Endangered series list (VM, GG)

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Endangered series list (VM, GG)

By TED COX
Posted Thursday, April 19, 2007

Forget about global warming and rising temperatures. It's audience cooling and falling Nielsen ratings TV viewers need to worry about - especially where their favorite shows are concerned.

Yes, the major broadcast network entertainment presidents are even now preparing to announce their fall TV schedules next month. That means, of course, that some shows are in danger of not being on those schedules.

In short, TV is a renewable resource, but some of the best shows may not get renewed.

That's where TV activists come in. It's a long shot, but some shows can be saved by write-in campaigns, as when "Roswell" was extended for a season or two by fans sending bottles of Tabasco sauce to the Warner Bros. network. Then there's the way "Veronica Mars" fans petitioned the CW by airplane message last year.

That got ample publicity, but there's no denying nothing substitutes for the nuisance value of an actual letter. E-mails can be ignored and deleted, as can Internet petitions, for that matter. Yet, as in the classic holiday chestnut "Miracle on 34th Street," a duffel bag of letters still makes an impact.

"Veronica," in fact, is still on the endangered-series list, and that's where I'll begin my annual rundown of shows worth fighting for. Remember, as with global warming, just because your small effort won't have much of an effect, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do something about it.

The CW

"Veronica Mars" is quite possibly the best show on broadcast TV. Some might find fault with its transition to college and her continuing fascination with the repugnant Logan (which will evidently be resolved when the show returns for a month starting May 1 on WGN Channel 9), but this season has been more feminist than ever with its confrontational date-rape story line. There's talk the CW might jump it ahead a few years and get Kristen Bell's blond sleuth out on her own as the head of a detective agency, but in any form this series deserves to be renewed. Tell CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff at 11800 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90025. "Supernatural" could probably use some support too while you're at it. The fate of "Gilmore Girls" is out of our hands, supposedly dictated by whether Alexis Bledel will return for another season as Rory.

Fox

There aren't many worthwhile shows on the bubble at Fox, which has already committed to renewing the likable "Bones." But if you believe Brad Garrett deserves another chance to make something worthwhile of the sitcom "'Til Death," let Entertainment President Peter Liquori know at 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90035. "King of the Hill" could use a friend, too.

ABC

Everything is pretty cut and dried at Disney's network, which has already renewed "Lost" for at least one more season, "Desperate Housewives" and its Thursday hits "Grey's Anatomy" and "Ugly Betty." "Six Degrees" has already been canceled and is a lost cause. "The Knights of Prosperity" is ticketed for the same fate, but if all viewers send their old Rolling Stones records to Entertainment President Stephen McPherson at 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA, 91521, who knows, perhaps both the quirky, likable show and Mick Jagger will return. (If you want to save "According to Jim" or "George Lopez," please keep it to yourself.)

NBC

Along the lines of "Six Degrees" and "Knights of Prosperity," "Andy Barker, P.I." has already been canned and is probably beyond hope. It would take a "Cagney & Lacey"-style offensive to bring it back to life, but I heartily endorse any and all desperation moves where this comedy is concerned. They're likely to be renewed, but "Friday Night Lights" and even the redoubtable "Law & Order" and its better spinoff "Criminal Intent" are in danger of being left out come fall. If you think TV without the original "L&O" is unthinkable, tell NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly at 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA, 91523. "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" is in desperate straits as well, especially as "30 Rock" has already been brought back for the fall.

CBS

The eye network has lagged behind the competition in formally renewing shows, but the "CSI" series, "Cold Case" and, in fact, most of its sturdy dramas are shoo-ins. The odd thing is the lack of support it's shown for comedies other than "Two and a Half Men." "Rules of Engagement," "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and even "How I Met Your Mother" could all use a little extra audience support. Tell Entertainment President Nina Tassler at 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036.

• Ted Cox (tcox@dailyherald.com) writes Tuesday and Thursday in Suburban Living, Friday in sports and Friday in Time out!