Word: nbc
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...programmers were always predictable, Hill Street Blues would have had a short life as one of the medium's more notable flops. Despite critical praise, the unorthodox police show settled near the bottom of the ratings after its January 1981 debut. But NBC renewed it anyway and then watched a remarkable success story take shape. First came a passel of Emmys (eight after its first season, a record-breaking number for one series; 26 all together), then a growing corps of dedicated viewers. People who claimed to watch little else on TV would tune in faithfully for the intricate...
...unusually complex, interweaving a dozen or so major characters and several ongoing plots each week. If the comic interludes were often heavy- handed and the drama sometimes soapy, Hill Street nevertheless defined "quality television" for much of the '80s and was a key building block in NBC's climb from last place to first in the ratings...
...departure of Steven Bochco, the show's co- creator, fired after reported disputes over cost overruns. Yet new characters (like Dennis Franz's choleric Lieut. Buntz) and continued good scripts (including one this season by Playwright David Mamet) injected fresh life. "This one never went downhill," says NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. "It's like a ballplayer: you want to see someone go out a winner, like Sandy Koufax, instead of dropping fly balls in left field...
Spalter will appear on NBC's Today show next week to debate with the president of ETS. BOSTON UNIVERSITY...
After Toscanini had more than proved his genius as leader of the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s, NBC radio hired him, formed an orchestra for him, and launched a media blitz that celebrated the maestro as the foremost conductor of the European music...