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October 1, 2001

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - This is the thinking man's spy show, the ``Law & Order'' of the new bunch of CIA/FBI - focused dramas that peer into covert worlds of espionage.

``The Agency'' had its premiere episode yanked due to its subject matter -- Osama bin Laden  forces planning to bomb Harrods in London -- and in the long run it benefits from this sharper and simpler debut.

Portions of the initial premiere that dealt with character introduction found their way into Thursday's segment, which CBS did not supply for review prior to the airing. Wisely, though, the agents' personal dilemmas took a back seat to the group's mission -- figure out who is trying to kill Fidel Castro on his visit to the U.S.

The operation's mainstays are Matt Callan (Gil Bellows of ``Ally McBeal''), who is consumed by the in-the-line-of-duty death of his agent brother; the fatherly Jackson Haisley (Will Patton), who combines an air of superiority with a caustic gruffness; Lisa Fabrizzi (Gloria Reuben), a particularly adept agent; and Terri Lowell (Paige Turco), a graphics designer looking for a more challenging line of work.

They are overseen by Alex Pierce (Ronny Cox) and Joshua Nankin (David Clennon) who approach their charges with wildly differing styles: Pierce is a commanding officer, Nankin a benevolent uncle. Their roles, for the time being, are slightly underwritten, leaving the door open for more fleshed out segments down the road.

Premiere takes the D.C.-based agents on a 40-year history lesson of planned U.S.-Cuba attacks and alliances until they come across one anti-Castro force that was contracted in 1963 to kill the island's dictator. Nobody, seemingly, told the anti-Castro people that the deal was off.

Show winds its way through interviews, photographs, records searches and rhetoric; ``They're afraid of a peaceful end,'' Pierce says sternly. Assassin's plot is foiled by circumstance, but Callan saves the day with brute force in a rather unconvincing closing.

Alex Zakrzewski's direction is efficient in a show that isn't looking to break any new ground. This episode, more than the originally scheduled premiere, emphasizes the crime-solving over home lives, and it makes for a more compelling show. Of course, ``The Agency'' is going up against the eighth season of ``ER,'' which blends lives at work and at home with an uncommon seamlessness.

``The Agency'' appears to have good intentions. It's not aimed at a particular demographic, it doesn't rely on special effects or promoting its stars, and it's content to live in a humorless world that focuses on the activity at hand. It's old-fashioned, just like ``Law & Order,'' and one imagines that if given a chance to take a few baby steps forward, ``The Agency'' could grow up into something substantial.

Matt Callan ..... Gil Bellows
Carl Reese ...... Rocky Carroll
Lisa Fabrizzi ... Gloria Reuben
Terri Lowell .... Paige Turco
Joshua Nankin ... David Clennon
Jackson Haisley .. Will Patton
Alex Pierce ...... Ronny Cox
With: Richard Speight Jr., Castulo Guerra, Geoffrey Rivas, Patrick Munoz.

Filmed in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., by Radiant Prods. and Studios USA in association with CBS Prods. Executive producers, Wolfgang Petersen, Gail Katz, Shaun Cassidy, Michael Frost Beckner; co-executive producer, Ed Zuckerman; producer, Bob Simon; director, Alex Zakrzewski; writer, James Bannon; director of photography, Aaron Schneider; production designer, Bill Eigenbrodt; editor, Randy Roberts; music, John Ehrlich; casting, Janet Hirshenson.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS

LOS ANGELES (AP) - CBS has yanked Thursday's episode of "The Agency" because of its too-timely plot: a CIA effort to fight an anthrax threat to the United States.

"We certainly don't want to do anything to add to the country's fears about anthrax," network spokesman Chris Ender said Tuesday.

In the past two weeks, anthrax has been discovered in three states and the District of Columbia. Tests have shown that at least 13 people either have the disease or were exposed to its spores. One person has died.

So far, all of the anthrax appears to have been delivered in letters.

"The Agency" episode originally was to air Sept. 27 but was pulled after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It was among a number of changes networks made in the wake of the tragedy.

The anthrax episode was rescheduled to air Oct. 11 but was bumped that night by President Bush's primetime news conference. Rescheduled to this week, it has now been postponed indefinitely.

"As anthrax cases and public fears spread throughout the weekend and into Monday, it became clear we couldn't broadcast this episode," Ender said.

Airing in its place will be an episode about American miners taken hostage in Indonesia amid a coup threat.

Trying to be sensitive to the public mood and events is a particularly thorny issue for "The Agency" and the handful of other spy and crime shows debuting this season.

CBS pulled the pilot episode for "The Agency," which opened with a Middle Eastern scene of a booby-trapped hostage, gagged with a U.S. flag, dying in an explosion.

In the new Fox series "24," about a U.S. counterterrorist unit, the pilot aired after editing of a scene showing a bomb exploding on a plane.

And NBC scrapped a script with a terrorist story line for the new action series "UC: Undercover," which focuses on a Justice Department crime-fighting unit.

"It's very difficult to do a serious drama about the CIA without colliding with the headlines in some way, shape or form," Ender said of "The Agency."

TUBE TALK Like the Emmys, CBS' new CIA drama ''The Agency'' has been jinxed several times by recent news events. First, CBS had to pull the pilot episode, which revolved around an Osama bin Laden-linked bombing plot. CBS had scheduled a new premiere episode for last Thursday, but that got bumped by President Bush's press conference. Now, CBS has ultimately decided to yank that episode too because it deals with an anthrax scare. Instead, the show will premiere this Thursday with an episode about Americans taken hostage in Indonesia. That hasn't happened yet in real life, has it?...

  HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - CBS has drained ``Wolf Lake,'' but the news is better for the network's fellow rookie drama ``The Agency.''

  CBS placed the spooky thriller ``Lake'' on hiatus after four airings Monday, while ordering five additional scripts of the spook drama ``Agency.''

  Despite a teaser campaign that promised partial nudity (viewer discretion advised, of course), audiences didn't howl for ``Wolf.'' The drama averaged only 6.6 million viewers, down 40% from what CBS' Wednesday night movie pulled in the 10 p.m. hour last year.

  CBS execs are mulling how to fill the show's time slot, but haven't yet decided. Candidates include the John Wells drama ``Citizen Baines,'' which has languished on Saturdays.

  CBS had previously announced plans to air an edited version of ``The Concert for New York,'' which was telecast by sibling cabler VH1 on Oct. 13, in ``Wolf Lake's'' time slot this week.

  ``Wolf Lake'' followed the creepy goings-on in a small town where residents can morph into wolves. Lou Diamond Phillips starred as a sheriff who comes to town to investigate the disappearance of a prominent town leader's daughter.

  After picking up the series, CBS reworked the show's original pilot, making a number of tweaks such as turning Phillips' character into a law officer. Sharon Lawrence and Mia Kirshner were added to the cast, which also included Tim Matheson and Graham Greene.

  CBS had hoped to attract younger eyeballs with ``Wolf.'' The network at least brought more young males to the hour, posting 29% gains among men 18-34 and 10% among men 18-49 vs. last year's femme-focused movie. But overall, ``Wolf'' was down 9% among all adults 18-34 and 18% with adults 18-49.

  As for ``The Agency,'' the script order could be a good sign that CBS is close to picking up the CIA drama for a full season. While not a ratings blockbuster, ``Agency'' has nonetheless given CBS year-to-year increases in the tough time period opposite NBC's ``ER.''

  ``Agency'' also has suddenly found itself relevant as the U.S. continues its war on terrorism. The show had already filmed an episode about anthrax when the disease became a real-life threat. That episode airs this Thursday.

  HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - CBS has given full-season orders to rookie dramas ``The Agency'' and ``The Education of Max Bickford,'' as well as to second-year hour ``That's Life (news - Y! TV).''

  The news wasn't so good Wednesday for the network's Sunday-night newcomer ``Citizen Baines'': the series has been canceled -- and in a twist, its producers asked for the ax.

  Of CBS' five new dramas this season, three have received full orders (''Agency,'' ``Bickford,'' ``The Guardian'') and two are on hiatus (''Baines,'' ``Wolf Lake''). CBS has canceled first-year comedy ``Danny''; there's no word yet on a pickup for ``The Ellen Show,'' which is struggling on Fridays.

  While none of the three dramas picked up Wednesday have been ratings powerhouses, ``Agency'' and ``Life'' have both shown encouraging signs.

  ``The Agency'' is averaging 10.08 million viewers in its difficult 10 p.m. Thursday slot opposite NBC's ``ER.'' While the CIA  drama is losing a huge chunk of its lead-in from ``CSI,'' it's actually managed to improve CBS' performance in the slot by 112% vs. a year ago in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic.

  As for ``Life,'' the family saga has slowly built an audience in its 9 p.m. Friday slot, increasing 30% from the start of October through last week. Overall, it is averaging 7.1 million viewers.

  After a strong debut, the Richard Dreyfuss starrer ``Max'' has slowly lost its Sunday audience, but still wins its 8 p.m. slot in household ratings and averages 12.03 million viewers. Compared with ``Touched by an Angel,'' which aired in the time slot last season, ``Max'' is down 20% in viewers and 29% in adults 18-49.

  As for ``Baines,'' which stars James Cromwell as a former U.S. senator, the show's last scheduled episode is set to air Nov. 10. The cancellation comes after a conference call Tuesday among ``Baines'' producers John Wells and Lydia Woodward, Warner Bros. TV and CBS. While its future already was shaky, Wells and Woodward decided they wanted to call it quits. CBS obliged.

  ``In this changing business environment, it doesn't make sense to continue with a product that doesn't have a financial upside,'' Wells said through a spokeswoman. ``Now more than ever, we must be responsive to our partners at the studio and the networks. Unfortunately, even with the full support of the studio and the network, sometimes a quality product cannot find its audience, as was the case with 'Citizen Baines.'''

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