Last week’s edition of the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred,” did slightly better than it did the week before, but it still wound up near the bottom in the ratings. Only four shows on the four major networks, CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX, did worse than “Nothing Sacred. ” Of the five shows on the major networks that address religious themes, namely, “Touched by an Angel,” “Soul Man,” “Promised Land,” “Teen Angel” and “Nothing Sacred,” the first three are clearly a hit with the public, “Teen Angel” is posting respectable ratings and “Nothing Sacred” is definitely a bomb.
William Donohue found the news encouraging:
“How embarrassing it must be at ABC to have invested mega-bucks last week in virtually every major newspaper in the nation advertising full-page ads for ‘Nothing Sacred’ and now have to read the results of their efforts. Just as bad, ABC ran an ad with Kevin Anderson last week pleading with the public to watch him perform as Father Ray, but few listened.
“Suffice it to say that never before has a network spent so much money for such a small return. If this had been any other show, it would have been canceled by now. But, of course, this isn’t about money-it’s about Disney/ABC/20th Century Fox trying to influence the popular culture’s perceptions of Catholicism. And when ideology is at stake, price tags mean nothing to the establishment.
“They can pull out all the stops they want. They can put on a silly show like the one they did last week in an attempt to appease us. They can subsidize the show with earnings groomed from successful investments. They can call their friends in elite circles, religious as well as secular, and orchestrate a campaign against the Catholic League. But none of this will work because the Catholic League isn’t going away. In fact, our ratings have never been better – we’re growing by leaps and bounds.”
