Perhaps the most surprising cancellation that came out of last week's fall schedule announcements by the six broadcast networks was the demise of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."
After all, this was a show with a good-size following - a show that won its time slot in household ratings more often than not. But household ratings aren't particularly important to networks - it's demographics that count.You've got to remember that television is a business. That the programs are designed to wrap around the commercials. And this was a cold-hearted business decision.
"Dr. Quinn's" ratings have been in serious decline this season - off by as much as a third. And the remaining viewers tended to be older - a group that advertisers won't pay as much to attract.
As always, this isn't fair. But it is true. Fox makes considerably more money off "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill" than CBS makes from "Touched by an Angel," which attracts considerably more viewers. But the Fox animated half-hours attract more younger, demographically desirable viewers.
CBS also saw both its overall ratings and its ratings among its target demographic - viewers ages 25-54 - decline again this season. The network is going to try a new strategy.
With the return of NFL football, CBS is going to attempt to use that promotional platform to attract more male viewers. And "Dr. Quinn" doesn't quite fit that profile.
The fact is that CBS's highest-rated Saturday-night series is "Walker, Texas Ranger." And the network is going to try to go to that well again by adding a show called "Martial Arts" - which is just what it sounds like - on Saturdays at 8 p.m. "Early Edition" will move up an hour to the 7 p.m. time slot that "Dr. Quinn" is being evicted from.
Will this work? Who knows? Only time and the ratings will tell.
Meanwhile, there are a lot of unhappy "Dr. Quinn" fans out there. And their anger is understandable, given the emotional attachment so many of them have to what has been a good, family show.
BIG SURPRISE, PART 2: Perhaps the most surprising renewal was NBC's re-upping of the sitcom "NewsRadio." Not that the show didn't deserve to come back - it does.
But even the principals involved were pretty sure it wasn't going to continue. That "Titanic"-themed season finale wasn't chosen for no reason.
If you're wondering what happened, well, refer to the sentence above that reads, "You've got to remember that television is a business." NBC demanded - and received - financial participation in the show, meaning that when it goes into syndication, the Peacock will reap a percentage of the rewards.
Which should make for sort of an interesting partnership. "NewsRadio" is produced by Brillstein-Grey Communications - a company co-owned by ABC.
SHORTSIGHTED NBC: Perhaps the most appalling bit of scheduling came from NBC, which will have five - count 'em, five - weekly editions of "Dateline NBC" on its schedule.
That's 23 percent of its prime-time schedule devoted to increasingly fewer compelling "news" stories.
Sure, these news magazines are relatively cheap to produce and draw generally decent ratings. But in an age when network television is losing audience, this sort of banal repetition isn't going to help.
It points to a lack of development, a lack of vision at the network. And it will come back to haunt NBC.
It's a bit early to make this determination - all the pilots haven't been sent to critics yet - but from early indications the WB appears to have more intriguing new series on its fall schedule than NBC does.
Coincidence? I think not.
MORE "MILLENNIUM": Yes, Fox renewed "Millennium." No, not a lot of people are watching it.
Yes, the show is from creator/ executive producer Chris Carter, who is also the creator/executive producer of "The X-Files."
And, yes, "X-Files" has been renewed for two more seasons.
Coincidence? I think not.
NOT QUITE CANCELED: NBC did not put the sitcom "Lateline" on its fall schedule, but it didn't cancel the midseason replacement series. The show has been picked up and will be a midseason replacement series again next season.
NEPOTISM? Bodhi Elfman - husband of "Dharma & Greg" star Jenna Elfman - will be one of the stars of the new Fox series "Hollyweird" in the fall.
Yes, his wife's show is on ABC, not Fox. But both "Hollyweird" and "Dharma & Greg" are produced by Fox.
Coincidence? Well, you decide.