Lou Grant

Didn't Lou Grant sing "Sweet Jane?" Or was he the one who was caught with Divine Brown?

All I know is it's a shame he could never get the Vikings over the hump.

 

Some random thoughts ...

@SoCalDude: Totally agree with you regarding Linda Kelsey (aka Billie Newman). I worked with a reporter who was exactly like her, from her red hair and petite figure to her penchant for corduroy jackets. Also agree with you regarding the characters getting too involved; I chalk it up to TV needing to alter reality just a little bit to make it more palatable for audiences.

@HanSenSE: I fear you're right.

@Frank_Ridgeway: Rossi was easily the most accurate character on the show. Apparently, Robert Walden shadowed an L.A. Times reporter for a month or so before production began. Also, you're right about Charlie Hume ... his personality change was a very important factor in the direction of the show. The original character sketch was that he was supposed to be a weakling all the way, bowing to the whims of Mrs. Pynchon and bullied by Lou Grant. Glad that aspect changed ... it added some realism.

I learned those details from "Lou Grant: The Making of TV's Top Newspaper Drama," which I bought in 1997. It's a great look at the history of the show, the philosophy, the realities, the things that would play on TV, the things that wouldn't, original character thumbnail sketches, plot lines for every episode, that sort of thing. It's a pretty insightful look at the show, and very respectful of the business it mirrored.

One amusing/disturbing thing I read: Ratings during the first season were so low that the network (CBS) approached the producers during the offseason and encouraged them to add some drama. They suggested Lou should carry a gun and go out and solve crimes.

http://www.amazon.com/Lou-Grant-Making-Newspaper-Television/dp/0815626754/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319336713&sr=8-4

 

He was much more believable as Axel Jordache.

 

Asner was funnier when Lou Grant was grouchier on MTM.

 

Yes, hack...I heard about the book...plan to get it off Amazon.

 

Actually though that's just the main characters...the newsroom setting is actually pretty large. I just watched an episode that sent three reporters, two photogs and an editor out of town on assignment to cover a kidnapping.

Wouldn't that be nice...plus expense reports with more than mileage on it

 

Here's a link for a show involving the sports department...

http://www.hulu.com/watch/723/lou-grant-sports

 

"Now, Brian, you go out back and play in the sandbox with Billy and Bobby and the other little boys."

 

Because of my stepdad, I watched Mary Tyler Moore, Taxi, Cheers, Barney Miller, Cheers, Newhart, M*A*S*H, Rockford Files, Magnum P.I. and a few others a kid. For that, I'll forever be grateful.

 

I was way too young to be bothered with Lou Grant, but I admit I was baffled as to how this TV producer in a comedy series ended up in a drama about a newspaper.

 

You shoulda seen Quincy, the toughest crime-fighting medical examiner on the street.

See also: Frank Cannon, fat tub of goo.

 

Who would win a race between Barnaby Jones, Cannon and Ironsides?