The world of television took a major hit in December 2000 when – no, relax, there has been no reduction in the number of appearances by Regis Philbin – Viewers for Quality Television disbanded.

Formed in 1984 by a woman named Dorothy Swanson, VQT grew out of an attempt to save the female cop drama "Cagney and Lacey." The group's web site claims that it was a "positive viewer organization with no agenda other than influencing the commercial networks to retain their critically acclaimed quality series rather than canceling them because of insufficient Nielsen numbers."

And true to its word, VQT was not a cockeyed, zealot-driven mob that crusaded to shut down, say, "Sesame Street" because the Count, in someone's feeble mind, represented a satanic deity. Instead, its members pushed networks to retain "quality" shows like "Touched by an Angel," "I'll Fly Away" and other programs that provide a high quotient of crying. And while crying is one of the main criteria for determining quality shows, another surely is Tyne Daly, who starred in "Cagney and Lacey" and was honored in the group's final year for her work on "Judging Amy" (which, I imagine, has a tremendous amount of weeping).

It's also worth noting that none of the shows receiving the support of VQT regularly conclude with a winning team pouring Gatorade on their heads. Perhaps this is why the group, whose membership had fallen to around 1,000 at the time of its dissolution, could no longer hang on. An intense lobbying effort to save a television institution such as "Monday Night Football" – which has seen its ratings drop regularly to its lowest ever in the recently concluded season – might be just the tonic to stir the slumbering masses into a furious letter-writing campaign ("Dear ABC: Please do not cancel 'Monday Night Football.' It is the highlight of my week. However, I would like to make a suggestion for the following season to help improve ratings. I didn't like Dennis Miller very much as an analyst, and I think you would attract more viewers with a quality presence in the booth, such as Tyne Daly.").

VQT also suffered from a lack of a true rival. There is not, to my knowledge, a formal organization calling itself Viewers for Shows with Lots of Explosions, Innuendo and Semi-naked Chicks. If there were, Dorothy Swanson and other VQT representatives could have heightened the group's profile by appearing regularly on issue-driven shows such as "Nightline," "Larry King Live" and "The Tyne Daly Show" to argue with members of VSWLEISNC over the proper use of prime-time programming slots.

Then again, if there were such a formal organization such as VSWLEISNC, poor Dorothy Swanson and her minions probably wouldn't have had a chance. Even without the benefit of viewer-driven letter and telephone campaigns, the World Wrestling Federation – the poster child for explosions, innuendo and semi-naked chicks – has at least twice as much regular weekly airtime as Tyne Daly.

Now the job of saving lobotomized viewers from themselves falls to groups such as the Parents Television Council, a more activist unit dedicated to keeping shows depicting explosions, innuendo and semi-naked chicks off the airwaves. Its list of 10 worst shows for the 1999-2000 season included "WWF Smackdown!," "Ally McBeal" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which ironically received a Founder's Award from VQT in 2000. Conversely, the PTC's top 10 network shows include those fostering wholesome themes, such as the pathetic pursuit of easy riches ("Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"), witchcraft ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") and alien inhabitation of the Earth ("Roswell"). Of course, sob-fests like "Touched by an Angel" and "Seventh Heaven" were also on the list.

These may be questionable selections, but the glaring omission of any shows starring Tyne Daly is what really gives one pause.

January 2001