Getting Into The Action

By Richard Zoglin

Never mind evil aliens, deadly phasers and the mysterious "wormhole" -- a sort of magic tunnel through which space travelers can zip to distant galaxies. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is one series that isn't afraid of abstract theoretical concepts. In the show's premiere episode, Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) tried to explain the nature of linear time, the idea that the past influences the future. "That is the essence of linear existence," he said. "Each day affects the next."

TV has its own version of linear existence: each hit show affects the next. Star Trek, the old NBC show and movie series, led inevitably to Star Trek: The Next Generation, one of the top-rated syndicated series on TV. That show has in turn spawned Deep Space Nine, whose two-hour premiere this month drew a whopping 21 rating, higher than any other syndicated-series episode in history. And now a whole fleet of hour-long action shows is buzzing into prime time, in an effort to satisfy the audience's appetite for shoot-'em-up (and beam-'em-up) adventure. Network executives are taking heed: if these independently distributed shows continue to do well, they could pose a bigger threat to the networks than an army of Klingons.

Among the attackers: Paramount TV this month unveiled not only Deep Space Nine but also The Untouchables, a new version of the Prohibition gangster saga. Warner Bros. TV has lined up 142 stations to carry Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, with David Carradine back as a mystic martial artist, and Time Trax, about a 22nd century cop who goes time-traveling in search of criminals who have escaped to the 20th century. They join such other hours as Highlander (the adventures of a centuries-old Scottish "immortal"), Renegade (Lorenzo Lamas as a motorcycle-riding ex-cop) and Street Justice (a sort of inner-city A Team). On the drawing boards for next fall: an updated Bonanza and Acapulco H.E.A.T., with Catherine Oxenberg as head of an antiterrorist squad.

These are not the sort of shows that will inspire encomiums from Viewers for Quality Television (though Carradine's slow-motion kick-fighting in Kung Fu probably deserves a camp Emmy). But they are the kind of lowbrow, meat-and- potatoes fare that the networks have all but abandoned, largely because their stunts and action scenes are so costly to shoot. Hour time periods on the networks today are more likely to be filled with magazine shows and "soft" character dramas like L.A. Law and Northern Exposure.

Why are action-adventure series so hot? With their predominantly male audience, they provide good counterprogramming to network fare, which tends to cater more to female viewers. Independent stations are increasingly turning to action shows instead of movies, which have been overexposed on the networks and cable. And since they subordinate dialogue to the thrills and spills, these shows travel well on the growing international market. Example: Baywatch, the canceled NBC beach adventure series, was resurrected two years ago by syndicators because of foreign interest. Now it is one of the top-rated U.S. shows overseas.

By selling foreign rights up front (and in some cases forming co-production deals with international broadcasters), syndicators can help defray the hefty production costs. Deep Space Nine and The Untouchables each cost upwards of $1.5 million per episode, more than comparable network shows. Time Trax and Kung Fu, on the other hand, are made for only about $750,000; the savings come from shooting outside the U.S. and the efficiencies of doing 22 episodes at a swoop. Says Dick Robertson, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution: "You can do all your car crashes at once, all your boat scenes at once, because you've written the whole season in advance."

For now, the customers for these action shows are mostly independent stations and Fox affiliates. But if ratings continue to be high, more network affiliates could pick them up and run them in place of low-rated network fare. The economic incentive is clear: with a syndicated show, a station can sell many more commercial spots than with a network program. For the network, however, such pre-emptions can be disastrous, since they erode the national circulation for its important prime-time schedule. Says Anthony Malara, president of CBS affiliate relations: "The idea of prime-time pre-emptions for syndicated programming is one of those things that will drive any network person right into a rest home."

So far, the networks have kept their affiliates in line by arguing that any short-term economic gain is outweighed by the value of keeping the network strong. Only two of the 196 stations running Deep Space Nine are using it to pre-empt network fare. "I think most affiliates are still very supportive of the network-affiliate relationship," says John von Soosten, vice president of Katz Television Group, a station representative. "But if a handful of affiliates pre-empt and they're successful, the natural tendency for a station is to say, 'Gee, maybe that would work in my market.' " And that is a wormhole the networks would just as soon not enter.

With reporting by William Tynan/New York