gives it all up and goes back to Colorado to live a more simple life. You felt a little bit of something for that show when you saw it, more than you did for a lot of these other crime shows. So maybe they've made the right play.

O'BRIEN: All right, Marc, I made a gaffe. We talked quickly about ABC. We didn't put a clip on. We're afraid we're going to get a call from Michael Eisner. So let's put a clip on of ABC's programming. What do we have?

PEYSER: What do you have?

O'BRIEN: "Less Than Perfect." That proves -- it's perfect.

PEYSER: Great, less than perfect.

O'BRIEN: I was less than perfect in guiding this interview, Marc. So let's talk about "Less Than Perfect" so we don't get any heat from our friends at ABC. What about it?

PEYSER: "Less Than Perfect," another show about a television station, proving the point that there's nothing new in television.

O'BRIEN: Ah, there you go. That's the Buffalo Bill rule. PEYSER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: What -- which I actually like that show. Did you like that one with Dabney Coleman?

PEYSER: You know, Dabney Coleman goes a long way. A little goes a long way there.

O'BRIEN: A little goes a long way.

PEYSER: Sorry.

O'BRIEN: But is "Less Than Perfect" going to break out for ABC or not?

PEYSER: You know, I don't, it's hard to say. It doesn't feel like it to me. I didn't laugh too hard when I saw the clip. I think the sitcoms this year on all the networks feel kind of weak. But sitcoms have been struggling for a couple of years and somebody's going to have to reinvent them.

O'BRIEN: All right, you have been filled with great advice. I hope the network executives are listening and I'm sure your phone will be ringing off the hook with all kinds of potential jobs for you.

PEYSER: Great.

O'BRIEN: Marc Peyser -- not that you don't have a good job as it is. Marc Peyser looks at television for a living for "Newsweek" magazine. Yes, kids, that's a real job.

Thanks for being with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING and we'll check in with you in the fall and see how things are going, how's that?

PEYSER: Thanks, Miles. Great.

O'BRIEN: All right, take care.

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