Robert A Brilliant

For years, poets and accountants have had us believing that April is the cruelest month. Maybe in the real world that's true, but in the life-and-death world of television, cruel can be any month that ends with a cancellation. Here we are a few weeks into the new season and several new series have been scuttled or relocated while others seem to flourish. The sometimes-science of market research is one tool used by networks in determining the life or death of much of what we see.

For years, poets and accountants have had us believing that April is the cruelest month. Maybe in the real world that's true, but in the life-and-death world of television, cruel can be any month that ends with a cancellation. Here we are a few weeks into the new season and several new series have been scuttled or relocated while others seem to flourish. The sometimes-science of market research is one tool used by networks in determining the life or death of much of what we see.

If anyone should know the ingredients for an Oscar-winning movie, Fred Zinnemann is that man. The veteran director, one of film history's most distinguished names, brought 20-odd pictures to the screen in a career spanning 40 years. Marlon Brando's debut film was Zinnemann's "The Men" (1950). Montgomery Clift won an Oscar in Zinnemann's "The Search" (1948), his first major film role. Meryl Streep's screen debut was in Zinnemann's "Julia" (1977).