Television will never see another night like Feb. 11, 1979. However, May 19 will come as close as we have gotten in years.
ABC, CBS and NBC controlled what was still a three-network universe in the winter of ’79; mass cable and Fox were years away. For some inexplicable reason — machismo overload is a prime suspect — they chose Feb. 11 to stage a scorched-earth showdown.
CBS seemed to have the biggest event, “Gone With the Wind,” which had never been seen outside a movie theater. NBC had its own big-ticket theatrical, the TV premiere of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” a winner of multiple Oscars. ABC appeared overmatched. All it had was the telebiography “Elvis.”
But they didn’t call him “The King” for nothing. Elvis trounced the theatricals, a signal moment in the transition from Hollywood features to made-for-originals as TV’s movie form of choice.
Going head-to-head
Interestingly, there won’t be a theatrical or TV movie on May 19, the final Sunday of the sweeps month, which begins Thursday. Nevertheless, it will be one of the most suicidal nights of counter-programming in memory.
Fox announced months ago this would be the evening when “The X-Files” concludes its nine-year run with a movie-length finale. The series may have lost much of its luster the last couple of seasons, but the return of David Duchovny, and the promise that some of the truths that have been out there will be reeled in, are certain to exert a strong tug on millions of fallen-away faithful.
CBS will have a revelation of its own, the winner of the latest “Survivor,” an event with established drawing power. As has become customary, CBS will make a night of it with a two-hour wrap-up leading into an hourlong reassembling of the castaways.
NBC will counter with a two-hour reunion/retrospective of “The Cosby Show,” the most popular sitcom of the multichannel era and the series that became the cornerstone of Must See TV.
ABC again seems to be up against it with only the two-hour season finale of “The Practice.” But there’s no underestimating habit viewing, and “The Practice” remains a Sunday powerhouse. Besides, regular viewers know that the season-ender will probably boast a tantalizing cliffhanger.
Elsewhere during the sweeps period, which ends May 22, there is a refreshing array of glitzy attractions as the networks wrap up a heretofore blah year with a month to finally get swept away by.
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`Dinotopia’
ABC will roll out its major initiative of the season, the three-part, special effects-laden mini-series “Dinotopia,” May 12-14. The Disney-owned network also has the telebiography “The Gilda Radner Story: It’s Always Something,” starring Jami Gertz as the late star of “Saturday Night Live,” on Monday. ABC will get the sweeps off to a tawdry start with the finale of “The Bachelor” Thursday.
Following CBS’ “Survivor” lead, ABC will try to squeeze extra value out of each of these projects. “It’s Always Something” will be preceded by “Gilda Radner’s Greatest Moments.”
“The Bachelor” will have an accompanying hour, “The Women Tell All.” In the aftermath of “Dinotopia,” the May 19 Wonderful World of Disney will be turned over to the animated movie “Dinosaurs.”
CBS has the month’s other mini-series, the two-part, somewhat fact-based “Living With the Dead,” a creepy crime drama starring Ted Danson, next Sunday and Tuesday. May 5 brings the traditional pre-Mother’s Day Hallmark Hall of Fame production; this year it’s “Little John,” starring Ving Rhames.
“Survivor” is not the only reality game wrapping up. The winners of “The Amazing Race 2” will be disclosed on May 15. CBS also has a couple of end-of-the-season staples, the Daytime Emmys on May 17 and the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 22.
NBC has no mini-series but will stage a multinight cavalcade of reunions and clips shows keyed to the network’s 75th anniversary, which will be celebrated with a star-packed three-hour special on May 5. The nostalgia fest includes an “L.A. Law” reunion movie on May 12.
Fox will be Fox with another round of “Celebrity Boxing” on May 22 and “The Girl Next Door: Search for a Playboy Centerfold” on May 10. Ascending to higher ground, the final hour of “24” will tick off on May 21.
The battle for ad bucks
November, February and May are when the networks roll out their heaviest artillery — big-ticket movies, mini-series, guest stunts and specials — to help local affiliates boost ratings, since the Nielsen ratings compiled during these four-week extravaganzas serve as the basis for advertising rates until the next major sweeps.
This season, November and February have been atypically non-competitive. Sept. 11 delayed the start of the season, so customary sweeps pre-emptions of series were curtailed as the networks tried to re-establish viewing patterns.
The fact that advertising went into a funk after the terrorist attacks also cooled ardor for expensive specials. The tragedies pushed the Emmys and World Series into the November sweeps as well, taking out one of the four Sundays, traditionally the night when the most alluring specials are scheduled.
The residual effect of Sept. 11 also figured into the deglamorization of the February sweeps. A week of postponed football games nudged the Super Bowl back a week to Feb. 3. With the Winter Olympics on NBC long locked into the final three weeks of the sweeps month, Feb. 3 would have been the night when the other networks tried to make an impact. With the Super Bowl there, all plans were off.