Just a few months ago, Fox Entertainment President Peter Roth was rhapsodizing over his then-new drama series "413 Hope St." He called it a "very special series" and "one of the most poignant, powerful and uplifting dramas that you will see this season."
He compared the show to "ER" and said, "We have what I truly do believe to be one of the best new dramatic series on television."This week, Roth canceled "413 Hope St." The reason? Bad ratings, of course.
This drama about an inner-city help center for disadvantaged young people was finishing fourth in its time slot most weeks.
On the other hand, you could question Roth's scheduling of "413 Hope St." Did he honestly think it had a chance on Thursday nights opposite "Seinfeld"?
Not that "413 Hope St." was as good as the Fox executive believed. It was ambitious and well-meaning and generally turned out good episodes, but it was hardly the transcendent piece of television Roth thought it was.
But it was an above-average drama, particularly for Fox - a network that has thrived on the likes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place." And the danger is that when viewers fail to embrace shows like "413 Hope St.," network programmers will resort to more shows like "Melrose."
The final episode of "413 Hope St." airs Thursday, Jan. 1, at 8 p.m.
GOING "UNDERCOVER" AGAIN: As expected, Fox has decided to replace "413 Hope St." with a familiar offering - the return of "New York Undercover."
But the show will have a decidedly different look than it did its first three seasons on the air - largely because original co-star Michael DeLorenzo has been dropped from the cast.
Malik Yoba returns to the police series about an undercover police unit populated by young, hip cops. He'll be joined by new cast members Tommy Ford ("Martin"), Marisa Ryan ("Major Dad") and Josh Hopkins.
"NYU" returns on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m.
ANOTHER RECYCLED SHOW: Fox has also decided what to replace the canceled sci-fi series "The Visitor" with - the return of "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction," the rather goofy "reality" series that got a tryout this past spring.
Each episode of "Beyond Belief" dramatizes several weird and/or unexplained events, and the viewers are asked to guess which are real and which come from the imaginations of the writers.
It returns on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m.
A NEW ONE: Fox is actually adding one new show to its lineup - a sitcom titled "Ask Harriet," which will replace "Living Single" in the network's Thursday-night lineup.
Anthony Tyler Quinn ("Boy Meets World") stars in "Ask Harriet" as Jack Cody, "a macho sportswriter who poses as a woman to write an advice-to-the-lovelorn column."
The ensemble cast includes Edward Asner as the newspaper's owner "who hates Jack and wants to date Harriet." (You may recall that Asner played Lou Grant, who was a TV news director on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and a newspaper editor on "Lou Grant.")
Fox is going to try desperately to find an audience for "Ask Harriet" - it will be previewed on Sunday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 p.m. (following "The Simpsons"). Its regular time-slot debut will be Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m. - following a special airing of "The Simpsons."
And then on Thursday, Jan. 22, "Ask Harriet" will follow a special airing of "King of the Hill."
("Between Brothers" finally gets to occupy its new time slot - Thurs-days at 7 p.m. - on Jan. 22.)
"Living Single," by the way, ends its five seasons on Fox with back-to-back episodes on Thursday, Jan. 1, at 7 and 7:30 p.m.
GOOD NEWS: Fox has renewed one of this season's best new shows, "Ally McBeal," for the 1998-99 season
Hurrah!