home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- BUSINESS, Page 78Business NotesENTERTAINMENTThe Peacock Gets Plucked
-
-
-
- Until lately, the NBC peacock seemed more like a hawk let
- loose in a chicken coop. Such humongous hits as Cheers and L.A.
- Law made the network No. 1 in the ratings for the past six years.
- But in the new fall season, NBC suddenly trails behind a
- resurgent CBS and in some weeks ABC as well. On Sunday nights,
- NBC is even struggling to stay out of fourth place, behind the
- spunky Fox network. Reason: basement-level performance by four
- new shows, including two headed by big-name stars -- Robert
- Guillaume in Pacific Station and James Garner in the apparently
- inaptly named Man of the People. NBC's Friday-night offerings
- are doing so poorly that beginning this week the network is
- replacing two prime-time news programs with the well-worn
- Matlock mystery series.
-
- The web's woes have been long in the making. Such
- reliables as The Cosby Show and The Golden Girls are aging, and
- NBC has no new hits to take up the slack. One consolation: other
- networks are facing a similar drought. So far, only one new
- program has made the top 20 -- ABC's Home Improvement.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-