‘Rosie’ Still Hanging on by a Thread

TV or not TV. . . .

HANGING TOUGH: Producer Barney Rosenzweig is pretty good at surviving by the skin of his teeth.

He brought “Cagney & Lacey” back from the dead after CBS had lopped it off the schedule. And now he’s had a modicum of success in his public campaign to keep CBS’ “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill,” starring Sharon Gless--his wife--on the air.

Rosenzweig took out newspaper ads for the Nov. 22 episode of “Rosie,” saying the future of the show depended in part on that night’s ratings. CBS obviously thought that Rosenzweig’s campaign was a fine idea--it cost the network nothing and it could only benefit.

Well, the ratings weren’t sensational, but they did go up. And CBS, which is weak in drama--especially adult, quality drama--gave the shaky “Rosie” three extra shows.

But Rosenzweig is nothing if not a realist.

“I’m a limited victor,” he says. “It means they gave me something, but they didn’t give me much. Nobody has called me from higher up (at CBS). Their business office called my lawyers, but to the network’s credit they responded to all the pressure before they saw the numbers (the ratings) on the show.

“I’m happy because it keeps me in production. It keeps us on the air through January. But I wanted a full 22 episodes for the season. It doesn’t take much to see what they (CBS) have done. In February, they’re into the sweeps, when they show the Winter Olympics. So they have time to get a new show. They’re in a win-win position, and they don’t have to make a decision.”

CBS doesn’t see it that way--publicly, at least. Peter Tortorici, executive vice president of CBS Entertainment, says:

“We wouldn’t have picked up the show unless we thought it had a future. We would have canceled it.”

Says Rosenzweig: “We kind of got overlooked this year. Jeff (Sagansky, president of CBS Entertainment) told me, ‘There’s no buzz about the show. Nobody’s talking.’ I said, ‘You want some buzz? I’ll create some buzz.’ ”

And he did.

SCRAPBOOK: Dinah Shore’s very classy talk show on the Nashville Network has a special outing this week that is well worth your time: a one-hour conversation with Tennessee Ernie Ford, his last interview before he died Oct. 17.

The chat between the two Tennesseeans--he was from Bristol, she’s from Winchester--was taped in Los Angeles Sept. 23 and will be broadcast Wednesday at 5 and 8 p.m.

There’s a good deal of show-business lore in the conversation, and TV viewers of all ages will get a good sense of the early days of the medium as the two former NBC stars reminisce during the tracing of his career.

CHANGE OF PACE: “A Different World” isn’t exactly a world-class sitcom, but Jasmine Guy and the rest of the cast have a provocative story line to work with Thursday when the show deals with the complex issue of black self-esteem. One thing for sure: the energy level of the series jumped up more than a few notches when Debbie Allen moved in as producer-director.

HIGH RISE: NBC clearly thinks Maria Shriver can match up with ABC’s Barbara Walters in popularity. Noting that Walters’ last special earned a 25% audience share--lower than usual--NBC points out that Shriver’s interview outing during the November sweeps attracted 24% of the viewing audience. An NBC official said of Shriver, “We are eager to have more of her specials.”

HARD COPY: Maury Povich followed by Geraldo Rivera weekdays on KCBS Channel 2--who could ask for anything more? Today, Povich is preempted by a “CBS Schoolbreak Special,” but Geraldo’s educational series will be seen as usual in keeping with the fine tone of programming.

ONE OF A KIND: I smile every time I think of Don Ameche. A wonderful, wonderful career--and American Movie Classics details it in an interview with the actor that airs Dec. 14, 15 and 19 on the cable channel’s series “Reflections on the Silver Screen.” Oh, sure, you know all about Ameche’s remarkable film years dating back to Hollywood’s goofy, glorious early days--but did you know he also starred on Broadway in “Silk Stockings”? Whatta guy.

REVIVAL: With the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor coming up Saturday, NBC tonight starts rerunning the miniseries “Pearl,” which deals with the attack amid personal subplots. The cast includes Angie Dickinson, Dennis Weaver, Lesley Ann Warren, Brian Dennehy, Marion Ross, Mary Crosby, Max Gail and Adam Arkin.

THE HARD WAY: You’ve got to give Carol Burnett credit for guts--in the last two seasons, she tried to bring back two TV forms once revered but now just about dead: anthologies and variety series.

OLD RED: Here’s how Lucille Ball assessed her Lucy character: “What comes to mind immediately is what the characters around me must not do. Their reactions to me have got to be in a certain vein. If we are in a dangerous spot, the audience mustn’t think I’m hurt--not really. There’s a funny way to cry and a funny way to be hurt and a funny way to be angry and that’s what I’ve learned.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “I think we shouldn’t underestimate the public,” says NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield, who is emphasizing drama series this season. “They are hungry for entertainment that sticks. (They are saying) ‘If I devote my time to it, I want to get something out of it.’ ”

Amen.

PRAISE INDEED: Imogene Coca on Candice Bergen as “Murphy Brown”: “She’s wonderful. It’s a beautifully written character.”

BEING THERE: According to David Letterman, one of the Top 10 reasons Iraq wants an atomic bomb is: “To impress the babes.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .