ABC, still struggling, first to cut shows

© St. Petersburg Times
published October 11, 2002

So much for patience.

Despite telling critics it planned to give new series time to find an audience, ABC became the first network to eliminate faltering shows, announcing Thursday that the troubled time-travel drama That Was Then and the interactive mystery Push, Nevada will disappear from its schedule just before November's "sweeps" ratings period.

That Was Then, a convoluted drama about a thirtysomething guy whose consciousness travels back to high school, will not air at 9 tonight; another episode of America's Funniest Home Videos will air in its place. The network has six remaining episodes that might air later in the season.

Push, Nevada, which includes an interactive game with a $1-million grand prize, will air at 9 p.m. Thursdays until Oct. 24, allowing fans a chance to win the money. Additionally, ABC's two faltering Drew Carey series, his self-titled sitcom and the improvisational show Whose Line is it Anyway?, will move from 8 p.m. Mondays to 9 p.m. Fridays beginning Nov. 18.

It's a massive schedule shakeup indicating that, despite success on Tuesdays (including ordering a full season's episodes for the comedies 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Life With Bonnie and Less Than Perfect), the alphabet network has serious problems on nearly every other night.

In a continuing sign of cable TV's power, ABC will move the detective series Monk, a USA show that has found a new audience by being rebroadcast Thursdays on the network, into Carey's Monday time slots. Monk's two-hour premiere will air at 8 p.m. Oct. 31, with regular episodes airing at 8 p.m. beginning Nov. 18.

Heather Van Nest, a consumer reporter and substitute anchor at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, will take over Monday as co-anchor of WTSP-Ch. 10's morning newscasts, joining co-anchor John Harding. She replaces anchor Christine Haas, who had joined the show in June 2001.

Van Nest is not the only new anchor at WTSP: Mario Diaz, a former sports anchor and reporter at KTNV-TV in Las Vegas, will "play a major role in our afternoon news block," said news director Lane Michaelsen, declining to comment on rumors that the station will extensively revamp its 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. newscasts Monday with Diaz.

Diaz anchored Thursday's noon news with Marty Matthews, raising questions on whether the appearance was a "dry run" of sorts for WTSP's early evening shows next week. Michaelsen would not confirm or deny any details about Diaz's role, saying, "you might want to watch on Monday."

The St. Petersburg Times and WTSP showcase each other's news and features under a partnership agreement.

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