Related articles and links |  1 of 2

Christy, the CBS series that exhibits a high level of faith rarely seen on network television, is returning as a midseason replacement, and the future of the show could hinge on a two-hour special episode to be aired Thanksgiving night.

The series opened last Easter as the top-rated CBS show for the week, but Nielsen ratings dipped for the remaining five weeks of a trial run. Still, the network ordered 13 more episodes for the current season. CBS president Jeff Sagansky was the show's biggest booster in putting it on the schedule last season.

But Sagansky has become a Sony executive, and Christy faces many hurdles before becoming a regular television fixture.

Advertising pays the bills, and ratings are the bottom line. A Christy episode costs $1.2 million to shoot, which is $300,000 more than the ad-rates revenue generates. (Some of the deficit may be whittled down via video sales.) The series is expensive to produce primarily because of the on-location shooting and the 35-millimeter cinematic process, used in motion pictures, but rarely in episodic television. In addition, Christy's demographics last season were poorest among urban viewers and those ages 18 to 35, the viewers advertisers covet most.

CBS, although finishing first in the Nielsen ratings last season, has languished in third place at the beginning of the fall season. Executives are not likely to be overly patient waiting for a show to build an audience.

Yet there are signs of hope.

Washington Post television critic Tom Shales says that because "CBS is experiencing a multitude of failures now," Christy will very likely be on the air soon. "The network got lots of praise for putting on a wholesome show with religious themes," Shales says. According to executive producer Ken Wales, who brought the Catherine Marshall blockbuster novel to the small screen after an 18-year struggle (CT, April 4, 1994, p. 90), CBS has received more cards and letters commending this show than any other in the network's history.

Wales says "several miracles" have occurred for the show to reach this point, and he has confidently "turned [it] over to the Lord." He would love for Christy to have a five-year run. And an attractive family-viewing time slot would not hurt. When the Thanksgiving special filming took place in September, nine episodes already had been completed as Christy awaited a time slot to replace a canceled series.

FAITH ON THE SET

A largely appealing element of the show has been its setting among the historic and visually stunning Smoky Mountains. The fog across the mountains does not lift until 9:30 in the morning. By that time on the isolated set, actors have long since been out of bed, cleared makeup and wardrobe, and are primed to labor on what will become a 12-hour shooting day.

The series backdrop-a 200-acre farm being leased from a Baptist family-was scouted out by Wales. The school and mission house were built from scratch in the middle of a pine forest, only two miles from Townsend, Tennessee, a small town at the edge of the Smokies.

The network and production company have control over the 140 cast and crew members. In addition to their penchant for personal privacy, many actors are circumspect about their Christian faith. In Hollywood, an outspoken Christian can quickly become an out-of-work Christian.

"The show not only has a religious slant but a moral one," says 19-year-old Kellie Martin, the petite and perky title character appearing in virtually every scene. "It has a good message for families."

next page... |  1 of 2

share this page

November 14 1994, Vol. 38, No. 13