'Pride' generates bad buzz

The animated comedy is one of NBC's highest-profile fall series.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When taped remarks from Roy Horn were played for a recent gathering in New York, the Las Vegas magician recovering from a near fatal tiger mauling was met with respectful silence.
Silence, too, greeted what followed in the NBC sales presentation to Madison Avenue: Clips of "Father of the Pride," an animated comedy based on Horn and partner Siegfried Fischbacher's act, failed to draw laughs.
In a New York minute, bad buzz had started humming for one of NBC's highest-profile fall series.
"'King of the Pride' is DOA" was the headline the following day (May 18) in an online newsletter distributed by industry analyst Jack Myers.
"The animated series was in far worse shape" than Horn, Myers wrote, "and the reaction of NBC's advertising clients was so negative that it's unlikely the program will last on NBC's schedule."
In assessing advertiser response to new series, USA Today reported last week that "Joey," NBC's "Friends" spinoff, could strike gold but that several unidentified media buyers had doubts about "Father of the Pride."
The comedy represents a high-stakes gamble as part of the prime-time animation genre that, aside from a few Fox shows like "The Simpsons," has largely flopped. It's also costly, at up to a reported $2.5 million per episode.
Marketing mistake
NBC isn't conceding any weakness in the series or its chances of success, according to Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group.
But he acknowledged a marketing misstep at the annual "upfront" presentation, which allows media-buying firms and advertisers to peek at new series before placing preseason orders for ad time.
"I think we did a very poor job of putting the clips together at the upfront, and I think that didn't work and that was our fault," he told The Associated Press. "But the fact is that anyone who has seen the show as a whole ... the reaction is fantastic."
After screening four completed episodes, he said, the network ordered the final "back nine" scripts of a full 22-episode order.
"With all due respect, none of those (post-upfront) comments matter. What matters is when they see the show as a whole," Zucker said.
He said that after last year's New York presentation, buyers decreed NBC's "Las Vegas" was a loser. The series starring James Caan as a casino boss proved to be the 2003-04 season's highest-rated new drama.
The network also may have erred in including Horn as part of the program. Although the entertainer is making a remarkable recovery, his condition (including paralysis in one hand) clearly dampened the New York audience's mood.
"You almost feel you're going to the intensive care unit," industry analyst Bill Carroll of Katz Television said in recalling the reaction -- adding that he understood Horn and NBC's eagerness to show his improvement.
"I think that may have been a fair criticism," Zucker said of questions raised about including Horn in the program. Horn and Fischbacher have co-executive producer credits on the series.
"Father of the Pride" has been touted by NBC and producer DreamWorks SKG as a breakthrough in computer-generated animation for TV and a key part of NBC's fall schedule. It's taking over the 9 p.m. Tuesday time slot vacated by the recently ended "Frasier."