‘Bickford’: A New Lesson Plan

CBS is not, repeat, not changing the name of its college drama “The Education of Max Bickford,” starring Richard Dreyfuss as a crusty divorced college professor, to “Mr. Bickford’s Opus.”

But changes in the show are underway less than halfway through its freshman TV semester that might bring Dreyfuss’ character closer in tone to the inspirational music teacher he played in the emotional 1995 film “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”

That shift--as well as others called for by CBS--have created behind-the-scenes upheaval at the series. Indeed, the shifting tone prompted the recent exit of the drama’s creators in a debate that pitted corporate demands against creative vision.

On one side are Nicole Yorkin and Dawn Prestwich, the creators and executive producers of the drama, which earned predominantly positive reviews when it premiered in September in the high-profile Sunday night slot at 8 following the hit newsmagazine “60 Minutes.”

The partners, put in charge of running their first show after stints on “Judging Amy,” “Chicago Hope” and “Picket Fences” among other dramas, were committed to examining the life of the curmudgeonly title character and his various battles with colleagues, students, family and himself.

On the other side is CBS, whose executives feel that the show, while promising, did not live up to their expectations in terms of viewership and disagreed with the producers about how to attract a larger audience. They had particular concern about the character of Bickford, who they felt was too “negative” and surly, and needed to have a more positive impact on students and others.

After numerous disagreements, Yorkin and Prestwich left the series last week and have already moved on. They are pitching new projects at 20th Century Fox Television, where they have an overall production deal.

Also, Grammy Award-winning writers-producers Don and David Was, who were recruited by Yorkin and Prestwich to write the jazz-flavored score for the series, were let go this week after the new producers said their music was not “warm and accessible.”

The series is now being helmed by Joe Cacaci, an old friend of the producers whom they had hired as a co-executive producer. CBS says he is incorporating the desired changes into the series, transforming Bickford into a more uplifting character.

But there is still friction after the split. Some supporters of the original producers--referencing the religion-themed “Touched by an Angel”--are now referring to the revamped “Max Bickford” as “Touched by a Professor,” a joke that has CBS executives bristling.

And a major entertainment attorney who represents several prominent producers and writers said the situation involving Yorkin and Prestwich is indicative of a troubling trend in the television industry resulting from networks having a increased ownership stake in series. CBS is part owner of “Max Bickford.”

“This is a manifestation of a deeper problem in this business,” said the attorney, who asked not to be identified. “With all the unprecedented consolidation of business, there’s now an environment where executives in places like CBS are making widgets. There is not the passion for creativity, for production. For a show like this to get this kind of scrutiny this soon is a real switch from the way things used to be.

“‘The Practice’ premiered to terrible numbers and is now a huge hit,” the attorney continued. “‘NYPD Blue’ and ‘Seinfeld’ had trouble getting out of the gate. For this situation to come about where there is second-guessing after two airings [of the show] is a joke. The audiences need to get a chance to know a show. There’s only a handful of executives who are controlling content. Everything is getting homogenized down.”

“Max Bickford” features Oscar-winner Dreyfuss as a single father and college history professor at a crossroads in life and work. He’s passed over for a promotion at the all-women’s college where he teaches, and the job goes to a former student and lover, Andrea Haskell (Marcia Gay Harden, who won a best supporting actress Oscar this year for “Pollock”). His best friend, Steve, has had a sex-change operation and is now Erica (Helen Shaver). And Bickford is having problems with his teen daughter Nell (Katee Sackhoff), a freshman at the college.

As conceived by Yorkin and Prestwich, Bickford is a former alcoholic with an abrasive personality and a combative nature that brings him into conflict with his colleagues and students. But he also realizes he has to catch up to a culture and environment that is passing him by. As evidenced by the title, the professor is in his own class of self-discovery.

Before the premiere, CBS President Leslie Moonves repeatedly praised the drama and the producers. His enthusiasm was echoed by Dreyfuss, who selected Yorkin’s and Prestwich’s pilot script over several others he was considering for his TV debut.

“I wanted to do a story of a midlife crisis,” Dreyfuss told television reporters last summer. “We’ll see that this is a man with many colors.... He is abrasive. He is acerbic.”

Ratings Began Slipping After the First Airings

Several TV critics called the series one of the dramatic highlights of the new season, and the first episode attracted 16.5 million viewers. But the audience began dropping, declining to 10.8 million viewers by the fourth episode, with a slight increase the following week to 11.4 million.

As the ratings slipped, network executives nervously began reevaluating the drama. Their biggest concern was whether Bickford’s confrontational nature was turning off viewers. They asked for a change in direction and focus.

“We always worked with CBS and took their notes seriously,” Yorkin said. “However, at a certain point, it became clear there was a fundamental difference on who Max Bickford was. CBS wanted him to be a ‘professor of transformation,’ a fixer of student problems.”

Added Prestwich, “While we had conceived of Max as a deeply flawed yet self-aware curmudgeon trying to do the right thing-but often blowing it--our attempts to accommodate CBS, within the constraints of the pilot we sold them, were apparently at odds with what they wanted.”

CBS had its own version of the disagreement. One executive said that Bickford’s character was “too negative” and needed to be depicted in a more positive light.

“He was continually confused and downtrodden, and we wanted him to be able to work through his problems instead of wringing his hands,” added the executive, who asked not to be named. “We wanted him to be a little more action-oriented. We wanted to show him having more impact on peoples’ lives.

“We think Dawn and Nicole are wonderful writers.... But development of a show doesn’t stop with the pilot. From the network and studio standpoint, and tests we conducted, we felt there were adjustments to be made that they didn’t want to do or didn’t comport with their vision. I’m not sure which one. The adjustments they did make didn’t go far enough.”

Supporters of both camps offered other perspectives.

Those siding with Yorkin and Prestwich said CBS was too uncomfortable with some of the more mature aspects of the show, such as the Erica character. The producers had previously said that “Max Bickford” was a 10 p.m. series in a 8 p.m time slot. Yorkin had said the network asked her and her partner not to hold back because of the family-friendly hour. They added that the show didn’t get a fair shake because several episodes were affected by CBS football games that went into overtime, and the tragedy of Sept. 11.

But network executives and others said the vision may have been too ambitious for a conventional network drama. There were too many stories, and the main story was not strong enough to keep viewers interested, they said.

Dreyfuss and Harden did not return phone calls for comment.

The move marked the second time this season that CBS’ disagreement with a show’s creator over the direction of the series has led to that creator’s exit.

John Leekley, the creator of the supernatural drama “Wolf Lake,” left the series after the pilot was filmed when the network decided it wanted a different focus and style. The series has now been benched after mediocre ratings.

CBS says that viewers will not notice a wholesale change in “Max Bickford,” but there will be a change in emphasis. There will be one main story showcasing Max.

The series has already been picked up for the remainder of the season.

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“The Education of Max Bickford” airs Sunday nights at 8 on CBS.