The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 58

2003:04:29:14:55:25 TELEVISION RADIO CALENDAR E13 LOSANGELESTIMES networks buy from sister studios this year will become clear next month, when they unveil next lineups to advertisers. In the interim, a coalition of producers is lobbying to set aside of major-network schedules for outside suppliers, which amounts to trying to roll a boulder uphill. Actually demonstrating how backroom shenanigans influence what programs the public sees is perhaps the most confounding challenge in seeking to drive home the importance of the media consolidation debate. Trying to prove a negative brings to mind comic George observation about why the AM radio dial ends at 530, leaving us to wonder what great stuff we might be missing on 420. So what are we missing now? are bought and scheduled for the wrong Tinker said.

business reasons, as opposed to I love that show and I think it could So the audience gets robbed, but out of sight, because no one will ever know what could have The discussion, in fact, has largely focused on economics whether producers or conglomerates profit from programming, which is easily dismissed as a dispute between the rich and the wealthy. Yet Tinker calls that next to the TV being cheated by the way all of this Even the proliferation of cheaper so-called reality shows, he said, is merely a byproduct of the present system. which is a boom, and one of these daysa bust the villain Tinker said. that they gave the networks the ability to control According to Tinker, the issue just which shows get ordered but where they are scheduled. Even if independently supplied shows get on, less apt to occupy desirable time periods than their network- owned counterparts, making failure a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Moreover, because such choices are difficult to legislate a solution, even if time were set aside. be doing is living up to the letter of the lawand not really doing the outside producers any he said. say, love your show, put it on Friday night at where bound to fail. Talk about not being a level playing field; like a There are so many reasons not to do it fairly. Even if networks say, not going to do when push comes to shove, your show does look a little As for sisting they put on onlythe best shows without regard to to say? Tinker notes that the math alone with three-quarters of network productions coming from affiliated suppliers puts the lie to that claim.

of a schedule comes from the people in business with to begin with, you know that make any he said. get that lucky that all of your stuff would be better than the other In the not-too-distant past, production entities like MTM, New World, Orion TV, Stephen J. Cannell and Aaron Spelling could go to the mat with a for their programs. If the process was messy, Tinker sees it as a marked improvement over having a single company on both sides of the negotiating table. always thought it was a very fair he said.

could always walk away from something if you were a network, and the guy could go next door or across the street. I thought that was a relatively fair give and take. That system kind of Today, Orion TV no longer exists. New World and MTM were absorbed by News the parent of 20th Century Fox. company is owned by Viacom, and Cannell, along with alot of other independent producers, is off writing novels.

The concentration of power, meanwhile, has left producers few buffers against creative interference. feeling is a more abused process than ever been, this the I tell Jim Brooks and Allan Burns how to write a he asked, referring to the creators of Mary Tyler Moore chance. My job was to encourage them and occasionally go to the network and fight for something, but I presume to try to do their jobs, and a lot of network people Tinker admits relieved to be on the sidelines, having told NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker at an event last year that he fathom doing his job now: so different, and I think so less Less certainly, less fair. Murder! Sex! Exclusive! A PPARENTLY, you can take the producer out of the tab- loidsbut not the tabloid out of the producer in this case, executive producer Linda Bell Blue, who previously held that position on thenow-defunct has remained popular under stewardship, but the show has also acquired a tabloid streak that can be incongruous with its name highlighted by last extensive coverage of murdered Modesto woman Laci Peterson. Other than the attractive and the fact in sweeps, hard to see where the part kicked in.

An spokeswoman declined to comment on the editorial decisions, which seem increasingly skewed toward celebrity scandal, liberal use of the word and items such as this Plastic Surgery At a USC forum on media ownership Monday, writer William Blinn dryly observed, line between news and entertainment blurred; Indeed, even with entertainment news, wise to watch where you step. Brian column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached at brian.lowry@latimes.com. Tinker looks back on fun and fairness in his TV career Perry C. Riddle Los Angeles Times PROTOTYPE BOSS: feeling is a more abused process than ever Grant Tinker says of TV production today.

Lowry, from Page E1 The moribund made-for-TV movie exhibited signs of life Sunday with the Hallmark Hall of Fame production Painted which delivered the biggest movie audience this season and highest movie rating in more than three years, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. That boost came near the outset of the current rating sweeps, which began Thursday and continue through May 21. As networks load up on what viewers like and many marginal shows end their seasons, look for more of popular programs underscored by six hours of last week, al- most of its lineup. Beyond CBS, which also featured the finale of by an ratings were generally poor Sunday, with subpar numbers for Most Talented and as well as and Fox, meanwhile, may have gone back to the Michael Jackson well once too often, garnering mediocre ratings with a Jackson special Thursday. posted its highest rating since February with guest appearance and drew its biggest audience in a year (excluding its With Michael special) with a Dixie Chicks interview.

also performed well in its return, retaining most of its audience from Perhaps predictably, the plastic-surgery program looked especially good in the Los Angeles area, where its rating was almost higher than the national average. Lowry Prime-Time TV Rankings CBS slaps a new coat on an old genre with Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week (April 21-27) as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 272.04 million potential viewers in the U.S. age 2 and older.

Viewership is listed in millions. Program Network View- ersProgram Network Viewers 1 CSICBS25.22 2 ERNBC20.88 3 FriendsNBC20.71 4 American Idol 5 Friends (8:30 p.m.)NBC20.25 --------------------------------------------6 American Idol 7 Painted 8 Survivor: AmazonCBS18.09 9 Law and OrderNBC18.08 10 Will GraceNBC17.71 --------------------------------------------11 Will Grace (9:40 p.m.)NBC16.92 12 Everybody Loves Raymond CBS14.14 13 Idol (Mon.) FOX14.11 14 Without a TraceCBS14.02 15 Judging AmyCBS13.97 --------------------------------------------16 JAGCBS13.84 17 The West WingNBC13.65 18 Law and Order: SVUNBC13.49 19 Everybody Loves Raymond (9:30 p.m.) CBS13.44 20 Law and Order: Criminal Intent NBC13.41 --------------------------------------------21 Primetime ThursdayABC13.29 22 The BachelorABC12.93 23 Touched by an Angel (Sun.) CBS12.90 24 Law and Order: Criminal Intent (10 p.m.) NBC12.88 25 CSI: MiamiCBS12.77 --------------------------------------------26 Bernie MacFOX12.70 27 The Simpsons (8:30 p.m.) FOX12.40 28 60 MinutesCBS12.25 29 Mr. PersonalityFOX12.18 30 King of QueensCBS12.12 --------------------------------------------31 Extreme Makeover (Wed.) ABC12.02 32 24FOX11.94 33 The GuardianCBS11.88 34 The Simpsons FOX11.71 35 Yes, DearCBS11.27 --------------------------------------------36 That ShowFOX11.20 37 Malcolm in the MiddleFOX11.07 38 Star Search Third WatchNBC10.71 40 Crossing JordanNBC10.39 --------------------------------------------41 Wanda at LargeFOX10.28 42 The DistrictCBS10.19 43 Wonderful World of Disney ABC9.84 44 60 Minutes IICBS9.80 45 Funniest Home Videos (9 p.m.) ABC9.76 --------------------------------------------46 Dateline: NBC 47 Law and Order: SVU (Sat.) NBC9.63 48 CSI 49 FrasierNBC9.30 50 Funniest Home Videos (8 p.m.) ABC9.09 --------------------------------------------51 Dateline: NBC 52 Star Search 53 Secrets NBC8.76 54 Touched by an AngelCBS8.60 55 HackCBS8.52 --------------------------------------------56 57 The AgencyCBS8.39 58 7th HeavenWB8.28 59 George LopezABC8.04 60 AliasABC8.03 --------------------------------------------61 Oliver BeeneFOX7.87 62 Special (9 p.m.) ABC7.85 63 My Wife and KidsABC7.83 64 Jackson Home FOX7.82 65 --------------------------------------------Fear FactorNBC7.81 67 According to JimABC7.73 68 Most WantedFOX7.62 69 The PracticeABC7.59 70 NYPD BlueABC7.57 --------------------------------------------71 DragnetABC7.50 72 Stossel 73 American DreamsNBC7.42 74 King of the HillFOX7.39 75 Watching EllieNBC7.35 --------------------------------------------76 48 Hours InvestigatesCBS7.33 77 Most Talented Kid NBC7.32 78 8 Simple Rules ABC7.01 79 Lost at HomeABC6.79 80 SmallvilleWB6.70 --------------------------------------------81 Law and Order 82 King of the Hill (7 p.m.)FOX6.65 83 Cops (8:30 p.m.)FOX6.45 84 The Practice (10 p.m.)ABC6.18 85 Most Talented Kid (Sun.) NBC6.15 --------------------------------------------86 John DoeFOX5.80 87 CopsFOX5.46 88 HunterNBC5.38 89 Gilmore GirlsWB5.10 90 FastlaneFOX4.87 --------------------------------------------Just Shoot Me (8:30 p.m.) NBC4.87 92 Just Shoot MeNBC4.68 93 WWE 94 EverwoodWB4.62 95 GirlfriendsUPN4.11 --------------------------------------------96 RebaWB4.09 97 CharmedWB4.08 98 All American GirlABC3.84 99 AngelWB3.71 100 Grounded for LifeWB3.70 --------------------------------------------101 Half and HalfUPN3.69 102 CreekWB3.47 103 Half and Half (8:30 p.m.)UPN3.21 104 EnterpriseUPN3.19 105 Charmed (9 p.m.)WB3.03 --------------------------------------------106 The Twilight ZoneUPN2.86 107 Jamie KennedyWB2.81 108 Buffy the Vampire SlayerUPN2.74 109 The ParkersUPN2.73 110 What I Like About YouWB2.70 --------------------------------------------111 Jamie Kennedy (9:30 p.m.) WB2.65 112 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch WB2.57 113 Greetings From TucsonWB2.40 114 6th 115 Gilmore Girls: BeginningsWB2.11 --------------------------------------------116 PlatinumUPN1.76 Network averages Here is the number of viewers (in millions) that each network averaged per hour of prime time, for last week and for the season. Network Last week Season to date CBS12.6712.52 NBC11.0211.66 FOX10.299.83 ABC8.5210.08 WB4.064.07 UPN3.103.54 By Samantha Bonar Times Staff Writer Agood idea is in the mind of the beholder. decision to remake the classic episode of the is not necessarily a bad one.

(It airs tonight on Twilight from 9 to 9:30, followed by another episode, from 9:30 to 10.) But because the producers copied the Rod Serling original so exactly, replicating the dialogue, the scenes, even the camera angles, the result is a pointless exercise. The original of the in which a hideously ugly woman (her face hidden by bandages) is facing her 11th corrective medical procedure so that she can fit into her totalitarian society, was a pointed commentary on conformity, both in personal and political life. In particular, the 1960 episode seemed to be an attack on Nazi eugenics and the quest for one perfect race. There is plenty of fodder today for a great updated version of from and the mainstreaming of plastic surgery to what some see as our current attack on individual rights in the interest of With no new social commentary to focus on, however, all the viewer can do is judge the new version against the old, and suffers by comparison. Although model Molly Sims does an adequate job as the frantic woman, Donna Douglas was much more subtle and moving in the original.

And the ending of the new one have the same visual impact as the first. The new of the was perhaps conceived as an homage, but it seems more an exercise in laziness. Of course, those who seen the original know what they are missing and the issue Serling addresses is timeless. But then they ought to seek out the earlier version at the video store so they can see the difference for themselves. TUNED IN Carbon copy does not an homage make NONCONFORMIST: Molly Sims, shown in a screen grab, gets a makeover.

SERIES Down to four: Results of viewer voting after Tuesday performances further narrow the field of contestants on (8 p.m. Fox). Sgt. Pepper: Actress Angie Dickinson, most famous for her role in the TV series is profiled on (8 p.m. Killing fields: The History Reign of Terror Week continues with a grim look at Tuol Sleng prison, where thousands of men, women and children were executed, on Pol Secret (8 p.m.).

Want a tiger in your The finalists hit the links in a competition to build off- road machines that can maneuver over a difficult course and hit gigantic balls in a bizarre game of golf on (9 p.m. TLC). Highest reaches: Anews leak leads a new White House attorney (Matthew Perry) into an intensive investigation that uncovers a major scandal which rocks the administration on West (9 p.m. NBC). Host with the most: Martin Short dons his fat suit and makeup for his return as Hollywood insider Jiminy Glick, tonight fawning over Brendan Fraser and Ice Cube on (10:30 p.m.

Comedy Central). SPECIALS A day at the races: An evening dinner party and a night of entertainment are followed by a trip to the racetrack in the conclusion of (8 p.m. KCET, KVCR). Murder mystery: It began as a missing person case, when a woman who was eight months pregnant disappeared on Christmas Eve. Now, the husband has been charged with murder.

Killed Laci A Bill Kurtis Special (10 p.m. examines the case and the evidence. MOVIES Heroic mission: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lt. Col. James Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) leads a 1942 bombing run against the Japanese capital in Seconds Over (7:15 a.m.

TCM). Dumbest: Director Woody Allen stars as an idiotic loser whose life of crime is the subject of a mock documentary in the Money and (7:30 a.m. Showtime). Show me the money: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Zellweger star in (9:45 a.m.

and 6:30 p.m. TMC), the 1996 story of a sports agent who finds his conscience. A bridge too far: Meryl Streep stars as a married woman who has an affair with a photographer (Clint Eastwood) chronicling landmarks in Bridges of Madison (5:05 p.m. Starz). Snap out of Awidow (Cher) falls in love with her brother (Nicolas Cage) in the 1987 comedy (7 p.m.

TCM). Boiling point: Sidney Poitier stars as a Philadelphia detective helping a Mississippi sheriff (Rod Steiger) solve a murder in the Heat of the (9 p.m. TCM). SPORTS Hockey: The Mighty Ducks are at home for game 4 of their playoff series against the Dallas Stars (7 p.m. FSN).

Baseball: The Philadelphia Phillies visit the Dodgers (7 p.m. FSN2). Highlights Today Journalist Tina Brown A With Tina author Dr. Herbert Benson Breakout 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News Jeff Gordon.7 a.m.

KTLA Good Morning America Bernie Mac; Famke Janssen X-Men 7 a.m. KABC Good Day Live Randy Jackson 9 a.m. KTTV The View Michelle Kwan; Bill Maher; diet plan update. 10 a.m. KABC The Wayne Brady Show Alan Cumming; Fred Willard; performance from 10 a.m.

KCAL Oprah Winfrey Guests unexpectedly win cash prizes, fame and fortune. 3 p.m. KABC Dr. Phil Adult bullies. 4 p.m.

KNBC Life Times Downtown L.A.’s residential building boom; health issues involved with eating farm-raised salmon. 7 and 11 p.m. KCET Charlie Rose Actor-director John Malkovich Dancer 11:30 p.m. KCET Late Show With David Letterman Char- lize Theron; sex expert Sue Johanson; Wilco and the Minus 5 perform. 11:35 p.m.

KCBS The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Dick Van Dyke; Mary Tyler Moore; Zooey Deschanel. 11:35 p.m. KNBC Jimmy Kimmel Live Guest co-host John Edward; Nick Swardson; the Calvanes perform. 12:05 a.m. KABC The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn Jane Seymour.

12:35 a.m. KCBS Late Night With Conan Bob Costas; Rachel Weisz; Lewis Black. 12:35 a.m. KNBC Listings include talk shows that provide a guest list. Talk Shows TIPS FOR TODAY 2-3 p.m.—Cost-Conscious Classix: by recital by guitarist John Williams, KCSN-FM (88.5).

p.m.—The Treatment: Actor- director-writer Christopher Guest Mighty KCRW-FM (89.9). 7 p.m.-midnight—Jim Svejda: Charlie Chaplin Lights Film Carl Davis conducts City Lights Orchestra) (910 p.m.), KUSC-FM (91.5). p.m., a.m.—The Third Man: Harry Lime (Orson Welles) helps a wife recover some money (originally broadcast Nov. 30, 1951), KNX (1070). 10-11 p.m.—Arts in Review: Director Rick Sparks, and actors Alice Vaughn and Seamus Dever, discuss the stage production of Anthony Clockwork KPFK-FM (90.7).

FOREIGN LANGUAGE Spanish, KALI (900), KBUA-FM (94.3), KBUE-FM (105.5), KHJ (930), KLAX-FM (97.9), KLYY-FM (107.1), KLVE-FM (107.5), KRCD-FM (103.9), KRCV-FM (98.3), KSCA-FM (101.9), KSSC-FM (103.1), KSSD-FM (103.1), KSSE-FM (97.5), KTNQ (1020), KWIZ-FM (96.7), KWKW (1330), KXOL-FM (96.3), XPRS (1090). CLASSICAL 10-11 a.m.—Morning Symphony: Mozart (41st Symphony, George Szell conducts the Cleveland Orchestra), KCSN- FM (88.5). 11 a.m.-1 p.m.—Performance Today, KCSN-FM (88.5). Noon-3 p.m.—Charles Andrews: Rodrigo para una guitarist David Russell, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra) p.m.), KUSC-FM (91.5). 8-10 p.m.—Evening Concert, KMZT- FM (105.1).

SPORTS 4-7 p.m.—Baseball: Angels at Cleveland Indians, KSPN (710). 7-10 p.m.—Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies at Dodgers, KFWB (980), KWKW (1330). Radio.