...and it seems that Fox is defending its strategy to air all of its latest scripted turkeys instead of PH.P.S. The article below is from Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Sun-Times, one of the sharpest writers on the TV beat:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-phil07.html
The verdict isn't in yet on all of Fox's elaborate plans to schedule 52 weeks of original programming.
But "The Jury" is out, and a smart advocate might want to settle or at least ask for more time.
With production shut down on the disappointing courtroom series from celebrated producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, Fox boss Gail Berman's ambitious strategy -- at the forefront of a nearly industrywide effort to change viewing and scheduling patterns -- already has hit a snag.
"The Jury" may limp along once a week on Fridays till the baseball playoffs begin in October. But Berman originally had slotted it to fill two full hours of the network's weekly 15-hour schedule through September and an hour each week from November to January, and that's just not going to happen.
The low-rated, uninspiring series was a letdown in every way and emblematic of Fox's soft summer slate, which launched amid great fanfare a month ago but has yet justify the hype from a ratings standpoint. Berman sounds like a coach trying to play out the string and hope for better draft choices next season.
* * * * *
"We certainly would have better ratings this summer if we again aired 'Paradise Hotel,' and we could have," Berman told Mediaweek. "We do own the rights to it. But we are trying to change the system, to do something overwhelmingly different, and we realize it will take time to get people to change their summer viewing habits."
Perhaps it will take time. It definitely will take better shows.
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