Fox’s ‘Simpsons’ Strategy Paying Off

TV or not TV. . . .

PAYOFF: Fox Broadcasting stunned the TV world two years ago when it decided to challenge NBC’s “The Cosby Show” with “The Simpsons.”

The strategy was simple: Try to weaken the foundation of NBC’s strongest night and, when the aging “Cosby Show” retired, have the hit Fox series solidly in place--ready to build on.

This fall, the strategy looks particularly good.

Even before “The Cosby Show” called it quits last season, “The Simpsons” was already winning with some frequency in the head-on competition.

And early in this new season, Bart & Family have been soundly beating the series that NBC chose to replace the “Cosby” sitcom, “A Different World,” in leading off Thursday nights.

In the battle for this key night, “Cheers” and “Wings” thus far are still holding NBC together as a 9-10 p.m. tandem.

But CBS’ “Top Cops” also fared well last week in the 8-9 p.m. ratings competition that includes “The Simpsons,” “A Different World” and ABC’s slipping new “Delta” series.

If the season’s early returns remain consistent, Fox apparently has also found a companion piece for “The Simpsons”--the new situation comedy “Martin,” about a disc jockey.

Last week, “Martin,” showing ratings strength, did especially well with young TV-watchers and drew sizable audiences in some key major cities: 25% of the viewers in Los Angeles, 26% in New York and Washington, 24% in San Francisco and 23% in Miami.

PERSPECTIVE: KCET Channel 28 is marking the first anniversary of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings--with its sexual harassment issue--in two prime-time documentaries.

Next Tuesday, as part of PBS’ “Frontline” series, KCET will offer the hourlong “Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill: Public Hearing, Private Pain.”

And on Oct. 14, the station will present “Sex, Power and the Workplace,” also an hour in length, and including “profiles from five people victimized by sexual harassment.”

DEMOCRACY: Now, let’s see: On Friday nights, CBS has “Major Dad,” which stars Gerald Mc-Raney, who has been out campaigning for President Bush. And this is followed by “Designing Women,” whose creator, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, produced the film about her friend Bill Clinton that was shown at the Democratic convention. Only in America. And CBS only cares about the ratings.

SHE’S BACK: Make a note--Katharine Hepburn’s new two-hour movie for CBS, “The Man Upstairs,” airs Dec. 6. It co-stars Ryan O’Neal as “a small-time thief who escapes from jail and finds friendship and redemption in the haven of an irascible elderly woman’s home.”

DOWNSIDE: We were turned off by the grinding predictability of ABC’s new “Crossroads” series, about a father and son who reunite after years of estrangement. But some of our colleagues think that Fox’s “Woops!,” a kind of post-nuclear-war “Gilligan’s Island,” is in a class by itself as the season’s worst new show.

Well, maybe. But we still liked some of the lines. Said one character: “How did you survive the missiles?” Replied another survivor: “I was in my Volvo.” Actually, Volvo lines were probably the best in the show--for example, this philosophical musing: “How strange that the people with the highest suicide rate would build the safest car.”

DOUBLEHEADER: The American Movie Classics channel marks the baseball playoff season with a nifty lineup Oct. 15. It starts with James Earl Jones narrating “Diamonds on the Silver Screen,” an hour special about Hollywood’s baseball movies. And that is followed by the memorable story of baseball star Lou Gehrig, “The Pride of the Yankees,” with Gary Cooper.

NIGHT GAMES: Well, of course HBO had to renew Garry Shandling’s murderous satire of late-night talk programs, “The Larry Sanders Show,” for an added 22 episodes. Not only is it the talk of the new TV season, but just imagine how much material there’ll be to capitalize on as the rivalries involving Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall and the rest keep commanding attention.

AGELESS: Rush Limbaugh may be the hot new conservative talk-show host on radio--but anyone who saw Paul Harvey on C-SPAN recently as he addressed a news directors convention couldn’t help but be amazed at his continuing dramatic presence and delivery. Whatever your political views, the guy is still magic on the air.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: “Sinatra,” CBS’ five-hour miniseries about the star, is set for Nov. 8 and 10, with Philip Casnoff in the title role and a supporting cast including Olympia Dukakis and Rod Steiger. . . .

And “The Women of Windsor,” a three-hour CBS movie about Princess Di and Fergie, airs Oct. 25, with Nicola Formby and Sallyanne Law, respectively, starring as the two principals. This could be postponed if there’s a seventh game of the World Series. All things considered, let’s hope for a seventh game.

HOMEWARD BOUND: Larry King is all over the place now with his high-profile TV political interviews--but he’s also taken the myths and cliches about Brooklyn and made them seem real in a nostalgic, endearing new book about his roots. It’s called “When You’re From Brooklyn, Everything Else Is Tokyo.”

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC: CBS doesn’t usually win Wednesdays--especially against such competition as “Unsolved Mysteries.” But the network scored big last Wednesday with the 26th annual Country Music Awards, which drew 32% of the audience.

IN FOCUS: When you look at the 18-to-49-year-old demographic charts that show TV tune-in, you realize why Fox’s “In Living Color” is one of the best buys on the air for advertisers seeking that group.

MARCH OF TIME: Hard to believe, but “Saturday Night Live” is now in its 18th season. It drew a hefty 26% audience share for the season premiere hosted by Nicolas Cage.

CHANGE OF HABIT: I can’t remember the last time I came home and automatically tuned to any local 11 p.m. newscast without first checking out just about every other channel. I get about 50.

BEING THERE: “But most of all, I remember Mama.”--Katrin Hansen (Rosemary Rice) introducing each episode of “Mama.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .