- News Archive December 1997 -
AUSTRALIAN CAMPAIGN UPDATE - December 29
The Sentinel has now moved to the even more popular time of 8:30pm Thursday nights across Australia, with TWO HOUR SENTINEL DOUBLE EPISODES following some intense campaigning from Australian fans. Letter writers who requested repeats of first season episodes have now been rewarded with these two hour time slots, which see Stargate:SG1 removed temporarily from the program, The Sentinel moves up into the 8:30 timeslot with the latest new episode, and this is followed by first season repeat screenings, starting on January 1 with the screening of "The Rig" back-to-back with "Siege".
The Australian fans have achieved some amazing successes within just a few weeks of The Sentinel returning to Aussie TV.
Several publications, newspapers and national TV Guides
have responded with coverage, reviews, pictures and promises of interviews.
Below are a couple of sample articles:
TUNE IN
The Daily Telegraph - Wednesday December 31
The Sentinel (Thursday, Seven at 8:30)
"After an army mission to Peru goes wrong, one soldier is left behind in the jungle to fend for himself. While there, something strange happens to his body and he discovers he can see, hear, smell and feel things far better than the average man.
Now back in the Western world, Detective Jim Ellison (Richard Burgi - pictured) uses his new found powers -- and a new friend who wants to study his abilities -- to fight crime.
A great fantasy/drama series, with excellent special effects."
SENTINEL
STANDS TALL
TV WEEK (National TV Magazine) - December 27 - January 2
The Sentinel - Seven/Prime, 9:30pm
Richard Burgi (left) stars as Jim Ellison in the American police series, The Sentinel.
Detective Ellison has hypersensitive senses, meaning he can see, hear, taste and feel better than the average man.
"It's a fantastic role to play," says Richard, who is best known for his daytime soap roles (in Another World, As The World Turns and Days of Our Lives).
Set in the fictional town of Cascade, Washington, The Sentinel is big on special effects. Creator Danny Bilson says: "We were looking to create a series that was in the vein of a Die Hard or Lethal Weapon."
Local fans continue to receive letters from Channel 7 acknowledging that they are giving the series a better publicity push this time round, and we are being treated to a major promo campaign during primetime. In addition, reader's letters sections of every major newspaper for the last month have featured viewer letters praising the show.
Channel 7 reports that The Sentinel is rating strongly for them at the moment, as is supported by the move to the Double episodes.
SOS WEBSITE FEATURED ON TV! - December 10
Last month, Gloria Ainsworth asked SOSers to write in to KPTV Portland, Oregon and suggest the SOS website for their "Hot Sites" feature that screens as part of the 10pm News. With thanks to all those who participated, last Wednesday night (Dec 10) KPTV took us up on the offer:
Here is the transcript.
Lars Larson reporting...
"The Internet has become a place where people can gather to show support for their favorite television shows. Our Hot Site is just such a place, it's located at http://world.std.com/~sentinel.
Fans of the UPN show The Sentinel post fresh messages, interviews, pictures and information about the show at this site. It serves as a lightning rod not only for supporting the TV show but for critiquing its story lines and characters and even for pressuring producers for making some changes.
The site lists TV stations around the country where you can see the show and advertisers who support it. Similiar sites have supported many other television shows on different networks and on cable channels.
Again our HOT SITE of the night Support Our Sentinel and the address again... "
During the report they showed the site and various pages!
SENTINEL CON 98 ANNOUNCED
The Sentinel Con 98 Committee, with the cooperation of Danny Bilson and The Sentinel production office, are pleased to announce Sentinel Con '98.
When: April 3-5, 1998 (Friday night through Sunday noon)
Where: Vancouver, Canada. The Renaissance Hotel, 1133 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6E 3T3.
Who: Expected guests will be Richard Burgi, Garett Maggart, Bruce Young, Danny Bilson, Bill Ferguson, and more (commitments permitting).
Costs: Memberships postmarked before January 10, 1998 will be $60 US. Jan. 11-March 20, 1998 will be $65 US. Hotel room fees are $106 US per double occupancy and reservations must be made through the hotel 1-800 line which will be included in your information packets.
Scheduled events: Q and A's, autographs, panel discussions, charity auction, charity brunch, video rooms, dealers' room, art show.
Charity Auction: The auction will include a Sentinel crew jacket, hats, posters, rare and one-of-a-kind on the set photos, scripts, props, and a very special item being donated by TPTB as a surprise for the lucky winning bid. Planet Hollywood will also be donating items as will other local Vancouver sponsors.
For further information or to register, visit the convention website or email SentinelCon98@juno.com
UPN MISSES CHANCE AT PREVIEW CHANNEL SPOTS - December 10
I called the Preview Channel to find out what the deal was on those "November" spots -- get this!
UPN paid specifically for the production of this bit. They produced it, and sent it to UPN for approval. UPN sat on it and now, since they paid Preview Channel for airtime during sweeps specifically, their time ran out, and it's over now!
The guy said it'll probably run during February sweeps.
Thanks Ann Teitelbaum
UPN LOSING MORE STATIONS IN JANUARY - December 9
BALTIMORE -- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) announced today that Judge Joseph H.H. Kaplan of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland entered an Order granting Sinclair's motion for summary judgment and ruling that Sinclair gave timely and proper notice of its intention not to extend the current United Paramount Network ("UPN") affiliation agreements for five stations owned or programmed by Sinclair.
The five stations are WNUV-TV, Baltimore, WPTT-TV, Pittsburgh, WSTR-TV, Cincinnati, KRRT-TV, San Antonio, and KOCB-TV, Oklahoma City. Sinclair had filed an action in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in August 1997 seeking a declaratory judgment that it had properly notified UPN of the termination of the affiliation agreements for these stations effective January 15, 1998. Sinclair will commence broadcasting programming of The WB Network on the stations on January 16, 1998, pursuant to the previously announced agreement between Sinclair and The WB.
A similar action filed by UPN is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court. UPN has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in that action, which is scheduled to be heard on December 15, 1997. The California action involves nine stations owned or programmed by Sinclair. The four additional stations are KSMO-TV, Kansas City, KUPN-TV, Las Vegas, WCGV-TV, Milwaukee, and WTTV-TV, Indianapolis. Sinclair believes that the Order entered in the Maryland action will be respected by the California court with regard to all nine stations.
SOURCE Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
(PRNewswire - Thanks Barbara)
If you're affected by these changes, take a look at the example set by Baltimore fans below. You need to find out what alternatives you have in your area to have The Sentinel screened on a different carrier.
The SOS Campaign and all the fans across the world can help you write letters and target local stations and interests. Write to us if you'd like more help.
BALTIMORE VIEWERS UNITE - December 5
As mentioned above, Baltimore fans will lose The Sentinel in January when WNUV Baltimore become a WB affiliate. A letter-writing/fact-finding campaign behind the scenes has produced some promising results.
While it looks like WNUV is definitely a lost cause, Comcast, the local cable company has mooted the possibility of adding a Channel 24 which could carry The Sentinel.
Karen suggests the following:
"Instead of addressing our concerns to WNUV, we concentrate instead on the cable company. We have what amounts to a monopoly (although the people in charge assure us otherwise) in my area as far as cable goes, and I live in a great big old "hole" and get no reception unless I have cable - not even major networks. So, unless the cable company decides to add Channel 24 - which is another target if we can get any more info on them - we are out of luck as far as UPN goes.
The info on the cable company is:
Comcast Cablevision of MD, L.P.
8031 Corporate Drive
Baltimore, MD 21236
(410) 427-9600 (voice)
If anyone wants to help the Baltimore fans write letters, you can email Karen and she will provide details of how you can write letters on behalf of Baltimore fans and Karen will post them in her area. Karen says, "Any help we could get would be gratefully appreciated."
Thanks to Karen, Laurie and the other Baltimore fans.
DEAN VALENTINE SPEAKS AGAIN - December 5
The following comments from UPN CEO Dean Valentine appeared in Entertainment Weekly (#408, Dec. 5) in an article titled "TV is Bad".
"TV is not a bar of soap. The worst thing that has happened in the last 10 years is the deflection of management's gaze: They're not looking at the show, they're looking at demographics. We hardly even heard that word five years ago; now, it's the first word out of [any network] programmer's mouth. The 18-49 demographic is an artificial category that doesn't mean anything."
"You can't do anything if you get tied up to ratings and demographics," asserts Valentine. "The result is a group of shows virtually identical: smart-looking blond people rattling around magazine offices in New York trying to find the elevator. It's embarassing that this is the best TV has to offer America."
Possible solutions? "Put on programming that gets tons of people to watch," says Valentine. "Home Improvement did not launch because someone said we need a show to get 18- to 49-year-old men."
The above led into the article's plea for counterprogramming. This next is about talent behind the screen:
"In the words of Jerry Maguire, we live in cynical times," says Valentine. "The networks show their cynicism by thinking of their shows as product or demo bundles to move around the schedule. They slight the writers -- by far the most critical component of TV -- by not allowing them in the door without having some stand-up comic attatched as part of the deal. You can't expect quality from people so fundamentally undervalued."
(Thanks Shel and Ann)
FORT WAYNE TIMESLOT CHANGE - December 5
Jennifer Wolf forwarded this response from her local affiliate WFFT:
"Unfortunately, The Sentinel was preempted again. You will be pleased to know that in order to prevent preemptions due to Fox's NHL coverage, The Sentinel will be moving to Sundays at 5pm effective January 25, 1998.
Thank you for your continued intetest in this series."
BYE BYE CASSIE - December 4
After the debut episode of The Sentinel's new character, forensics chief Cassandra Welles (Lisa Akey) Executive Producer Danny Bilson responded to fan concerns by announcing that she would only appear in three episodes and would not be a regular character.
As reported on various TS discussion lists, his response to Kristine Williams, who forwarded a series of questions to Pet Fly, included the following:
"I just want to assure you that virtually all of your concerns are being addressed. For various reasons we have tried some different things with differing results. I can safely say that there are three total episodes involving the Cassie character. She will not be a regular.
Thanks for your continued interest."
Danny Bilson
Thanks Michalina Pilcher who forwarded Kris' response to the lists
RICHARD BURGI INTERVIEW ON TV GUIDE ONLINE - December 4
This article comes from TV Guide Online'sSci-Fi News which is updated weekly. The editor has responded to fan enquiries with the news that he is currently organising a similar interview with Garett Maggart to appear in the next few weeks.
RICHARD BURGI AKA: Det. James Ellison on The Sentinel
OK, OK. Enough already with the jokes about an eagle-eyed detective, sniffing out crime. Now in his third season on UPN's The Sentinel (Wednesdays, 9 p.m./ET) as a cop with heightened senses, Richard Burgi has heard them all. Not that he really minds -- after years of soap work and guest-star stints on Seinfeld, Matlock and Empty Nest, Burgi is happy to settle into his own series. He chatted with our Jeanne Wolf from the show's Vancouver set. -- John Walsh
Now that you're in your third season, have you settled into the show? Are you more comfortable than when you started?
Yeah. Like, for example, this morning I was surfing, and I was trying to look at this bird that was about a quarter of a mile away. And I bird-watch, but usually I use binoculars. But this morning, I tried to go into Sentinel mode, and it didn't work. But I tried. See, I'm working when I'm not working. And when I'm working I try not to work too hard. Because, you know, it's something about this kind of character, this kind of thing you can't really push. Because all of a sudden if I do get hit with these senses, then what? Then, you know, then we've really got a problem. Then I'd have to figure out some way to make a living with hyper-senses. And that might be a good thing. But it might also get in the way, you know?
You do a lot of your own stunts. Was your athletic ability a factor in your getting this series?
I have a fortunate amount of genetic programming in my system. But I'm a pretty lazy guy. I've always been active, but all this gets to be annoying sometimes, you know? You gotta run and jump and do this and jump off that, hang off this. And it's crazy. This week I cut myself, wound up with stitches in my hand. I hit my head, I've cracked teeth. I mean, it's nothing major, but I'm very vain. This sort of thing can get to you after a while.
Tell us a secret about this season on The Sentinel. What can we expect to see?
Well, there's a woman who actually comes in between Sandburg [Garett Maggart] and Ellison. And there's that triangle of who's gonna get the girl. She's in charge of the forensics lab in the series. She's a delightful lady, doing her best to wade through the quagmire of The Sentinel, working with me and Garett every day.
C'mon... who's gonna get the girl?
Oh, I'll probably end up stubbing my toe somehow on this one. Sandburg's more the Lothario. I'm just the plodding, ponderous old cop, pushing middle age. I might get a sympathetic thrill now and again, but Sandburg'll probably bed her down. Then again, it could be a nutty ménage, or it could be none of the above. Or maybe there could be a Sandburg/Ellison romance down the road. Who knows? I mean, I'm a man of the '90s. I'm married and I'm feeling comfortable with my sexuality. I'd be willing to explore that sort of thing. You know, if they really wanted me to have a lip-lock with Sandburg, well....
What kind of shows did you watch as a kid? Cops and robbers? Action? Sci-fi?
Oh, yeah! All of the above. Yeah, my brother and I had a detective agency when we were kids. We were really enamored with these kids' novels, the Brains Benton series. They're rather obscure. They were, I guess, a thinking boys' alternative to the Hardy Boys. Not that the Hardy Boys were idiots. But, I mean, these were really wildly constructed stories that these two junior detectives went through. So he and I had fashioned ourselves after Brains Benton and his partner, and had a laboratory and all these Erlenmeyer flasks -- beakers and condensers. And we'd make this and boil that. And we had gunpowder, and we'd light fires in the basement. And it was total insanity. But the final straw, as far as my parents were concerned, was when... well, the house caught on fire one day. It got messy. So we had to retire early.
Does your life differ now from the way you dreamed it would be when you were a kid?
You know, one of the only clear ideas I ever had in my youth was that this is what I'd be doing. And I look at acting as a proletariat type of thing. You know, I don't have any grand plans or anything. I mean, it's a job. It's a great factory type of grunt job.
Do people crack Sentinel jokes when they recognize you in public?
Oh, sure. At an airport once, this guy asked me, "I forgot my glasses. Can you find out what time this plane lands?" And I was in a store with my wife once, picking out perfume. And she'd ask what a certain scent was called, or what was in it, and somebody would say, "Why don't you ask him? He'll know what works with your pheromones."
The Editor, John Walsh has responded to many fan enquiries:
"I'm really pleased with the fan response to our Sentinel coverage. I will be running the full text of my interview with Garett Maggart sometime in the next month or so."
John Walsh
Senior Editor
TV Guide Entertainment
Network
THE SENTINEL MAKES A SPLASH DOWN UNDER - December 4
December 4 marked the return of The Sentinel to Australian TV, screening on the Channel 7 Network, Thusday nights at 9:30pm, following the Australian debuts of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Stargate:SG1.
After the show received a tough hearing in it's last excursion, being moved all over the program to accommodate sporting events, Australian fans campaigned for better publicity this time round.
Viewer letters appeared in features in both major Sydney and Melbourne papers, involving photos of the cast and even emails from as far away as Canada.
Response letters from Channel 7 Melbourne reported the following:
"... Channel Seven Melbourne have been concentrating on placing The Sentinel promos and getting as much publicity for the program as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to write to us and express you views."
Kind Regards
Bianca Chung
Assistant to Program Director
If you would like to help Aussie fans support the show here are the addresses for your letters and emails.
SCI-FI WEEKLY RATINGS - December 1
Sci-Fi Weekly's web page runs their own weekly ratings listing, specifically of shows in the sci-fi genre.
For the week ending November 16, they reported the following:
"Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and The Sentinel also earned solid ratings gains, 0.4 and 0.3 respectively, moving them from the 16th and 17th slots in last week's top 20 list to the 12th and 13th spots in this week's list."
Source: Nielsen Galaxy 11/10-11/16, 1997
(Thanks Barb)