CBS Revives Smothers Show

A decision by CBS to revive last spring’s low-rated “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” in the fall was one in a series of strike-related developments that surfaced Tuesday as the television and motion picture industries tried to cope with the 128-day-old walkout by the Writers Guild of America.

CBS said that “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” will return with six original episodes in the fall, beginning the last week in September.

The variety series, spawned by a reunion special that aired Feb. 3, premiered March 30, after the strike had begun, and initially went on without writers. Then the producers, along with Ivan Reitman Productions, were allowed to sign interim contracts with the guild that permitted them to work--after they claimed they hadn’t been properly notified of the pending walkout.

Eight shows aired, but the series was not renewed for the fall schedule--until Tuesday.

Ken Kragen, manager of the Smothers Brothers and producer of their series, said the series is free to employ guild writers for the fall installments since it will be made under the same interim contract.

“None of us likes the strike or the misfortune for the community and all, but it has in a strange kind of way provided this opportunity for the Smothers because there’s very little other programming available,” Kragen said in an interview.

Kragen said that the new “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” would not preclude CBS’ previously announced plans to develop a half-hour situation comedy with the brothers after the strike.

In other strike developments:

--According to industry sources, an internal producers’ tally shows that the studios hope to put a substantial number of network and syndicated programs into production in the next three to four weeks in spite of the strike.

The count, compiled by about 10 of the largest movie and TV producers, showed that producers expected to launch 14 half-hour weekly series, 5 one-hour weekly series, 9 movies-of-the-week, one 4-hour miniseries and one 2-hour special.

The tally didn’t include titles or a breakdown by studio, but was said to include shows from Paramount, Lorimar, Columbia, Warner Bros., Universal and MGM/UA, among others, according to the sources.

Herb Steinberg, spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said the group wouldn’t comment on the production plans because it didn’t want to have “the people who are participating harassed.” Cheryl Rhoden, spokeswoman for the guild, declined to comment.

--ABC may beat NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff to the punch on his American Revival strategy--and with a show from CBS, no less.

Two weeks ago, Tartikoff announced that one of his network’s tactics for working around the writers strike would be to recast and reshoot old TV series to create new shows. Now, rumors are circulating that ABC may revive “Mission: Impossible,” the 1966-73 spy series that originally aired on CBS.

Paramount, which produced the series, had no comment Tuesday on whether it plans to put the series into production, but referred a reporter’s questions about that possibility to ABC. ABC, in turn, said that, although the network had earlier announced plans to produce a “Mission: Impossible” movie, it would not comment on any of its fall series plans yet because “it is not in our best interest to do so.”

--The guild said it has now signed 144 producers to independent contracts, including Barris Productions. Barris, which produces game shows, is a unit of Barris Industries Inc., which recently agreed to buy 25% of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. At least two of the 144 producers, Carolco Pictures and Kings Road Entertainment, have attempted to back away from the agreement and say they won’t hire writers under it.

--Creative Artists Agency President Michael Ovitz was still trying to facilitate a settlement in the strike, acting as an emissary between producers and writers, according to sources familiar with the effort. So far, there is no sign that Ovitz or anyone else has found a formula to end the impasse. Informal talks between writers and producers haven’t produced an agreement.

--TV commentator Bruce Herschensohn isn’t the only entertainment figure to drop out of his union. Movie director and writer Francis Coppola, it turns out, quit the writers guild in August, 1986.

John Peters, an executive with Coppola’s San Francisco-based Zoetrope Studios, said Coppola “tendered his resignation . . . because he did not believe the guild adequately represents the interests of its hyphenates (producer-writers and director-writers).”

According to Peters, Coppola hasn’t taken a screenplay credit since then. But Peters maintained that he can still sell scripts to the studios, despite WGA contractual provisions requiring that writers employed by the studios join the guild.

“Anybody can buy a completed screenplay from someone. It’s another thing to engage a writer and direct his efforts,” Peters contended. Guild spokeswoman Rhoden declined to comment.

--The Writer’s Coalition, a dissident guild faction that unsuccessfully called on fellow members to approve the producers’ most recent offer, is regrouping. The coalition plans an invitation-only meeting at the Sheraton Miramar in Santa Monica at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to inform those aligned with the coalition of “their options” as the strike continues. A spokesman for the group declined to elaborate. An earlier meeting called by the coalition was attended by about 300 of the guild’s 9,000 members.