Couric Takes the Hot Seat; Star Trek Celebrates

September 2006 News

A trio of debuts: On September 5, Katie Couric (right) made her long-awaited anchor debut on the CBS Evening News. After a strong start (more than 10 million viewers tuned in to her first broadcast), Couric and company soon fell back to third place, behind NBC's and ABC's newscasts. The same day, Rosie O'Donnell kicked off her The View debut with a standing ovation and a joke about her longtime "crush," Tom Cruise. As for Meredith Viera, whose spot O'Donnell took? She seems to be doing just fine on NBC's Today. She started her new job, which was Couric's old job, on September 13.

Bumpy road for 9/11 programs: The fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks was marked by ceremonies, tributes, and -- for the producers of the ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11 -- controversy. Former officials in the Clinton administration, as well as Bill Clinton himself, charged the first half of the program misrepresented some scenes and fabricated others. The network said it would not cancel the miniseries, but would run disclaimers stating it was not a documentary, and said no one (including the conservative commentators who had praised the program) had seen the final version.

Over at CBS, some affiliates balked at reairing the documentary 9/11. In the film, narrated by Robert De Niro, some of the firefighters use profane language, and the affiliates were concerned that the FCC's tougher indecency rules would result in sizable fines. The network, which ran the documentary at 8 p.m. on September 10, said that affiliates that covered about 10% of the U.S. decided either to delay the program or not to run it at all. Viewers in those markets were able to see 9/11 online.

Sci-fi milestones: A happier milestone was reached on September 8, the fortieth anniversary of the first-ever Star Trek episode. To some critics the franchise has reached its final frontier (Enterprise, the most recent TV offering, bit the dust after only four seasons). However, Paramount is still charging ahead with an 11th film in 2008, and Star Trek: The Next Generation and the original Star Trek remain popular in cable syndication, with TOS returning to broadcast syndication September 16. Not bad for a sci-fi series whose first show only lasted three seasons.

Later in the month, Doctor Who entered the record books. The Guinness World Records has added a new category, longest-running sci-fi series, for its 2007 edition, and the time-traveling cult show is the category's first winner. Since it's already aired more than 700 episodes since its 1963 debut, Doctor Who's record won't be beat -- unless someone invents time travel for real!

Development news: Spike Lee is working on a new project, NoLa, for NBC. If the pilot is picked up, Lee will direct and executive-produce the multicultural ensemble drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Denis Leary has already gotten a commitment from Fox to make a pilot for an untitled comedy about a teenage thief who moves in with his grandfather, only to find that larceny runs in the family. Crime is a more serious matter in The Kill Pit, a bank-heist-goes-awry thriller set to debut on Spike TV next summer, with John Leguizamo as the leader of the would-be robbers.

HBO hopes it'll score with P.E., a comedy from Will Ferrell's production company about a one-time major leaguer who has to return home for a big helping of humble pie. And Fox has committed to an untitled legal comedy from (surprise, surprise) David E. Kelley. This time, the focus won't be on lawyers, but on jurors -- specifically, a group of jurors who are sequestered while trying to decide a high-profile case. This concept seems like it'd go nowhere fast, much like the jurors. But if anyone can avoid that pitfall, it's David E. Kelley.

-- A. Wu