‘Roc’ Catches the Passion of the Election

TV or not TV. . . .

BALLOT: Well, it could have been better, but Sunday’s live episode of “Roc”--pegged to today’s election--caught the passion of the moment.

The Fox sitcom, about a working-class black family, had the show’s characters arguing about which presidential candidate to vote for.

Roc (Charles S. Dutton) was undecided, but others were split among Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot.

Not exactly original, and there were too many flubs of lines in the series, which is being broadcast live every week this season--although it is tape-delayed in the West.

What’s more, there wasn’t too much of the up-to-the-minute topicality that Fox promised. The differing sides had well-worn views.

But the emotions played well. Roc’s wife favored Clinton. His father was for Perot. And the father’s lady friend supported Bush.

As usual, Dutton’s driving force carried “Roc.” He probably touched a lot of people when he vented his frustration about financial problems.

He also had the show’s best line. Asked who he finally decided to vote for, he replied: “I’m not saying, but I’ll give you a hint. He’s white.”

HONCHO: Yes, says NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield, he wants the 18-to-49-year-old audience, which advertisers covet.

But no, he adds, he’s not writing off viewers over 50.

Yes, says Littlefield, NBC rejected a sequel to “Bonanza” but only “secondarily” because Westerns attract older audiences: “We didn’t think the elements were strong enough.”

CBS is emphasizing that it is the only network seeking viewers of all ages.

But, retorts Littlefield, “Every night of the week, we offer shows for people over 50. At the same time, we had to encourage a new generation to come. I promise you, in the corridors of CBS they are saying the same thing--that you have to get a new generation for broadcasting.”

Littlefield points to NBC’s Monday sitcoms, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Blossom,” as series that were oriented to “kids and teens” but then developed broader appeal.

As for older-appeal shows that NBC let slip away to competing networks--”In the Heat of the Night,” “Matlock” and “The Golden Girls”--Littlefield says:

“NBC was at a crossroads where we had to say, ‘Should we invest in our future or in (shows) that were trending down?’ While it can be scary, you have to believe in the future.”

Littlefield says NBC shows that appeal to viewers both over and under 50 include the weekly movies, “Quantum Leap,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “Law & Order” and “I’ll Fly Away.”

NBC maintains it was not the only network to pass on the “Bonanza” sequel, which now will try syndication. But, asked about the loss of such dependable hits as “In the Heat of the Night,” “The Golden Girls” and “Matlock” all at once, he says:

“My regret is that we hadn’t been more aggressive and hadn’t phased out some (of the shows) earlier.”

“In the Heat of the Night” drew a respectable rating in its fall debut on CBS last week. The new version of “The Golden Girls,” titled “The Golden Palace,” is also doing well on CBS. “Matlock,” picked up by ABC, has a two-hour movie on Thursday and is expected to return as a series.

NBC acknowledged last week that its “major year-to-year losses are in the 50-plus group. NBC is off 22% in both men and women 50 and over.” But it said that the worthy “Reasonable Doubts,” switched from Fridays to Tuesdays, picked up 17% more viewers 18 to 49.

GAMBLE: Saturday’s NBC sitcom “The Powers That Be,” about a U.S. senator (John Forsythe), assumes that Bill Clinton is elected President--and producer Norman Lear says he has no intention of preparing an alternative show . . . just in case.

“We do want to be topical,” says Lear, but he adds that the story is “much too involved” to be switched around.

Well, the odds are with him, but he says he’s taken out an insurance policy should fate cause the episode to be thrown out. He doesn’t seem worried: “It’s exciting.”

FULL HOUSE: Funny episode on tap Friday on Bob Newhart’s “Bob” series--a poker game with Dick Martin, Tom Poston, Bill Daily and Steve Lawrence. Poston and Lawrence make passes at New-hart’s wife (Carlene Watkins). The series thus far is ideally sculpted to Newhart’s priceless delivery.

SPLIT END: Say, that sure was interesting seeing NBC’s David Letterman in the ABC broadcast booth during last week’s Monday night football game.

RUNAWAY: “The Simpsons” is soaring--it smashed all of its head-on network competition last week. If it were on one of the Big Three networks instead of Fox, it might be battling “Roseanne” and “Murphy Brown” at the top of the ratings.

SIGNPOSTS: Hints of TV’s future become more and more obvious. CBS, for instance, has a Dec. 23 special marking the 20th anniversary of pay-TV competitor HBO. And then there are the crossover showings of the detective series “Silk Stalkings,” which this week features veteran actor Ray Stricklyn on CBS at 11:30 p.m. Thursday and repeats on USA cable at 10 p.m. Saturday.

VIEW FROM THE TOP: Ratings success sure takes the heat off the front office. I mean, when was the last time you heard the name of Larry Tisch, the CBS chairman who was all over the public prints when his network was in trouble--and until it sailed into first place last season?

TOUGH STUFF: Los Angeles gangs are the subject of a two-hour special on KNBC-TV Channel 4 Sunday. It’s called “Dreams Under Fire: The Gang Crisis,” and it airs from 5 to 7 p.m.

OLD FAITHFUL: “Knots Landing” may be on its last legs, but it pulled a decent-sized audience in its fall debut last week. Thirteen years and still chugging along.

BEING THERE: “God’ll get you for that!”--Maude Findlay (Bea Arthur) in “Maude.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .