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...from the Nelsons to the Simpsons, it has largely meant married parents with kids. Not so this year. The lead character on ABC's "The Geena Davis Show" shacks up out of wedlock with a widower and his kids. The single-mom heroine of the WB's "Gilmore Girls" was knocked up as a teen; the grown-up star of Fox's "Titus" gets knocked out by his hard-drinking, oft-divorced dad. On Fox's "Normal, Ohio," dad is divorced and gay. From Ward and June Cleaver we've gone to Ward and June, cleaved...
...would you believe this teen-pregnancy idyll comes courtesy of something called the Family Friendly Programming Forum? The coalition of advertisers, formed to promote wholesome prime-time fare, put about a million dollars toward a WB fund for the writing of eight "family-friendly" scripts, and "Gilmore" survived. (The group hopes to strike deals with other networks.) The group had no input on the scripts, but members say they're happy with "Gilmore," even if it isn't the second coming of "Little House on the Prairie." "Would I have been happier if some of the language wasn't there...
...average" viewer). But it worked: "Gilmore" turns out to be neither crass nor cloying. On the one hand, it's unapologetic about its untraditional family unit - Lorelai made a mistake, but isn't condemned to a life of torture. On the other, it's practically radical to see a WB comedy about a smart teenage girl whose life doesn't revolve around...
...star Tori Spelling, Aaron's daughter. Her pitch-perfect analogue is Marcy Sternfeld (Lindsay Sloane), a dramatically challenged actress who's had career help from various surgical upgrades and a big-shot "uncle" in the TV biz. The pilot wounded Tori's dad--who just happens to produce the WB's top-rated series, 7th Heaven--and the network sent Star back to the drawing board to make nice...
...innovative producer, who mines glitter gulches for gems, but also one for whom every sincere emotion is likely to set up a knowing punch line. That's not to say he indulges in easy sarcasm; the Pointe flap shows sarcasm is anything but easy in Hollywood. At least the WB let stand a swipe at a network exec as "the genius who told Felicity to cut her hair." But if the WB's brass can't stomach satire that's bound to hit close to home, they'll end up as the geniuses who sabotaged its best new sitcom...