Mon 5 Aug 2013
A TV Series Review by Michael Shonk: SOUTH OF SUNSET (1993).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[30] Comments
SOUTH OF SUNSET. 1993. CBS/Paramount/Stan Rogow Productions and Byrum Power & Light. Created and executive produced by John Byrum and Stan Rogow. Cast: Glenn Frey as Cody McMahon, Aries Spears as Ziggy Duane, and Maria Pitillo as Gina Weston. “Call On Me†performed by Glenn Frey (written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin).
SOUTH OF SUNSET was meant to be TV’s answer to popular action buddy movies such as 48 HRS. Poor acting, bad writing and the inability to duplicate what made the action buddy genre popular doomed this series to a quick death.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times (November 13, 1993), SOUTH OF SUNSET was the fourth series in TV history to be cancelled after one episode (the first three were YOU’RE IN THE PICTURE (1961), TURN ON (1969), and MELBA (1986)). The article also stated the show’s rating (6.1 and a 9 share) was “thought to be the lowest rating ever for a network prime-time series premiere …â€
Granted, October 27, 1993 on Wednesday at 9 to 10pm (Eastern), SOUTH OF SUNSET faced some strong competition from ABC’s HOME IMPROVEMENT (24.4) and GRACE UNDER FIRE (18.7), Fox’s MELROSE PLACE (9.3) and NBC’s NOW WITH TOM BROKAW & KATIE COURIC (11.5).
But as the Times article noted there were other reasons for not airing a second episode, mainly due to CBS’s lack of confidence in the show and the risk of staying with it during the November sweeps (important rating period that affected the local stations as well as networks).
An interview with Glenn Frey for the Chicago Tribune (October, 26, 1993) revealed some of the problems the series faced. Glenn Frey was not the first actor hired, Aries Spears as the comedic assistant was. Frey is best known for his work with popular rock band “Eagles†but had done some acting on TV (WISEGUY). However that was not how he got the job. The producers had been testing other actors with Spears for four months when a Paramount executive saw Glenn Frey sing on the Super Bowl pregame show and asked Frey to try out for the part.
But the teaming of Frey and Spears didn’t work. It is obvious Frey never felt comfortable in the role of Cody. Frey lacked the acting talent and confidence to make the complaining loser Cody a strong appealing character (as opposed to what James Garner did with Jim Rockford).
Cody ran the Beverly Hills Detective Agency located in the area south of Sunset boulevard in the low-income part of Beverly Hills (yes, there really is a poor section in Beverly Hills). The agency employed two people, Gina Weston and Ziggy Duane.
Maria Pitillo did what she could with the clichéd character of Gina, receptionist/assistant who was trying to find work as an actress while keeping in touch with her worried Mother in Kansas.
Aries Spears as Ziggy tried too hard to be Eddie Murphy. It didn’t help Spears the scripts forced his character to bounce between mature young man and immature idiot with a blink of a scene.
If the acting was bad, the writing was even worse. The scripts seemed to have little interest in the plots or action, instead the viewer was forced to suffer through pointless scenes featuring long-winded speeches and boring banter. The characters and stories lacked originality or appeal.
Production values were weak and often inconsistent. The gimmick of the Beverly Hills agency being in the poor part of Beverly Hills was ruined by Cody’s large office that grew larger every week (at one point it included a new pool table).
Cody often complained of a lack of money, but in addition to his large office, Cody had a home (where he held parties and had a pet duck), had an expensive wardrobe, and a bright yellow Pontiac GTO (for those endless scenes where Cody and Ziggy exchange banal dialogue). Better direction could have helped establish settings such as Cody’s home and made the car rides more visual interesting.
The series lone bright spot was an Emmy nomination for Opening Titles (Ed Sullivan and Jeff Boortz). It lost to THE X-FILES.
EPISODE INDEX
While CBS aired only one episode of the reported seven, VH1, during a salute to the “Eagles,†aired four more. At the moment, those five episodes are available to watch on YouTube. It is uncertain if the final two episodes, “Remember Me†and “Chalk Line†were ever filmed.
“Satyricon†(October 27, 1993) Teleplay by John Byrum Story by John Byrum and Stan Rogow Directed by Andy Tennant GUEST CAST: Wendy Benson, Season Hubley, and Richard Schiff *** Cody is working on a cheating spouse case when he is hired to find who is threatening a young tennis star, and then he is hired to find a gang leader who jumped bail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzaXnFGxbyk
“Dream Girl†(VH1) Written by Paul Brown Directed by Felix Enriquez Alcala GUEST CAST: Mark Blankfield, John A. Fitzpatrick and John Diehl *** A friend of Cody’s mom, Lou the toilet King of Queens is in Los Angeles and hires the agency to find a girl he has seen only in his dreams. Meanwhile Gina is hired to spend three months in the Caribbean making a movie, but overprotective Cody senses something is wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrPxRkI59cU
“Custody†(VH1) Written by John Byrum Directed by Oz Scott GUEST CAST: Judith Hoag, Robert Torti, Julia Nickson and John Diehl *** A young mother hires Cody to get her nine year old daughter back from her ex-husband who had kidnapped her. Dad and his biker friends object when Cody grabs the kid back. Cody then discovers the kid is not eager to go back to either parent. Meanwhile, Gina goes undercover on a case of a cheating husband.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCz7X1bEb8Q
“Family Affair†(VH1) Written by Terry Curtis Fox Directed by Bruce Seth Green GUEST CAST: Carroll Baker, Amber Benson, Jeff McCarthy and John Verea *** A teen-aged girl had received postcards on her birthday for years from a man claiming to be her real father. This year he sends her an expensive jewel so she hires Cody to find the man. Meanwhile, Gina’s Mom visits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYBbslI0uKo
“Newspaper Boy†(VH1) Written by Reggie Rock Bythewood Directed by Michael Schultz GUEST CAST: Jessie Ferguson, Wendy Davis, William Allen Young and John Verea *** Parents of a young black teen come to Cody for help after their son is gunned down by a cop. Meanwhile, Ziggy’s love life goes bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwODCYQQw6I
No amount of time could have overcome the series problems in front and behind the camera. SOUTH OF SUNSET deserved its quick death.
August 5th, 2013 at 8:02 pm
I kind of wonder if anyone reading this review actually saw the single episode that was aired back in 1993. I know that I didn’t.
— Steve
PS. That video of the Emmy-nominated Opening Credits is actually quite good.
August 5th, 2013 at 9:29 pm
I never saw this show at all. Or even heard of it before.
Glenn Frey was good in his arc on WISEGUY. Lots of charm.
This was a fun review.
August 5th, 2013 at 11:35 pm
Wow- what a combo !
If poor acting, bad writing and an inability does’nt do it, I don’t know !
A Nielsen rating like a crotcheting course given by an abusive lady at prime time can barely beat it !
I must admit that I never heard of this televised jewel before.
Some things simply are meant to die, no matter how poorly you act, haow badly you write- they , for some obscure reason, don’t make it.
A mystery .
The Doc
August 6th, 2013 at 6:43 am
Steve, I saw it – or at least I saw part of it. Can’t remember if I made it through the entire hour. what I remember most was how incredibly obnoxious and off-putting Aries Spears was in his attempt to be the new Eddie Murphy.
August 6th, 2013 at 7:58 am
And it’s not as if 48 HRS wasn’t already obnoxious. (Typo alert…”Frey” gets some respelling in the piece as published at the moment, and I think that NBC program that was on opposite the pilot would’ve been DATELINE rather than the evening newscast.) Rushed work on television so rarely works out…which never stops anyone…
August 6th, 2013 at 9:18 am
I’ve fixed all of the Frye’s that showed up in the original piece, I think. If not, please let me know. I’ll hold off on the DATELINE error till Michael can confirm it, though you are in all likelihood correct, Todd. Thanks!
August 6th, 2013 at 9:56 am
2. Mike, glad you enjoyed the review.
3. Doc, it is amazing when the ratings get it right for a change.
4. Jeff, I found Spears annoying as well, but then I have never been a fan of the popular (at the time) Murphy. It was a challenge for me to make it through the episodes, but I was doing it for Mystery*File and to spare future researchers from the suffering.
5. Todd, thanks for correcting my spelling AGAIN!!! (“sigh”). Just call me Michael (sic) Shonk. But according to the “Times” article and TV Tango.com (my source for ratings), it was NOW WITH TOM BROKAW AND KATIE COURIC. Later the show would change its name to DATELINE WEDNESDAY. The original DATELINE was with Stone Phillips and Jane Pauley.
6. Steve, thanks, for fixing my spelling errors.
August 6th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Re Brokaw and Couric, I’ve made the change from NEWS to NOW.
PS to Michael: This now has to be the definitive article on the series. Thanks for slogging through all five episodes. I appreciate it!
August 6th, 2013 at 11:34 am
8. Steve, there is a Glenn Frey fan site that has a detail synopsis of each episode. The fan liked the show! Oh well, at least he could spell.
http://www.glennfreyonline.com/solo/moviestv/southofsunset.htm
August 6th, 2013 at 11:48 am
I suppose it’s a sign of my age …
See, I go back to the time when even the lowest-rated shows got at least thirteen weeks to play out before the ax fell.
To dump a show after as little as a single airing (back then anyway) was seen as awfully wasteful and a kind of bad faith on the part of networks and sponsors.
If you check back, you’ll find that the history of TV is filled with shows that started slowly (and ofttimes creatively bad) and were able to right themselves before the deadline rolled around.
The quick yank that is so convenient today was only used in cases of dire emergency – and even then as the absolute last resort.
The usual excuse – saving money – is invalidated by the extra expense involved in either creating another new show (which is every bit as likely to flop as the dropped one), or licensing multiple reruns of an existing hit (which increases that show’s expenses, however slightly).
If anyone ever bothered to sit down and do the real math, it might just have been that CBS would have been better off letting SOS have a regular run, and see if the showrunners could tweak it into at least a workable property.
It’s plainly obvious that quick yank/pinball scheduling just plain doesn’t work.
By the bye, here’s the latest from The NitPicker:
Jackie Gleason’s You’re In The Picture doesn’t qualify as a “one-week show” for the simple reason that Gleason kept the timeslot for the full thirteen weeks of his deal.
Jackie simply changed his format from a game show to a talk show – and might have continued beyond 13 if the sponsor hadn’t bailed on him.
I know that this is the Nit of Nits, but I do know how to pick ’em.
Yours in Mercy.
August 6th, 2013 at 11:59 am
Jeff, Comment #4. You’re one in a million!
August 6th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Michael, Comment #9. OK, so your article is now the definitive objective one on the series.
August 6th, 2013 at 1:38 pm
10. Mike, the “Times” article really explains well why this show did not get a second episode aired. The network wanted changes in the pilot so it delayed the series premiere.
In the article the producer wondered why they didn’t show episode two or three instead. If you watch all three you realize the first episode sets up the rest of the series and needed to be shown first.
Additional delays were caused by Baseball playoffs and the World Series. So it pushed the series back to the last week of October.
The ratings were so bad it hurt the successful series airing after (oddly enough called 48 HOURS). It made horrible business sense to allow that to continue through the November sweeps. If this had premiered in September more episodes would have likely been shown.
CBS never liked the show but was desperate for anything to attract young males. This was all they had ready for the fall, but I suspect by January they had other options.
No amount of time could have fixed this series when the basic problem was the star.
CBS Movies replaced it and immediately nearly doubled the ratings.
This was the season CBS had short orders (as little as six episode order) for more series than before.
The reason to cancel a series quick is most series, even those given time, fail. If a show fails to attract the audience the network promises, it has to refund the advertisers (usually with other spots). Add that they could charge based on ratings more for CBS Movies than they could get from keeping loser SOUTH OF SUNSET on and it is understandable why some shows get yanked while others get more time.
The only real question is why didn’t CBS show the finished episodes in a summer run?
August 6th, 2013 at 3:29 pm
#13:
Your answer raises another question:
If that SOS pilot was so bad as be unshowable –
– then why show it at all?
There’s ample precedent for dropping a show before it even gets on for precisely this reason.
(And most of those examples were CBS shows.)
All I recall about South Of Sunset was that it recieved one of the most elaborate and high-pressure publicity campaigns in recent TV history.
You couldn’t turn on your bathroom tap without getting an SOS promo.
Every season, at least one network (usually all three of the big ones) picks one new series for monster saturation promotion:
Here’s THE NEXT BIG HIT!!!!
Starring THE NEXT BIG STAR!!!
In a WEEK-LONG PREMIERE EVENT!!!
… and usually, this is the one that is gone in three weeks.
When any series can’t even get an audience for its first episode, could it be that the public is bored with it already?
All of us can come up with examples of TV shows that were “promo’d” to death in this way, both before and after South Of Sunset.
This all falls into the category:
“They Never Learn.”
August 6th, 2013 at 4:26 pm
14. Mike, here is a quote from CBS executive:
“There were other shows that tested better but (“South of Sunset”) provided a certain balance. CBS weakness is with young males; we acknowledge that,” said David Poltrack, CBS senior vice president for planning and research. “We hadn’t added much this season that was going to address that weakness. That is what put this show on the schedule.”
You are right. CBS promo’d it heavy on the World Series (imagine TV thinking advertising might sell even a bad product). This was the perfect spot to inform young males about the show. But the first episode’s rejection by the audience including young males proved to CBS there was nothing more to do for this lost cause.
Check out this promo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md3Z1JB7eLc
August 6th, 2013 at 4:36 pm
As promos go, that is one Very Bad one. I wouldn’t watch the show after seeing that if you paid me.
Well, maybe I would if you paid me enough. CBS, please inquire.
August 6th, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Maybe CBS was being merciful- seing that one Eddie Smurphy was more than enough to cleanse all mankind from all the sins conceivable.
Young males- my … !
The Doc
August 6th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
We’re back again to the junk science of demographics.
“Young Males” indeed!
It’s as if they think that the whole world groups up according to age/gender/descent/previous condition of servitude/religious or political affiliation (or lack thererof)/how you part your hair (or lack thereof)/etc. etc. ad infinitum.
When I was a Young Male 18-49 (that covers high school through thirty years of working for a living), I had more than a little contact with other Young Males in the same situation.
If I could have found any three of them whose tastes and opinions concurred on any topic at all, it would have been grounds to call Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
In the 14 years since I ceased being a Young Male 18-49, my tastes haven’t changed all that much – some things I didn’t like back then I like now, and vice versa. Same deal with new stuff – some I like, others not.
But if there really is a Demo Playbook that can even semi-infallibly forecast what this subgroup or that will go for –
– There is no such thing.
– … and if there is, it’s probably wrong most of the time anyway.
Like I said, junk science.
Too bad that the whole entertainment business is run by Junk Science Junkies.
August 6th, 2013 at 5:40 pm
18. Mike, it may be junk science but it was the only science TV has. Today the rating system is more complex as many advertisers demand more details so they can reach its target audience. It is not enough to say 18-49 or women 18-49, now it has to be female 18-49 in urban area with income over $50,000 with at least some college education and the name Wilma with a husband named Fred.
Back when I worked in a local film production company that did advertising, I explained demos as a way for the advertiser to reach the most number of his customers for the least money. If you were selling women hygiene product you don’t buy time during THE SMURFS, if you are selling toys your money is better spent on THE SMURFS than whatever was number one in the ratings (60 MINUTES was at the time).
The system is currently the only way to set prices that sellers and buyers agree on.
This is changing as TV is changing. This year the Emmy’s nominated a series you can not watch on your TV set for best drama TV series (HOUSE OF CARDS from Netflix). Ratings mean less and less for what is a success on television. The media is still years behind reality when it comes to what it says makes a TV show a success. The Big Four are threatening to go pay only, the cable and satellites are fighting for their financial life and everyone is adjusting to the fact the young market watches TV differently. Ratings Plus 7 market (audience who DVRs and watches the show later) means something now. The young market tends to only watch commercial supported TV with the ads when the program is live or an event (sports and reality programs).
CW programs for young women. The age of the average viewer of CW is nearly 50. The network is losing money but is a financial success for its owners, CBS and Warner. It shows only programs from CBS Studio and Warners TV, allowing the studios to make more money than the network loses.
The entertainment business is wacky and ratings and demos seem to fit the system well.
August 6th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
This thread had now lasted longer than the original broadcast of SOUTH OF SUNSET.
(Just joking!)
Those credits for SOUTH OF SUNSET are indeed cool.
August 6th, 2013 at 10:56 pm
20. True, but we are more entertaining.
August 19th, 2013 at 9:26 am
I had lobbied my friend very hard to get those five episodes of SoS posted on Youtube. At least someone is watching them. Heh.
The producers tried to pivot off of Frey’s music industry appeal but instead made a weak show even weaker. Pitillo had worked with the Rogow/Bryum team on their previous show “Middle Ages”, and she was the first one hired for SoS. Spears came along soon after.
Rogow and Byrum both left a trail of terrible TV throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Rogow’s pinnacle achievement was the “Lizzie McQuire” series and movie.
I had inquired to Paramount, and the seven episode ‘block’ was indeed taped, but it is unlikely that the last two will ever see the light of day.
August 19th, 2013 at 3:27 pm
22. D_Fitz, thank you for your efforts to convince your friend to post these episodes.
I wonder why the producers did not take advantage of Frey’s musical talent and make this more like MIAMI VICE meets THE ROCKFORD FILES.
It doesn’t surprise me Pitillo was the first hired and ignored by the press. First, because this was a buddy show. And second, because of the view of women at that time. Her character had Mommy and male boss looking over her. I was amused the best woman guest character was a mother and housewife who had rejected a career.
Does your friend have SHANNON’s DEAL?
For those who wonder if SOUTH OF SUNSET will ever make it to DVD, ask CBS which bought the rights to all Paramount TV shows. This was done just after Viacom kept Paramount Movie studio and broke off CBS (and some cable networks) into its own company.
I wonder why VH1 didn’t show all seven episodes.
August 19th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
I doubt my friend has Shannon’s Deal, he was just 13 when SoS aired on Vh-1.
It would be interesting to see what the original storyboarding from SoS really was. I got the impression that they tried rolling a bit of Glenn Frey into his character.
I confess that I adore Maria Pitillo, but I had never seen SoS until my friend finally put these online. One of the curious things about her is how she integrated the characters into her personal life, or vice versa. I don’t follow too many Hollywood personalities, this might not be unique to her. I keep coming across Meisner-technique acting, and I suppose it makes sense to integrate real life interests/stories into a character.
I wish I could edit these posts, I hope it makes sense.
August 19th, 2013 at 7:52 pm
“Her character had Mommy and male boss looking over her. I was amused the best woman guest character was a mother and housewife who had rejected a career.”
The show was very patriarchal, if that’s the word I am looking for.
August 19th, 2013 at 8:24 pm
24 and 25. Both your posts makes sense:) You have good taste. I suspect everyone has their own version of Maria Pitillo (mine is Stephanie Zimbalist).
August 19th, 2013 at 8:47 pm
26. She was a hottie too.
I had the opportunity to chat with Producer Jeff Greenstein a week or two ago about one of his shows called Partners, which also starred Pitillo. He was very insightful about the creative process. SoS had many of the same development problems when it came to casting the male leads.
I had hoped at one point to try to find Rogow, but he doesn’t seem to maintain any online presence, and Spears wasn’t interested in talking about it at all.
August 19th, 2013 at 8:59 pm
I made a two dvd set of the five episodes that aired. It’s not that hard to do. The Youtube videos are of fairly decent quality. I boosted that audio level and ran it through an equalizer which helped a lot.
January 19th, 2014 at 2:20 pm
Hi, I was just updating the Wikipedia article on SoS and I came back here to link this article. I have a question, is this an article from 1993 or something that this blog put together over the summer? I suppose I should google Michael Shonk, but I’m looking for any input. Thx Dan Fitz
January 20th, 2014 at 12:52 am
Hi, Dan, I am Michael Shonk. This was done in August 2013 for Mystery File blog. Good to read you plan to update Wikipedia. I am amazed the You Tube links are still good.