Steven Bochco

Thank you, Jim McKairnes, for addressing the misconception of Steven Bochco that the American public is turning away from network TV due to a lack of R-rated programming ("Why the Viewers Are Fleeing the Networks," March 9). How wrong he is. I have quit watching network television, with the exception of the news and old movies, to escape the constant, insipid sexual innuendo currently found in most network programming. What a bore. The public really isn't as stupid as the media always believed.

ABC has ordered 13 episodes of a one-hour police drama that it had rejected last month, but the new series "will not be an R-rated show" as writer-producer Steven Bochco originally had proposed, an ABC spokesman said Friday. The network had turned down the series last month because of Bochco's insistence that it include partial nudity and strong language. Bochco subsequently rewrote the pilot for the series, tentatively titled "NYPD Blue."

Buffeted by a drop in ratings and harsh critical reaction from the news media, Patricia Green has resigned as co-executive producer of "L.A. Law." Steven Bochco, the show's co-creator, and former executive producer David Kelley, who left the show at the end of last season, will oversee scripts for the remaining eight episodes of the NBC drama's sixth year. Rick Wallace, who oversees production, will remain as co-executive producer. Although the legal series still ranks No.

Here's a little quiz, multiple choice. Complete the following sentence: Network television stinks because of: A. Producers. B. Advertisers. C. Networks. D. Dan Quayle. E. All of the above. You could make a case for any of these choices, but my own personal pick would be: C. Networks. Let's face it, if you've spent more than 20 minutes in the television business, you know you can run a network better than "those guys." Of course, whether you'd want to is another matter.

Backstage intrigue and power struggles are rocking the Oval Office -- and that's after just two airings of ABC's "Commander in Chief." Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Television, which produces "Commander in Chief" for ABC, another Disney unit, Friday replaced Rod Lurie -- the writer-producer who created the series about the nation's first female president -- with producer Steven Bochco of "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue" fame.

The resolution of the Jay Leno-David Letterman dispute wasn't the only news out of NBC this week. The network also announced that: * "L.A. Law" co-creator Steven Bochco is returning to the series as executive producer, along with former producer William Finkelstein, creator of ABC's "Civil Wars." They replace John Tinker and John Masius, who'd taken the helm at the beginning of the season but failed to restore the legal drama's ratings or critical glory.

How far will 20th Century Fox go to keep super-hot producer Steven Bochco happy, he of "L.A. Law," "Hooperman" and a landmark 10-series deal with ABC? Try this: Harris Katleman, Fox TV production president, who brought Bochco to the Pico lot, will be vacating his own offices. In fact, half the studio's two-story TV building will be turned over to Bochco in the months ahead.

Steven Bochco, the producer of "NYPD Blue" and "Hill Street Blues," has sued 20th Century Fox Film Corp., claiming that the studio cheated him out of at least $15 million by selling the reruns of "NYPD Blue" to its sister cable network without seeking other bidders. Fox produced "NYPD Blue" and sold it in reruns several years ago to its FX cable channel for about $400,000 an episode, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.