Fall Shows Sport Yupper-Class Look

Baby boomers may represent the largest segment of the population, but, somehow, when it comes to television, there just aren’t enough boomers to go around.

A look at the Big Three networks’ and Fox Broadcasting Co.’s just-released fall schedules reveals that everybody’s romancing the baby boomer. You heard it through the grapevine last fall when ABC’s “thirtysomething” became a minor hit. The rumblings got louder when that network added “The Wonder Years” and the Vietnam story “China Beach” at mid-season, complete with sound tracks laced with Top-40 hits from the ‘60s.

And the yuppification of the networks continues in the 1988-89 season, as programmers seek out that same golden demographic group.

Although many new shows on the slate could fall into limbo if the Writers Guild of America strike, now in its 13th week, continues, the new fall slates indicate that ABC and CBS are scrambling to follow the leader, top-rated NBC, in attracting the young, urban and affluent viewer.

Until the fall season begins and ratings numbers validate who’s playing best at this not-so-trivial pursuit, network spokesmen and other industry analysts have been having a field day explaining just exactly what the other guy is doing wrong.

Nowhere is the striving to join the yupper class more apparent than at CBS. The beleaguered network ended last season in third place for the first time in its history. It has since struggled back to second in the weekly ratings. CBS leads the pack with eight new shows, dominated by five sophisticated new comedies. Yuppies like sophisticated new comedies (see “Cheers” in your Young Urban Professional TV Dictionary).

CBS entertainment chief Kim LeMasters cited the network’s new “Murphy Brown,” which stars Candice Bergen as a Washington television reporter, as a prime-time example.

Apparently, most yups like a few yuks with their TV fare.

“I think there is a big accent on comedy, a big accent,” said John Sisk, senior vice president of J. Walter Thompson advertising agency.

ABC has also preserved its most yup-pealing shows. “thirty-something,” “China Beach,” “Hooperman” and “The Wonder Years” all reappear on the schedule.

“I think that there is an upscaling going on,” LeMasters told The Times. “If there is any trend in television, I think it’s that. All three networks have put some more upscale shows on.

“I suppose we (CBS) lead (this season) with the ‘Murphy Browns’ of the world,” LeMasters continued. “On NBC, ‘Tattinger’s’ (about a New York restaurateur and from the creators of “St. Elsewhere”), I’m led to believe, is very upscale. ABC’S ‘Wonder Years’ I would consider upscale, even though it’s a period piece, and (ABC’s) ‘China Beach’ is upscale.”

The trend toward “upscale” programming--which draws sponsors with products aimed at the affluent yuppie market--is underscored by the abundance of classic pop music in the new season’s shows. ABC’s midseason series, “China Beach” and “The Wonder Years,” and the Vietnam series “Tour of Duty” all feature ‘60s music. Topping the charts, no doubt, will be CBS’ new “Dirty Dancing,” based on the hit movie about coming of age at a summer resort.

The burst of TV interest in ‘60s music and culture--besides appealing to that audience aged thirtysomething--is predictable, said LeMasters. “When you approach the ‘90s, when any century is coming to an end, there is always a period of restoration,” he said. “As you get close to it, people begin to pick up things from the past 100 years. At first blush, it seems that shows like ‘Wonder Years’ speak to that restoration.”

One genre that spoke to the young, upscale viewer didn’t speak loudly enough, apparently: The only “dramedy” left on the fall schedule is ABC’s “Hooperman.” LeMasters vowed to bring back “Frank’s Place,” the most enigmatic of the dramedies, as soon as possible, although it’s not in the lineup now.

“It makes me crazy that I don’t have this on the air; it is such a wonderful show,” he said. “What I don’t want to have happen is to put it on the air in a slot where it gets ignored, and we just can’t get the audience to come there.”

The grab bag of new programming also includes a raft of reality shows, including ABC’s documentary series “Incredible Sunday,” from the producers of ABC’s successful 1980-84 “That’s Incredible!”; NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries,” which invites viewers to call in to help solve criminal cases, and CBS’ three hours of prime-time news programming: “West 57th,” “48 Hours” and “60 Minutes.”

Despite rumors that the networks chose reality shows because they are “strike-proof”--in other words, don’t involve guild writers--”Incredible Sunday” producer Woody Fraser suggested that the recent success of such shows as NBC’s “The Best of TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes” and Geraldo Rivera’s syndicated live reports inspired more “reality” programming. “I think the reality shows that have more heat to them do better,” he added.

Industry observers split over which network will attract the most yuppies next fall.

NBC entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff in a press conference last week said that while ABC’s schedule appeals to the young viewer, its focus is too narrow. “Whether those shows (“thirty-something,” “China Beach,” etc.) turn out to be broad-based hits, I just think it’s a little early to tell. So far, not a one of them has become a bona-fide hit, and I think for a network to get out of a rut . . . what you need are hits.”

LeMasters agreed with Tartikoff--which is one reason the CBS schedule still includes shows like “Paradise,” a drama about an 1890s gunslinger, on its new fall schedule; period dramas, particularly Westerns, are guaranteed to attract some older viewers. Even the yuppie comedy “Murphy Brown,” LeMasters said, is stylish enough to appeal to older watchers.

“I think the danger is that they (ABC) hit their target so perfectly they avoid the others--you have to be careful about a wide enough spread on it,” LeMasters explained.

The CBS programmer thinks that while ABC might be peddling too much yuppie fare, NBC might be making the opposite mistake. “At first bounce it seems like they’re becoming older--they’re not trying to grow younger,” he said.

“They have taken a show like ‘Dear John’ (starring Judd Hirsch as a newly single man), which at first blush looks like it’s going to have an older appeal to it, and moved it into their Thursday-night lineup,” he said. “But they have so much strength in their 18-to-49 demographic, it may not matter.”

Sisk of J. Walter Thompson said that CBS may be making the same mistake as NBC. “Although they will say they’re trying to go young,” Sisk said, “their schedule still appeals more to an older audience than do the other networks.”

Alan Wurtzel, senior vice president of the ABC Television Network Group, said that CBS’ decision to lead into Wednesday nights with comedies featuring older stars--”The Van Dyke Show” and the as-yet-untitled Mary Tyler Moore comedy--might prove unwise, particularly against ABC’s strong youth-appeal shows “Growing Pains” and “Head of the Class.”

CBS research chief David Poltrack said that ABC may be making the most daring move of the season with its new “Mystery Wheel.” Like the “ABC Mystery Movie,” which ran from 1971 to 1977, “Mystery Wheel” is a weekly movie. The Saturday night program will have Peter Falk reappearing as Columbo in rotation with films featuring Burt Reynolds as a retired Florida cop-turned-private-eye and Louis Gossett Jr. as a globe-trotting anthropologist.

“Employing such megabucks stars as Burt Reynolds, Lou Gossett Jr. and Peter Falk in rotating long-form programming has not worked for the networks in many years,” Poltrack said. “If successful, it will solve ABC’s Saturday-night problem. If unsuccessful, it could be another ‘Dolly’ (ABC’s $40-million bomb).”

Over at the yupstart Fox Broadcasting Co., which features three nights of prime-time programming designed to attract even the pre-yuppies (18-34), President Jamie Kellner was not above gloating a little over the networks’ frantic efforts to launch new youth-appeal shows.

Fox so far has only three nights of prime-time programming--Saturday, Sunday and Monday--but Kellner says the Sunday juggling at the Big Three could help Fox’s Sunday comedy lineup--including “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and “Duet,” which now will compete with new fare on ABC, NBC and CBS--including NBC’s 7 p.m. show “Magical World of Disney,” which NBC bought from ABC, where the show was unsuccessful.

“Our lineup on Sundays is working very well, and we think it will work even better in the fall when the others start breaking habits, and as one show (Disney) jumps from one network to another,” Kellner said. “Everybody knows that when you disrupt viewer habits, you’d better have a pretty good show.”

1988-89 FALL LINEUP

TIME: P.M. 7:00 7:30 SUN. ABC Incredible Sunday* CBS 60 Minutes NBC Magical World of Disney* FOX 21 Jump Street MON. ABC ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football CBS NBC TUE. ABC CBS NBC WED. ABC CBS NBC THUR. ABC CBS NBC FRI. ABC CBS NBC SAT. ABC CBS NBC FOX

TIME: P.M. 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 SUN. A Fine Romance* The ABC Sunday Night Movie Murder, She Wrote CBS Sunday Movie Family Ties Day by Day NBC Sunday Night at the Movies America’s Married ... Garry Duet The Tracey Most Wanted With Children Shandling Ullman Show MON. MacGyver Newhart Coming of Murphy Designing Almost Age* Brown* Women Grown* Alf The Hogan NBC Monday Night at the Movies Family TUE. Who’s the Roseanne* Moonlighting thirtysomething Boss? TV 101* CBS Tuesday Movie Matlock In the Heat of the Night Midnight Caller* WED. Growing Head of the The Wonder Hooperman China Beach Pains Class Years The Van Mary Tyler The Equalizer Wiseguy Dyke Show* Moore* Unsolved Mysteries* Night Baby Tattinger’s* Court Boom* THUR. Knightwatch* Dynasty HeartBeat 48 Hours Paradise* Knots Landing The Cosby A Different Cheers Dear L.A. Law Show World John* FRI. Perfect Full Mr. Just the 20/20 Strangers House Belvedere Ten of Us* Beauty and the Beast Dallas Falcon Crest Sonny Spoon Something Is Out There* Miami Vice SAT. Murphy’s Law* The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie* Dirty Close to Tour of Duty West 57th Dancing* Home* 227 Amen The Golden Empty Hunter Girls Nest* City Court* Page One (summer)* Angels ’88 (fall)*

New programs are in bold face type, followed by an asterisk (*)