Unlikely Pair Try to Save NBC’s ‘Against the Grain’ : Television: Conservative activists Rev. Donald E. Wildmon and L. Brent Bozell are leading letter-writing campaigns to keep low-rated show on the air.

A pair of conservative activists, better known for criticizing TV programs than supporting them, are trying to save NBC’s low-rated “Against the Grain” through letter-writing campaigns to its sponsors and network.

NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield and series producer Dave Johnson welcome the efforts by Rev. Donald E. Wildmon and L. Brent Bozell, but everyone involved acknowledges that the odds of the Texas high-school football drama getting renewed are long. It has only attracted an average 11% of the audience since debuting Oct. 1.

“Against the Grain” will return to NBC’s schedule for two weeks tonight after being out of the lineup for the past four weeks. They are the final two installments of the series’ original eight-episode order.

NBC announced last month that “Viper,” an action series focusing on the crime-fighting exploits of a souped-up car, will take over “Against the Grain’s” 8 p.m. Friday slot beginning Jan. 7.

Littlefield stressed that “Against the Grain” is not dead yet. But it is “hanging on for (its) life,” with its future to be determined by how large an audience it draws with these last two episodes.

“If we saw some uptick, then we’d have to think about if there isn’t another future life for the show,” he said.

Wildmon, who conducted a campaign against ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and its sponsors earlier this year on grounds that the program was soft-core pornography, has issued news releases praising sponsors of “Against the Grain,” and he plans to send a letter to the membership of his Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Assn., encouraging them to write NBC.

Wildmon, who said he does not watch network programs, became a fan of “Against the Grain” after a friend gave him tapes of several episodes.

“I can’t remember ever watching another network program that, when the program was over, I was just about to cry,” the 55-year-old minister said. “That’s how it moved me.”

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He was especially full of praise for the series’ values and characters. “These are normal people who live normal lives,” Wildmon said. “They’re not a bunch of weirdos who like to live in the gutter. (‘Against the Grain’ shows) there are some things more important than winning and being No. 1.”

Bozell, publisher of several newsletters that attack what are perceived to be the liberal biases in television news and entertainment programs, has written to Littlefield and also has contacted other conservative organizations to get backing for “Against the Grain.”

“We saw the show and it was an extraordinarily good show, (teaching) all the right lessons that are missing on television today, all the values the parents would want their children to learn,” Bozell said.

“Against the Grain” faced several obstacles in its effort to draw high ratings this fall. It was in a time slot long dominated by ABC’s youth-oriented situation comedies. It was on a night when viewing levels are low, children control the TV, and real high-school football games were played.

The conservative activists are not the only ones seeking to persuade NBC to give “Against the Grain” a long life. It has also attracted the support of various members of Congress, disc jockeys, talk-show hosts, television critics and Viewers for Quality Television, which has named it as the season’s second-best new drama, behind “NYPD Blue.” On Tuesday, Academy Award-winning actor Charlton Heston, a fan of the show, offered to film promotional announcements for it, producer Johnson said.