Timing Is Everything

Greg Braxton’s “Resume Security: ‘Seinfeld’ ” (Feb. 24) accidentally points out one reason why the TV networks’ market share is declining and will continue to do so.

Studios and networks are throwing tons of money at soon-to-be-ex-”Seinfeld” writers and producers in the form of development deals but, like what the TV industry always does, this makes absolutely no sense.

All these people have proven that when given a great framework--meaning the premise and characters--they can do good work. But how does that translate into them creating those frameworks? It doesn’t. Writing and developing are two totally different skills, yet no one in TV understands this. Making these deals worse is that working on “Seinfeld” actually distorts their true writing abilities since the show’s framework automatically elevates the level of writing.

What makes a new show successful is its time slot--”Seinfeld” had mediocre ratings until it was moved behind “Cheers.” As long as they refuse to adapt to the new competitive realities the industry operates in, it will be the only reason anyone mentioned in this article might have a hit.

C. RICHARD KAJELYN

Woodland Hills