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| Not only is Saturday night undoubtedly the toughest night of the week to introduce new programming, but CBS has experienced an alarming decline in both the evening's anchor program, 'Early Edition,' and the 9 p.m. sophomore, 'Martial Law.' |
from CBS in quiz show face-off
Shameless Brit ripoff in death-inducing slot
By Andrew Wallenstein
Of the new gaggle of game shows hitting primetime this January, it's CBS's "Winning Lines" (Saturdays, 8-8:30 p.m. ET, beginning this weekend) that seems most destined for the dustbin.
Like ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", the quiz series CBS is blatantly ripping off, "Lines" is a modified version of a British hit that dangles a $1 million jackpot in front of its contestants. CBS secured U.S. rights from Celador Productions, which created both "Lines" and "Millionaire" in the U.K.
CBS honcho Les Moonves has publicly admitted he is jumping on the "Millionaire" bandwagon, and he certainly has his work cut out for him. In addition to "Millionaire," which airs three times a week, there is also FOX's sweeps weapon "Greed" (Fridays) and NBC's "Twenty One" (Sundays and Wednesdays) to contend with. "Millionaire" has also taken dead aim at the competition, inaugurating its January premiere with an eight-night marathon.
But even if CBS managed to clone Regis Philbin, it's unlikely the network can make any new series work on Saturday night. Not only is it undoubtedly the toughest night of the week to introduce new programming (see NBC's "Freaks and Geeks," which has been moved to Monday), but CBS has experienced an alarming decline in both the evening's anchor program, "Early Edition," and the 9 p.m. sophomore, "Martial Law," despite little competition.
The hour-long "Edition" is being benched until the spring; the half-hour "Lines" will be followed by "Candid Camera," which was recently displaced from its Friday slot by "Cosby." If "Lines" can't click, CBS may very well further destabilize the night, damaging "Law" and possibly weakening its solid 10 p.m. veteran, "Walker, Texas Ranger."
Luckily, CBS has wrangled TV ranger Dick Clark to host "Lines." The 70-year-old broadcasting legend lends the program not only a recognizable face, but a great deal of game-show experience on both sides of the camera.
Clark has hosted quiz classics like "The $64,000 Pyramid" and currently serves as an executive producer for "Greed" (hosted by Chuck Woolery).
In "Lines," 49 contestants answer trivia with numeric answers. Eventually, the field is narrowed down to one lucky finalist, who plays a three-minute "Wonderwall" round in which he must beat the clock to win up to $1 million.
In addition, a telephone sweepstakes allows viewers at home to call in and win prize money if the "Winning Lines Home Number" matches their phone number.
"Lines" may pick up viewers on the farther end of the 25-54 range, but expect CBS to jettison the program quickly if it can't top "Edition's" measly household numbers. FOX's "Cops" needn't be worried about losing its lead among 18-34 on Saturday; with a septuagenarian host and a conventional format, "Lines" is unlikely to attract youngsters.
The real test for "Lines" comes in its second week, when it airs on the same night as "Millionaire." NBC was so afraid of "Twenty" taking on "Millionaire" that it postponed its second episode. In any case, with at least 13 hours of game-show programming airing in primetime over the next two weeks, the binge could very well cause the entire genre to bust.
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Andrew Wallenstein covers television programming for Media Life.