NYPD Blue and ELR article release

[NASHMAN]

As 'Raymond,' 'NYPD' pass on, save your tears
Tim Goodman

Wednesday, February 16, 2005


Printable Version
Email This Article

Tim Goodman
Tim's Archives
As 'Raymond,' 'NYPD' pass on, save your tears
02/16/2005

'Arrested' takes a chill pill, slips down Fox hole
02/14/2005

REVIEW - Spike Lee's 'Sucker Free City' shows you a San Francisc...
02/11/2005







There were tears on the set as "NYPD Blue" finished filming its final episode ever. There were tears on the set when "Everybody Loves Raymond" filmed its final episode ever, as well.

To which we say -- stop the sobbing, already. When "NYPD Blue" ends, there will have been 262 episodes. "Everybody Loves Raymond" has been on for nine seasons. There is a time to let go, people, and that time was long ago.

Look, you got years and years of satisfaction, allegedly, from both series. Meanwhile there are people feverishly watching all the unaired episodes of "Wonderfalls" on DVD. There are fans aching for more "Cupid" and "EZ Streets" and "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." They are scarred and delusional.

Those people have no tears for "Raymond," a show the producers and stars didn't even want to run this season because, in their own words, there was nothing left to say. They only came back because you made them, you sick, venally voracious brats. Well, that and the money. They did get a lot of money to come back. Yes, sir.

That's not exactly cutting your ear off for art, now is it? And "NYPD Blue" was at its best, let's see, about two kids, a wife and a tempting bourbon ago.

Popularity isn't always good for creativity. Audiences loved these series to death. But most people don't watch TV critically. They watch to be entertained, to be transported out of their awful work environments and their numb interpersonal odysseys. A mere 262 episodes of "Blue"? Not enough!

Honestly now, how much more pain could Andy Sipowicz take? If "Blue" went one more season, there'd be an episode that took place on a space ship, no question about it. And Sipowicz would have to light himself on fire at least once. Dream sequences. Road trips to Tijuana. Long lost cousins. It was all out there, waiting.

So there are no tears here for either show. There is a clock on creativity and even television's finest writers can't sustain prolonged levels of brilliance. The hard fact is both of these shows were long past their sell- by dates before the on-set tears started flowing.

A certain professional jadedness allows no time for hearts-and-flowers goodbyes, only a steely-eyed scanning of the horizon for current shows that need to end.

Now.

Which -- couldn't call it unexpected -- really wasn't all that hard to do.

Goodbye "Law & Order." Enough, already. "Judging Amy" -- gone. "That '70s Show" -- out. "7th Heaven" -- your 10th season re-up has been reneged.

But that really wasn't hard to do. That's easy stuff. Getting rid of "ER" causes no pain, either. Same with "Crossing Jordan," and "Third Watch" and "The West Wing." Sorry, NBC.

Newsmagazines? Not needed. Let's clean house.

But where's the joy in filtering the deadwood? Critics loathe so much of what's on television now that it's too easy to wipe away three-quarters of the broadcast television schedule. In an instant.

To say that "My Wife and Kids" or "According to Jim" or "8 Simple Rules" or others on ABC need to go, based on a creative jihad, is only stating the obvious. But those shows are, indeed, long past caring. In the broadest interpretation.

Pulling a "Silkwood" on the Fox schedule of reality sleaze? A child could do that. A wee lass.

There has to be some kind of standard, a Mendoza line, a demarcation of patheticness that triggers immediate cancellation. How about this: A series has to be on the air for at least three seasons. If, at the end of that tenure, you don't know a single person -- family member, co-worker, person chattering too loudly in the supermarket line -- who utters word one about said series, then it's dead.

You know, like "Charmed."

That's a start, at least. But there's a bit of seriousness here, too. "NYPD Blue" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" really did overstay their welcome. "Blue" departs March 1. "Raymond" goes out May 16. Instead of tears, maybe the people behind series completely cluttering up the schedule -- like "ER," and "Law & Order" and "Judging Amy" will see the light.

It's not enough to be liked. It's not enough to be a successful place- holder. There should be an attempt to uphold standards. Be as good as your best episode -- regularly. You shouldn't get a free pass just to tell ongoing stories to a nation afraid of change.

OK, so rolling out new shows is often an exercise in failure. A network wants to hold onto a proven commodity and the viewer, presumably, has tired through the years of watching 44 shows in September in hopes of keeping five. It's easier not to break up than to break out.

But without change, you don't get growth. You don't get "Desperate Housewives" or "Lost" or ... or ... even something that's merely good, not quantifiably great. Isn't good better than stale? Isn't stale greatness bad? Yes, as a matter of fact it is, Mr. Don't Touch My Calcified Favorites.

Television needs to be more fluid. It shouldn't be about gold watches and sad farewells. You want a never-ending story? Watch the daytime soaps.

Now, don't just stand there. Grab a shovel and let's bury some shows.

E-mail Tim Goodman at tgoodman@sfchronicle.com