Show Business


Will viewers save these two great TV series? As ''Undeclared'''s producer asks the media for help in getting renewed, the brains behind ''Once and Again'' keep mostly silent, says Ken Tucker


By now, we're used to hearing about the viewers of low-rated but cherished TV shows rallying around their favorites in an attempt to get their prized series renewed, and the ways in which the producers of those shows support such efforts. Case in point: Creator-producer Judd Apatow has sent critics the final two episodes of his terrific sitcom ''Undeclared,'' along with a note urging writers to give the show some ink, which in turn may help convince Fox that this Tuesdays-at-8:30 show deserves another chance in what is one of TV's most competitive nights (on any given week, ''Undeclared'' is up against ''Gilmore Girls,'' ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' and anyone sleepy enough to watch Jim Belushi's dumb sitcom).

The two episodes Apatow sent out are as good as any he's produced all season. One of them is directed by Jon Favreau, of ''Swingers'' fame, and features Ben Stiller, with Frank Zappa facial hair, as a goofball in sobriety. The other episode brings back recurring character Hilary, a slightly loony college dorm R.A. played by ''Saturday Night Live'''s Amy Poehler, who in a suitably unlikely turn of events, ends up getting it on with Loudon Wainwright III, who plays the schlumpy father of our hero, Steven (the wittily goofy Jay Baruchel).

I urge you to watch ''Undeclared,'' even though I don't have much hope for a show this good on Fox these days. Yes, this is the network that launched the excellent ''Bernie Mac Show'' this year. But it's also the network that let ''The Tick'' die a hideous death, and which seemed to think it's real runaway hit was going to be ''That '80s Show,'' its lame-even-for-its-decade '''70s Show'' spin-off.

Apatow knows he has a following among critics since his days both as writer for ''The Larry Sanders Show'' and as the auteur of the superlative ''Freaks and Geeks.'' It makes sense that he would appeal to sympathetic press people. Sometimes a grassroots campaign that beseeches both the press and the public, as occurred a couple of seasons ago when fans of ''Roswell'' inundated TV critics and Fox with bottles of Tabasco sauce, can have a positive effect in lengthening the life of a series. Some producers couldn't care less about their good notices, though. Witness ''Once and Again,'' badly mishandled by ABC -- shoved onto Friday nights at 10 this season with little promotion, even as the series was offering some of its finest work.

In some ways, I guess ''O and A'' producer-creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick are right -- why bother sending out episodes and campaigning for a show so obviously superior than 99 percent of the dramas on TV? You do the work, and begging or asking people to send the networks bottles of their favorite condiment is, in the ''O and A'' scheme of things, a tad unseemly. Besides, I'm guessing that the recent announcement that one of ''O and A'''s increasingly important supporting players, Steven Weber, is taking over Matthew Broderick's role in ''The Producers'' doesn't bode well for ''O and A'''s future, even if Weber is doing the show after ''O and A'' wraps up its season.

Still, I wonder what you think: Are you more inclined to watch a show if you know it has a small but vociferous following, or do you just suppose that viewers are powerless to keep shows on the air? Either way, what low-rated shows do you hope will get renewed for the fall?

If Titus and That '80s Show can stay on the air ...

What's wrong with Titus? Dad is fricking hilarious. Granted, he's the best part of the show though.

Titus is the best comedy on TV right now. Papa Titus is a riot.

Nonetheless, I do hope that Undeclared can survive.

Too bad Fox is probably giving it the axe.

I'm not a fan of Titus either.


Family Guy and Undeclared I will back

Definitely.

Well, unfortunately, I usually am that "small but vociferous following." And as most of the best "on the bubble" shows have already fallen, I guess my biggest remaining hope is for Once & Again. I have to agree with the producers. What more can you do? They've already created the best and most intelligent adult drama on television. People just don't want quality. They want something else that I cannot define, something NBC has pinpointed with deadly accuracy in recent years.

I also hope Philly can hang around, as it's still my pick for the best new drama this year. But, again, the show is too realistic ... too good. The audience isn't interested in real characters with real emotions. What I will never understand is how great shows like The West Wing take television by storm, while equally great shows go completely ignored.

And while I don't watch it all the time, Undeclared is a great comedy. FOX is so preoccupied with being a "major" network that it doesn't see what great shows it has already.

das

Hey, Titus tends to be pretty good and I'd even put That '80s show over something like Bernie Mac which we apparently are stuck with!

I'm hoping 24 gets picked up, with primarily the same cast playing different characters in a new 24 hr scenario. I think that would be cool. But I realize that even if 24 had an extremely vocal fan base, it would have only a small impact on renewal.

As to ABC's situation, wouldn't the fact that they're dumping at least three, and possibly all four, hours of Millionaire help Once & Again and Philly get renewed? They've already ditched The Mole, will likely ditch The Chair and canceled a few other shows. I can't imagine ABC wanting to replace that many shows at one time...it would be three or more nights of scheduling. So maybe there is some hope for O & A and Philly...

Shhhh. Don't let Fox hear that someone likes this show. If they find out they will cancell it.

I thought it was already on the chopping block....

Sorry...Undeclared needs to go. I don't find it funny at all.