Egos Soothed, ‘Spin City’ Gets a New Spin

About 10 months ago, early into the first season of “Spin City,” its star, Michael J. Fox, and its co-creator and executive producer, Gary David Goldberg, sat down for some “Mama Bear Oatmeal” at Sarabeth’s Kitchen on New York’s Upper East Side. There the two men--whose much-heralded TV reunion came seven years after their previous smash series, “Family Ties,” had ended--confided that they were both miserable.

“I was as unhappy as I’d ever been,” recalls Goldberg, “and thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ Stuff had been building up, we were causing each other pain and I don’t think either one of us was willing to go on.”

Their personal affection remained strong but something was amiss. Finally, Fox unloaded: Even though he had also been given the title of executive producer, he wasn’t being allowed to be more than a star.

“In the beginning, it was Gary having the feeling of wanting to do for me, wanting me to sit back and let him fulfill some kind of promise to me,” explains Fox. “I had to say, ‘I don’t want to do that, because then I escape the responsibility and the accountability. I need to be part of the process.’ I had to say, ‘Gary, I don’t need you to be my father anymore, I need you to be my partner.’ ”

“I realized right away that he was right,” says Goldberg, “and I promised I’d change. I’d never had a real partner before and had always felt I had to protect the actors. Once I started letting Mike in--seeing the scripts early, involving him in the changes--I felt incredibly relieved.”

Now, well into season No. 2, both men say they are as happy creatively and personally as is humanly possible. Fox, 36, gets to work in the same city where he lives; Goldberg, 53, says he feels energized and tested in new ways.

“Spin City,” which deals with the loony lovables running the New York mayor’s office, ended up the 17th highest rated series of last season, has what’s known as “good demos” (heavy on young adults and baby-boom males) and appears to be the hoped-for harbinger of things to come for its network, ABC.

Despite all this, and in typical only-in-Hollywood style, the series has had to do some spinning of its own to convince industry skeptics that it has not been a disappointment.

“I don’t understand it, except that maybe the expectations were so high,” says the affable Goldberg. “Also, we were not a great fit with [last year’s lead-in] ‘Home Improvement,’ so we dropped off somewhat from their numbers. And to be honest, our natural audience has not been watching ABC in droves. When they test this show and people are asked what network it’s on, they say ‘NBC.’ ABC is trying to change [to more sophisticated fare], but it takes time.”

ABC has put additional pressure on Goldberg and Fox this season, using their show to lead off a new night--Wednesday rather than Tuesday. That means the often-racy comedy begins at 8 p.m., rather than last year’s 9:30.

“I think it is too early,” admits Fox, chain smoking and sipping diet cola on his break at the Chelsea Piers, where the show is filmed. “Having said that, I don’t really have anger toward anyone. I thought we’d be expected to make some changes in content, but we’ve never had one call about that. We also know it’s a tremendous vote of confidence to be asked to anchor a night. But I really think our goal is just continuing to stay funny and to grow without being distracted by the change in time, the ratings or how important we are to the company.”

The “company” in this case is DreamWorks SKG, for whom “Spin City” is the sole success story on the small screen. Perhaps unfairly, people are watching very closely to see if DreamWorks can play in the television game.

“We’ve put five shows on the air, and one has stayed on, but that’s a .200 batting average and we feel fine,” says Dan McDermott, head of the DreamWorks television division. “What really matters is how many go into syndication, and we’re headed that way with ‘Spin City.’ ”

That will depend on how Season 2 goes but, creatively, the bumps of the first season seem to have been ironed out--most notably in doing away with the love interest for Fox.

“We had created a character who could not be part of my world, and eventually the handcuffs became leaden,” says Fox. “We also realized that to have my character be powerful and deft at work and involved with a beautiful woman wasn’t all that interesting. This year you have a guy who professionally can do no wrong, but his personal life is a disaster. It’s funnier and it makes more sense. Because he was always on a fast track, he had no time to develop that part of his life.”

In addition to Mike Flaherty’s personal dilemmas, he’s been given a new assistant in Jennifer Esposito, and the show has a zestier new opening sequence (conceived by Fox and featuring music by the Spin Doctors). The season began Sept. 24 with his courting an attorney working for the mayor’s estranged wife, but that romance will fizzle. Coming story lines feature everything from Mike’s 30th birthday reunion with an old flame (played by real-life wife Tracy Pollon) to possibly following a city election.

The question remains: Can Fox and Goldberg truly duplicate the critical and commercial success of “Family Ties,” which made Fox a star and Goldberg a very rich man? Neither has had such happy days since: Fox had moderate success in films (the “Back to the Future” films being his most successful) and enjoys Manhattan domestic life with Pollon and their three children (a son, 8, and twin 2-year-old daughters); Goldberg had a quick stab at features (“Dad”) and a mixed bag of attempts at TV series (“Brooklyn Bridge,” “Champs”).

The decision to consider returning to television together came about after too many unsatisfying film experiences for the actor.

“I don’t miss having to leave my family for three months, to do work I can’t put in any perspective, turn it over to a committee, have to go out and support something I may or may not like and then have it gone in two days,” is how Fox sums up his movie days. “It’s all about positioning and it doesn’t mean [expletive] to me.”

“Spin City” has done well in its first two outings this season, beating its series competition on the other networks. But if it ultimately doesn’t work, Fox doesn’t see doing this all again any time soon.

“I’m out of trophies that mean a lot to me, and there’s no financial imperative anymore,” says Fox. “If they pull the plug, trust me, I’ll go fishing. I can’t imagine myself doing this again. I don’t want to be in Tony’s [Danza] position where if this one doesn’t work, I say, ‘OK, so make me a dad and give me three kids this time.’ ”

* “Spin City” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC (Channel 7).