Up Against the Wahl
Right now, Wiseguy is in about the same condition as its main
characters: not dead, but on the critical list. CBS remains silent
about the show's future, but Jim Byrnes, who plays Lifeguard,
says, ''We can't go back to being the way we were. Ken (Wahl, the star
and one of Wiseguy's producers) insists on making the work load more
even between the three characters.'' That could be an unwise move:
Ratings are dropping, and McPike (Jonathan Banks) ended the season in
a hospital bed with probable brain damage. If Wiseguy makes it to a
fourth year, it also must shop for a new supervising producer. David
Burke has decided to move on.
Bombs Away
With an overcrowded spring lineup, the networks are wasting no
time in dropping their flops. NBC revived its police drama True Bluewith a two-parter, looked at the abysmal ratings for part one, and
decided viewers had seen enough. And ABC's Sunset Beat was ''put on
hiatus'' as soon as the ratings came in for its two-hour premiere.
No-Shows
If you're ever amazed at what the networks think will make a good
series, imagine what they reject. For the book Unsold Television
Pilots: 1955 through 1988, Lee Goldberg has ransacked tube history
for 2,269 ideas nobody wanted. The ''best'':
905-WILD, about a task force that battles law-breaking animals
A law drama called Two Young Men and a Girl in a Meat Grinder
One Embezzlement and Two Margaritas, about the exploits of an
insurance investigator
Hotshot Harry and the Rocking Chair Renegades, about adventures in a retirement home
Ethel Is an Elephant, featuring a New York photographer and his
born-with-a- trunk roommate
The Invisible Woman, a variation on you-know-what
The Countess and the Cowboy, about an Italian noblewoman who
moves to Nevada to run a ranch.
Back to the Beat
When NBC's Hunter begins a seventh season next fall, the title
character will take on a new assignment. As a metro street officer,
he'll face everything from gangs to SWAT team work. ''In the past
year, we might have gotten a little bit too dry and strict,'' says
Fred Dryer, Hunter's star and executive producer. ''The
entertainment value has been defused.'' The new Hunter will offer
''more action'' and ''80 to 85 percent accuracy in terms of police
work,'' he says. ''I'll be the one who decides what we bend to make it
more exciting.'' Who will play his new partner? Dryer's not saying.
Heeeere's Judy
With Pat Sajak gone, CBS is quietly lining up fall prospects for
original late-night shows, and may be ready to try something
unusual..One nontraditional pilot has finished shooting in New York:
Nothing Upstairs, created by Alan King, will place comics Judy Tenuta, Paul Provenza, Dennis Wolfberg, and Bob Nelson in a
comedy club, and include taped segments and short films.
