The question to the stars of NBC`s ”I`ll Fly Away”-the most honored, if not most watched, dramatic series of last season-was whether any of them had graced the cover of a national magazine in the show`s debut season.
Sam Waterston, who plays prosecutor Forrest Bedford in a small Southern town circa 1959, said he couldn`t remember it happening.
Ditto Kathyrn Harrold, a cover-girl beauty who portrays defense attorney and Bedford love interest Christina LeKatzis.
That left Regina Taylor, whose portrayal of Bedford`s housekeeper, Lilly Harper, won her an Emmy nomination. Taylor`s usually subdued expression brightened as she answered.
”My mom bought TV Guide because her daughter was on the cover,” she said. ”When she got home she put on her glasses, and it was Anita Hill.”
The anecdote drew a big laugh from critics gathered in Hollywood to preview the fall TV season-the same critics who a year ago waxed poetic in their praise of ”I`ll Fly Away” but wouldn`t have bet a good night`s sleep on the series being on NBC`s schedule this fall.
It was too serious, too slow, too dated (set more than 30 years ago) and had a suicidal time slot: 7 p.m. Tuesday opposite ”Full House” and
”Roseanne” on ABC.
As predicted, ”I`ll Fly Away” got whipped like a tied-up goat in the Nielsen race, but it held on to a small, devoted audience, and in the end it was simply too good to take off.
It won a Peabody award (the Pulitzers of TV) and two Humanitas prizes from the Human Family Educational and Cultural Institute for separate episodes of the show.
Two weeks ago, producers John Falsey and Joshua Brand won Television Critics Association awards for ”I`ll Fly Away,” as best drama program, and another for their ”Northern Exposure,” as program of the year.
”I`ll Fly Away” garnered 14 Emmy nominations, behind 16 for ”Northern Exposure.”
That ”I`ll Fly Away” is scheduled to begin its second season Sept. 25-though in a new spot, 9 p.m. Friday-testifies to the shimmering quality of the series and to the patience of NBC.
”The network is always made out to be the bad guy,” Waterston said.
”But I have to say, I think the network would dearly love for this show to go on and be great. But in the end, the vote is made entirely by the people.” There are reasons to believe the series will do better this season, including slick promotional spots that will air during NBC`s coverage of the Summer Olympics, through Aug. 9. The spots, screened for critics, feature viewer testimonials to the show.
It`s natural to be skeptical about the authenticity and spontaneity of such lavish praise. Fortunately, we have the personal experiences of the cast to validate the spots.
None of the actors had seen the promotional campaign, or even knew about it, as they spoke about public response they have encountered to the series, which uses the dawn of the civil rights era as the backdrop for a broader exploration of morality and ethics.
”It`s quite striking,” Emmy nominee Waterston said. ”I got a note on the plane from a man who said: `I am a lawyer in the South from a small town. You are talking about my life.` ”
”People on the street embrace me and want to take me home and introduce me to the rest of the family,” Taylor said.
Another reason the series may attract more attention this season is historical coincidence. The re-emergence of race as an issue in American life and politics gives the themes in ”I`ll Fly Away” a sadly heightened resonance.
”I think of this show as therapy-to go back and relive this period and work it out,” said Harrold, who grew up in the segregated South.
One theory is that many viewers, black and white, stay away from ”I`ll Fly Away” because they don`t want to be reminded of that period-the whites of their bigotry, the blacks of their humiliation.
But John Falsey, co-creator of the series, sees the value of the show in a different light.
”It`s important that black kids know about the heroism of their parents,” he said.
The message is different for white children, such as Waterston`s 9-year-old son, who may be learning about injustice for the first time.
Waterston describes his character, Bedford, as a man who ”knows what`s right, wants to do good, and has major feet of clay.”
Falsey sees Bedford as the missing link between Atticus Finch of ”To Kill a Mockingbird” and Alabama segregationist Bull Connor.
”My son wants me to be good,” Waterston said. ”He sees Lilly in unjust situations about which Forrest could do something, and he wishes he would.”
But New Englander Waterston, who speaks much faster in person than as his deliberate character, is eager to dispel the notion that ”I`ll Fly Away” is a laborious liberal sermon.
”I think people may be afraid it`s not dramatically satisfying,” he said. ”There is a lot of passionate, exciting, carefully observed real-life stuff going on. It`s not a civics class.”
When the series resumes in September, look for a more passionate, exciting, carefully observed emphasis on Forrest`s relationship with Christina, which remained platonic last season.
Harrold has seen the opening night script. ”I was so shocked. In my very first scene I`m in bed with Forrest.”
She shouldn`t have been surprised. The politics of ratings makes strange bedfellows.
”I`ll Fly Away” is not the only series NBC is trying to jump-start during the Olympics.
Also getting a major promotional push is ”Blossom,” which premieres Aug. 10, the day after closing ceremonies in Barcelona.
