Here’s a New Idea for TV Execs: Creativity

Re: Brian Lowry’s “What’s the Real Price of Rising TV Deals?” (Calendar, Nov. 2). At my first story meeting with Norman Lear, he told me his secret was that he surrounded himself with really bright, creative people. His philosophy was/is that the situation and writing must be there first or you’ve got nothing . . . something so simple that it’s clearly lost on today’s TV execs who, like lemmings, are all dashing for the ratings cliffs and jagged rocks below as fast as possible.

Here are the top network execs, all complaining about the skyrocketing costs of shows and the diminishing creativity that results . . . and not one of these spineless creatures offers to stop the madness by simply stating that his/her network will in the future dedicate more time and money to the development of solid, well-rounded situations instead of buying up talent who will certainly end up rich but more than likely embarrassed by the experience.

Solution: Instead of New York, fly your development people to Memphis, Boise, Pittsburgh, etc. Have them sit in coach and listen. They’ll discover that no one had ever heard of David Schwimmer or Matt LeBlanc two years ago. But they watch “Friends” because it’s funny. Watching Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman and Bill Cosby lately has been downright painful.

Final note to the lemmings: Television audiences don’t care who stars, they simply want comedies that are funny and dramas that are compelling. Period.

MIKE WALKER

Los Angeles