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BEHIND THE SCENES ‘St. Elsewhere’ team decided to end the show while on top By Frank Lovece The NBC series ‘St. Else- : where” is not being can- celed, network spokesper- sons say, and co-executive producer Bruce Paltrow concurs. You might call its imminent demise euthana- sia - although the series was, creatively, in very good health. Bruce Paltrow “We'd done most of the stories we wanted to do,” Paltrow says. “After a while, no matter how much something works, people want to do other things. It was a collective decision, but it was in the air. I can't point to a particular mo- ment. After a while, you just know.” Most shows never reach that moment, although a few have ended on their own - one of the most nota- ble being ‘‘St. Elsewhere” ’s antecedent at MTM Produc- tions, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The old show- biz tradition of course, is to _ leave ’em wanting more These days, though, other considerations take hold. “The licensing fee (paid by NBC to MTM Produc- tions) is $1 million an epi- sode,” Paltrow says. “It costs us $250,000 more than that per show.” This sort of “deficit financing” is com- mon in TV; producers hope to make their money in syn- dication, where shows are leased for big bucks to indi- vidual TV stations. A five-year network run provides the minimum num- ber of shows needed to make syndication worthwhile, al- though that number is lessening. “It’s economic reality.” observes Paltrow. “We got to thinking that financially. maybe we wouldn’t make it. And I see (producers) John (Tinker) and Channing (Gib- son) working six, seven-day weeks for a year. I said. ‘Look, let’s address what's going on.’ ” Whether a high- er licensing fee would have changed things is academic: the show’s ratings probably didn’t warrant higher fees. , Paltrow’s next project is already underway: ‘‘Tat- tinger’s,”” a drama set in a New York restaurant. Like “The Cosby Show” and “Kate & Allie,” the series joins the mini-exodus from Hollywood to New York. “T’m not burned out,” Pai- trow laughs. “If we learned anything on ‘St. Elsewhere.” it’s not to rush the show You take it slow, and see where it goes.” Release the week of Feb. 21-27, 1988

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