Two medical dramas set in the same town. Two prominent creators. One time period. One winner.
The outcome: One show gets a clean bill of health. The other is disabled.
That's how many television writers summed up the highly publicized showdown last September between NBC's "ER" and CBS' "Chicago Hope." To "ER," the victor of the Thursday-at-10-p.m. conflict, went the spoils: huge ratings, tons of publicity and accolades to creator Michael Crichton.
After getting hit by a steamroller, "Chicago Hope" has been given a prescription that CBS hopes will cure its ratings ailments and turn it into a long-running hit, too: a move to a proven time slot on one of the network's strongest nights.
Starting Jan. 2, "Chicago Hope" will slip into the Monday schedule at 10 p.m., home for the past 3 1/2 years to "Northern Exposure" (which is moving to Wednesdays at 10 p.m.).
This week, CBS is airing four episodes of "Chicago Hope," including three reruns, in its push to re-launch the series, but WBAL (Channel 11) isn't running the repeats in Baltimore.
For creator and executive producer David E. Kelley -- who is also the creator and executive producer for CBS' "Picket Fences," which has won the Emmy Award for best drama the past two years -- switching "Chicago Hope" to Mondays is just what the doctor ordered.
"To be occupying that prime slot is a real strong demonstration on the network's part that they consider us to be their future," Mr. Kelley said. "Obviously, a lot of people watch CBS on Mondays."
(NBC is countering CBS' move with its own preventive medicine: a rerun of the two-hour "ER" pilot on Jan. 2.)