The HBO Way

Having worked at HBO both before Chris Albrecht and then for him as VP of series development, I think Paul Brownfield got it largely right, and I admire Chris’ taste, friendship and honesty (“Call It Must-Buy TV,” Feb. 25). I do, however, feel that many of the roots of HBO’s current success and stature were already planted by Chris’ then-boss, Bridget Potter, and Michael Fuchs as well.

It was truly an evolutionary process, with each small success informing the next and helping to shape HBO’s point of view. In the mid-’80s, “Not Necessarily the News” got OK ratings and good press. The often lowbrow “1st & Ten” got big ratings, higher than embarrassed HBO execs liked to admit. Likewise, “The Hitchhiker” did extremely well, and it and the award-winning “Ray Bradbury Theater” sparked the trend of Canadian co-production.

But there’s a seminal series I’m surprised that Brownfield omitted. While I’m very biased, having developed and then become supervising producer of the show, “Dream On” ran six seasons to big numbers, terrific reviews (ask Howard Rosenberg) and numerous awards, including HBO’s first Emmys. Its creators and writing staff went on to create and/or run many of the better comedies on network TV, including “Friends,” “Just Shoot Me,” “Will & Grace,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg” and “Mad About You.” Quite a few network pilots in development are written by “Dream On” alums.

Chris was very involved with getting “Dream On” made, and its tone and style were very much reference points during the development of “The Larry Sanders Show.”

BILL SANDERS

Santa Monica

*

I just want to thank Brownfield for answering one of the great mysteries of the universe, namely how HBO can air superb series like “The Sopranos” while also inflicting on subscribers “Arli$$,” starring that aggressively unfunny Robert Wuhl.

Also, having seen Mike Binder’s low-budget flick “The Sex Monster” on cable, I couldn’t imagine why someone would give him his very own show, but Brownfield has shed light on that as well.

Someone in the article compares Chris Albrecht with mobster Tony Soprano, and while it’s nice that Albrecht is loyal to his old stand-up comic buddies, there’s still one big difference: Tony Soprano would know which shows to “whack.”

LEE MAGLIERI

Simi Valley

*

Brownfield says, in trying to make a comparison of audience size between “Friends” and “Sex and the City,” that viewers need only flip channels between these two hit shows.

Not true. To view HBO programs, viewers must first pay a fee. The question then becomes, how big would the audience for “Friends” be if viewers had to pay to see it? My guess is it would be far smaller than the 20 million-plus cited in the article.

This, I believe, touches on the real reason HBO programming is superior to that of the networks. Because we pay for HBO, we expect it to be better. In fact, we can demand it--something not possible with so-called “free” TV. Happily, HBO delivers.

GLENN OSSIANDER

Pacific Palisades

*

I have the utmost regard for Chris Albrecht and HBO. However, his implication that I didn’t proceed with my project for HBO out of fear of failure is absurd. No doubt the world will happily continue to spin on its axis without a Steven Bochco series on HBO, but does Albrecht truly believe that someone who so publicly belly-flopped with “Cop Rock” (among other misses too numerous to mention) would be fearful of coming up short on HBO?

Additionally, the notion that “high-powered TV writers shy away from HBO” because they’re afraid to compete with talent like Tom Fontana or David Chase is equally absurd. These gifted artists and I are friends who’ve toiled alongside each other for over 20 years in the broadcast industry. We have commiserated with each other over our failures, and applauded each other’s successes.

Lastly, the series I agreed to create and produce for HBO did not fall apart over financial issues. To the contrary, there was an extremely lucrative financial agreement in place between us, and I reluctantly withdrew only because HBO wouldn’t give up certain creative controls, which of course is their right--it’s their network.

STEVEN BOCHCO

Los Angeles