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Report that found not one woman among the writing staffs of three leading late-night yakkers, Doyle points out the certain folly that NBC and the industry courted by imagining that audiences could be held by filling the all-important 10 p.m. slot with frat-boy jesters talking up starlets in place of more costly but co-ed law, hospital and other dramas. "The idea was that Jay Leno might be a big hit at 10 p.m. and, soon, CBS, ABC and Fox would be airing chat/variety shows in prime time," Doyle writes. "It was utterly absurd, but supported by a lot of men who work in the TV racket or report on it. Maybe it was a guy-fantasy thing – prime-time network TV entirely in the hands of Leno, Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson and a bunch of others. All chatting away merrily with pretty young lady actors who want to promote a movie and, of course, the hosts telling lame jokes about sports. No more dramas about women doctors, lawyers and cops. Just guys hanging out, shooting the breeze." Commercial television has paid a heavy price by moving away from evening drama to lower-cost quiz and evening talk shows. Remember how fleeting was the buzz over fluff like "The Missing Link" and "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Remember the short-lived ubiquity of Regis Philbin? Now consider the staying power of the more costly dramas and sitcoms like "Bonanza," "Perry Mason," M*A*S*H* and "Friends." As M*A*S*H* was heading into its sixth season, film director Robert Altman , who inadvertently created the lucrative M*A*S*H* TV franchise with his 1970 movie of the same name, complained that the Korean War had not lasted as long as the damned TV show his film inspired.

SIR JOHN A. DAY | Birthday of Canada's first PM not celebrated...