We could call it ”Invasion of the Comedy Snatchers.”
The chucklehead pods are everywhere: sitcoms with the same look, the same feel and the same sort of jokes. More than ever, the clones drone on. It`s the curse of the oppressive Hollywood cookie cutter.
Worse than a curse, it`s a trend: Producers with clout are glomming onto blocks of a network`s programming, establishing their own ”night” of formula sitcom escapism.
Take ABC on Friday nights-puhleeze! They call it ”TGIF,” and it spells big money for ABC and Miller-Boyett, the successful production company that supplies the opening 90 minutes of that popular lineup: ”Family Matters,”
”Step by Step” and ”Perfect Strangers.”
It would have been two solid hours, but ABC shifted the blockbuster Miller-Boyett kiddiecom ”Full House” to Tuesday nights.
So for now, the two-hour block party title belongs to Witt-Thomas-Harris. They own NBC on Saturday nights. When the new series ”Walter and Emily”
debuted last month, it became the final link in a two-hour chain of Witt-Thomas-Harris comedy that includes ”The Golden Girls,” ”Empty Nest” and
”Nurses.”
And there`s nothing evil or devious about it, says Paul Witt, one of the founding partners in Witt-Thomas-Harris and the affiliated Witt-Thomas Productions.
It`s just a matter of common sense in the new age of bottom-line network broadcasting: rewarding producers who create hit shows.
”The advantages for us are obvious,” said Witt in a recent interview.
”We`re in charge of our own destiny. And the viewer? The viewer gets programming from a producer they know, and shows that they are comfortable with.”
But the advantages turn to disadvantages-and viewer comfort to annoyance- if the shows are lousy. It`s a fairly select group of producers who have the Midas touch in executing familiar formulas.
Also, Friday and Saturday nights, where Miller-Boyett and Witt-Thomas-Harris currently reign supreme, historically have the lowest viewing levels. So it is perhaps easier to package a block of programs that target a specific audience: older viewers for ”The Golden Girls,” etc., and young kids in the case of the Miller-Boyett ”TGIF” shows.
Witt`s two partners are Tony Thomas, son of the late Danny Thomas, and Susan Harris, the writer-producer who created ”Soap,” ”The Golden Girls,” ”Empty Nest” and ”Nurses.” It`s cozier still. Witt and Harris are married.
The three production aces also have ”Blossom” gobbling up good ratings on NBC Monday nights and ”Herman`s Head” doing well for Fox on Sundays.
The team`s only recent setback occurred in October when ABC axed Teri Garr`s soap opera parody ”Good & Evil” after only a few episodes.
Besides Miller-Boyett and Witt-Thomas-Harris, others have benefited from this new golden age for high-profile producers.
For several years, the powerhouse production outlet of Carsey-Werner has had ”The Cosby Show” and ”A Different World” airing back-to-back on NBC Thursday nights. Last season, Carsey-Werner also utilized its considerable influence to have ”Grand” dropped into the plum Thursday time slot after
”Cheers.”
Eventually, ”Grand” flopped. But Carsey-Werner, headed by the savvy tandem of Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, keeps rolling along. The company produces ”Roseanne” for ABC, giving that network its biggest hit in years.
And when ABC had trouble finding a spot in its schedule for ”Davis Rules,” Carsey-Werner was granted ”permission” to shop the show around. This resulted in an unprecedented mid-season switch to another network, CBS, where ”Davis Rules” lands in January.
In an effort to appease the hitmakers financially, the networks have also cut exclusive, long-term deals with certain star producers. Steven Bochco
(”Civil Wars,” ”Doogie Howser, M.D.”) has such an arrangement with ABC. And Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (”Designing Women,” ”Evening Shade”) and Diane English (”Murphy Brown”) have similar deals with CBS.
