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| The series is also dotted with voiceovers that seem especially derivative of 'Felicity.' Both share the basic premise of a young naif coping with a new environment. |
unoriginal copper from Fox
No cliché left unturned in Friday pilot
By Andrew Wallenstein
Unfortunately for Fox, "Ryan Caulfield: Year One" (Fridays, 8-9 p.m. ET, beginning tomorrow night) won’t likely snap the network’s losing streak with punchless pilots this season.
In what may be this year’s most unlikely programming hybrid, "Ryan" is like "NYPD Blue" crossed with "Felicity": A green-gilled19-year-old rookie officer takes on the mean streets of Philadelphia. But whereas "Blue" avoided the hoary cliché of the moist-eared cop by making Rick Schroder’s character a precocious know-it-all, "Ryan" embraces the stereotype.
Sean Maher is engaging enough as the title character, but the pilot script borrows liberally from every cop drama in history. There’s the scene where he tries not to lose his lunch upon witnessing his first dead body. There’s the scene where a suspect loses his lunch on him. There’s the crusty veteran partner (Michael Rispoli) and the sexy fellow officer/love interest (Roselyn Sanchez). "Ryan" reeks of "been there, done that."
While failing to innovate the TV cop genre, the series is also dotted with voiceovers that seem especially derivative of "Felicity" considering both share the basic premise of a young naif coping with a new environment. A big part of the show is the life Ryan left behind, the party-filled days of college being experienced by his friends Vic (James Roday) and "H" (Chad Lindberg).
"Ryan" isn’t entirely awful, but Friday has not been kind to Fox. In its premiere last week, "Harsh Realm" got hammered in the 9 p.m. slot, losing 34 percent of its lead-in’s audience. Not only did CBS competitor "Now & Again" reign in adults 18-49 and total viewers, but "Harsh" creator Chris Carter attracted 10 million more viewers to the premiere of his previous creation, the ill-fated "Millennium." In addition, Friday was a Nielsens no man’s land last year for the network, putting both "Millennium" and "Brimstone" out to pasture.
"Ryan" may have better luck than "Harsh." Attracting males 18-49 may be easier because while Carter’s sci-fi series has the upstart "Now" to contend with, "Ryan’s" criminal-justice focus could appeal to men not being served by either NBC’s female-skewing "Providence" or ABC’s teen-skewing "Boy Meets World."
Still, Friday at 8 p.m. has been hard on new entries aiming for that demo. WB’s animated "Mission Hill" is lagging behind the rest of the network’s urban block ("Hill" scored a 2.1 last week, dropping nearly a point from the rest of the night’s programming). ABC’s "World" moved to the anchor position only after "The Hughleys" dragged the "T.G.I.F." lineup, which is seeking an older audience this season, to record lows in its first two weeks.
Fox has also had the worst luck with pilots this season. "Action" and "Get Real" have suffered badly enough to earn a brief hiatus for November sweeps. Sophomore entry "Family Guy" got beaten so badly by UPN’s "WWF Smackdown!" that it may not be back until the spring. The network’s coverage of post-season baseball may help shore up ratings losses, but has a disruptive influence on time slots ordinarily occupied by new series trying to find an audience.
-Andrew
Wallenstein, a New York writer, covers television programming for Media Life.