CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

01/08/04

Good morning. It’s Thursday, January 8, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

NBC won the night on Tuesday among A18-49 with an overall 4.4/11 according to Nielsen Media Research.  ABC was #2 for the night with a 3.8/10, followed by Fox 3.7/9, CBS 3.0/8, UPN and WB 1.1/3.  At 8p ABC’s sitcoms dominated with a 4.0/11, beating #2 Fox and NBC, also all sitcoms, who tied at 3.3/9.  Fox sitcoms however were repeats, while NBC had all originals.  At 9p ABC held tough with a 4.6/11 for its second hour of sitcoms, beating Fox’s 24 by a share point, which in turn beat NBC by a share point.  NBC then rebounded to take the 10p hour with L&O: SVU delivering a 6.0/15, nearly doubling #2 CBS’s Judging Amy 3.2/8.

New in Development:

• Fox has signed a script deal with Trigger Street Prods (Kevin Spacey’s shingle)/Martin Plant Films/20th for an untitled comedy based on the book The Teenage Investor: How to Start Early, Invest Often & Build Wealth by teenager Timothy Olsen.  Ross Martin will exec prod; the script is being penned by J.J. Wall.
• ABC‘s soap/drama project Desperate Housewives from Touchstone and written by Marc Cherry and Charles Pratt Jr., has  been given the pilot order.
• USA has ordered a script for a new drama series based on Walter Mosley’s character Easy Rawlins, an LA-based detective set in the late 1940’s, according to Variety. The project is exec prods by Mosley and Anne-Marie Mackay.  You’ve met this character before in the 1995 film starring Denzel Washington called Devil in a Blue Dress.

Television Critics Assoc. (TCA) Winter Announcements:

• TRIO:  Coming to Trio in the upcoming months, a limited series called Parking Lot (debuts 1/25) which looks up close and personal at the fandom in the parking lot before major events, concerts, sporting events; American Film Theatre is fourteen restored films from AFT of some of the most acclaimed plays of the 20th century (debuts 1/17); and a month-long event in March called Uncovered airing rare and never before seen television shows including Johnny Cash in San Quentin (1969), among a host of other OTOs and documentaries planned.  Trio is currently available in 20 million homes via digital cable and satellite services.
• TLC:  TLC has announced premiere dates for Now Who’s Boss, wherein the boss goes back to his/her humble beginnings (think mailroom), set to launch on March 8 at 10p.  And set to launch in April is Help Wanted, a competition where five players are all competing for the same dream job (4/19 at 10p).
• Travel Channel announced its World Poker Tour kicks off season two on March 3rd at 9p.  Preceding that premiere is an OTO event called World Poker Tour: Hollywood Home Game with Hollywood celebs battling for the $25,000 charity donation as well as a seat in the World Poker Tour Championship.  This celeb poker game is scheduled for January 25 at 9p.
• SciFi has a new reality show coming that sounds a little horrific – and that’s intentional.  Mad Mad House features 10 everyday people who move into a house run by a Vampire, a Wiccan, a Naturist, a Voodoo Priestess, and a Modern Primitive to compete for a $100,000 prize.  Personally, I don’t know what half of those people are, but I do believe I wouldn’t want to live with them. This 10-ep reality series kicks off on March 4 at 9p.  Also airing on Thursday nights starting in March will be season two of Scare Tactics, and Sci Fi’s first animated series, Tripping the Rift (1030p), a smuggling space ship crewed by bizarro creatures.
• ESPN will soon begin production on its third original movie, The Dale Earnhardt Story, slated for a summer 2004 airing, from ESPN Original Entertainment, exec prod by Orly Adelson, Russell Mulcahy directing and screenplay by Robert Eisele.
• Bravo announced it has picked up Project Greenlight for its third season — seasons #1 and #2 aired on HBO who opted out of #3.  The new season is expected to kick off in early 2005 in nine 60m episodes.

The NFL Network has scored a touchdown, signing a carriage deal with Charter Communications, the third largest cable MSO.  The deal is for five years and starts next month, providing the rookie network with 6.5 million subs on Charter’s digital tier, at a rate of 20 cent per sub, according to Variety.  As part of the deal, NFL will provide Charter with a high-def feed of the net at no extra charge, as well as VOD and libraried footage. The channel is currently carried only on DirecTV, available in 11.5 million homes.

You now know CBS’ PGA plans, couple those with USA’s PGA plans in 2004, and you need never get off the couch.  USA has 34 PGA TOUR and Champions Tour events, carrying live early round coverage of such notable events as The Masters and USA’s biennial event – the Ryder Cup next September.   And returning for a second season is USA Sunday morning original series, PGA Tour Sunday at 11am, kicking off on January 11.

So how did that Airline show do on A&E?  It started on time, had a full flight, and landed with more passengers than when it took off.   In other words, the folks at A&E are quite pleased, as I imagine are the folks at Southwest Airlines.  According to figures from the net, Airline averaged 784,000 A25-54 impressions at 10p, a full 89% higher than the time period average.  At 10p the show began with 738,000 A25-54, and in its second half hour grew to 829,000.   Among A18-49, the program began with 634,000 impressions, and grew to 781,000 in the second half hour.  Also premiering that evening on A&E at 9p was reality/game series House of Dreams with host George Wendt.  The show averaged 408,000 A25-54 impressions for the hour.

Attention Rob Lowe fans – he’s available again.  Well, perhaps that’s misleading.  Put it this way: he won’t be working on Lyon’s Den any more.  NBC cut it loose.  Officially.  Variety said so.

Showtime has ordered up 10 episodes of RJ Cutler’s documentary/reality series The American Candidate  The show is accepting applications (www.AmericanCandidate.com, be sure and review the POTUS requirements before applying!) and will feature 12 finalists who this summer hit the campaign trail about the same time the real candidates are heading to the conventions.  In the final episode which will air in September, viewers will vote on which candidate they’s like to see in the White House. After the show finishes up, any of these candidates could actually run for president as a write-in candidate.

Casting Heads Up:  Optomen Productions is casting a family for a new reality cable net show.  Did you ever dream about leaving your job to open a surf shop in Hawaii? How about a ski lodge in Aspen? Or a vineyard in Napa? Optomen is looking for a real family who seriously wants to exchange their stressful and unfulfilling life for the life of their dreams. Trade in the rat race for a new life in the country, in the mountains, by the sea, or anywhere else your dreams take you! Production takes place in NYC and the ‘dream life’ location. Serious Inquiries only:
or 800.596.6759.

Telemundo named Manuel Martinez VP/GM at Telemundo WNJU, covering the metropolitan New York and New Jersey area, the second largest Hispanic market in the U.S.  Manual replaces Enrique Perez who was concurrently named to the position of SVP/Telemundo Station Group Sales.  Both positions will report directly to Ibra Morales, President/Telemundo Station Group, and will be part of the new NBC Television Stations Division.

Michael Weisman has been named Executive Producer of NBC Enterprises‘ new syndicated offering, The Jane Pauley Show.  Ed Wilson, President/NBCE made the announcement.  Jane Pauley Show debuts in the fall and will be taped at NBC in NYC.

As a follow up to Monday’s announcement that John Lansing had been named EVP/Scripps Networks, Bill Peterson, VP/GM of Scripps’ WPTV has been named VP/Station Operations for the EW Scripps station group.  Stepping up to replacing Peterson at WPTV is Brian Lawlor, current GSM at Scripps WCPO/Cincinnati station.

Steven Dorfman, age 48, who spent the last 20 years of his life writing for King World’s Jeopardy, lost his battle with cancer and died on Sunday in Los Angeles.  Dorfman had been with the show since its inception, writing more than 50,000 questions and winning 6 Emmys for outstanding writing. He is survived by his parents of West Bloomfield, Michigan, two sisters and a grandmother.

As in previous years, this January Cynopsis will provide its NATPE Syndicated Program Guide listing of NEW SERIES coming to market in preparation for this year’s conference in Las Vegas.  If you have information you’d like listed for a new strip or weekly series, please send it to me at
(with NATPE listing in the subject line), and provide the name of the series, #/eps, distributor name/phone/booth or suite number, terms (cash, cash+, barter split), and frequency.  Because of space, no OTOs, specials. quarterly shows or returning series are included in the listing. For Children’s Programming, please send your new series information (please add if its live action/animation and target age group) to Gwen Billings for the Cynopsis Kids NATPE Syndicated Program Guide at
.   Please have your information in no later than January 9, 2004.

Tuesday, January 6, 2004. Fast Affiliate Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in, particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

CBS     8.7/14  Navy NCIS 9.5/15, The Guardian 7.8/12, Judging Amy 9.0/15

NBC     7.3/11  Tracy Morgan Show 5.2/8, Whoopi 5.8/9, Frasier 7.0/11, Happy Family 6.6/10, L&O: SVU 9.7/16

ABC     6.1/9   8 Simple Rules 7.5/12, I’m with Her 6.0/9, According to Jim 7.2/11, Less than Perfect 6.0/9, Line of Fire 4.9/8

Fox     5.1/8   That 70’s Show [r] 4.5/7, The Simpsons [r] 4.3/6, 24   5.8/9

WB      2.2/3   Gilmore Girls [r]2.5/4, One Tree Hill [r] 2.0/3

UPN     1.6/3   One on One [r1.6/2], All of Us [r] 1.8/3, Rock Me Baby [r] 2.0/3, Girlfriends [r] 1.9/3

A18-49  NBC 4.4/11, ABC 3.8/10, Fox 3.7/9, CBS 3.0/8, UPN and WB 1.1/3

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source:  NHI, 12/29/03-1/3/04.  1/1/04 8PM Telecast Only. Cov Rtg.  Ties w/M18-49 (Chappelle’s Show 12/30, 10p).

The History Channel presents This Day in History: 
1958 – Bobby Fisher, at the age of 14, won the United States Chess Championship for the first time.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:   In what city will you find Frank the Potato Man?  ROME, WISCONSIN, on Picket Fences.  Kudos to:  Christine Cassou-Active Media/Pearl River; Matt Robinson-Echopoint Media/Indianapolis; Kevin Flanagan-Horizon Media/NY; Eli Balin-CBS Sales Planning/NY; Burton Cooley-Rick Johnson & Co/Albuquerque; Bart Sciarabba-NCC/ Chicago; Janice Adkins/Chicago; Terry Austin-Starz Encore/Englewood; Jesse Dienstag-Hall & Partners/LA; Stan Justice-Litton Syndications/Manhattan Beach; Susan Goldberg-Adlink/LA; Brett Colbert-Warner Bros/Burbank.

Today’s Trivia Question:  Where did Mona Loveland work?  (
to respond to the trivia question and please be sure to include with your answer your name, company, city and time zone. Only the second four correct responses from each time zone will be listed in tomorrow’s kudo list.)

A MESSAGE FROM INFOTAINMENT MEDIA

GET IN TO THE GAME!!

*  Have your brand associated with pro athletes and hip-hop artists
*  Ads in Primetime TV Special
*  Product Integration into TV Show, DVD and CD
*  Point-of-Purchase Displays in National Retailers

Call Eileen Simms at (310) 312-9570, or email
for more info.

Later — Cyn

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis
01/08/04 5:19am
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2004

COURT TV’S FORENSIC FACT:
Fingerprint classification is based on 4 groups of ridge patterns; arches, loops, whorls & composites.

COURT TV:       Hollywood Justice, Hollywood at Large, Forensic Files, Body of Evidence, The Investigators
ABC             Threats Matrix, Extreme Makeover, Primetime Thursday
CBS             CSI (OTO), CSI, Without a Trace [r]
FOX             Tru Calling, The Simple Life [r], The Simple Life [r]
NBC             Friends, The Apprentice [p], ER
PAX             AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             WWE Smackdown
WB              Steve Harvey, All About the Andersons, JKX, Run of the Hose
TELE            Amor Descardo, El Alma Herida, Laura: Casos Resueltos (OTO)
UNIV            Velo de Novia, Te Amaré en Silencio, Aquí y Ahora