''W.E.B.'' is an American prime time drama series that aired on NBC for five episodes from September 13 until October 5, 1978.

Cast

Pamela Bellwood Pamela Bellwood (born Pamela King) is an American actress known for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington Claudia Blaisdel Carrington is a fictional character from the ABC prime time soap opera ''Dynasty'', created by Richard and Esther Shapiro ...

as Ellen Cunningham * Alex Cord as Jack Kiley *Lee Wilkof as Harvey Pearlstein * Richard Basehart as Gus Dunlap

Overview

''W.E.B.'' showed the inner workings of the TV industry, centering on brash female programming executive Ellen Cunningham (

) at fictional network Trans-American Broadcasting (TAB). As head of Special Events Programming, Ellen was confronted with a variety of obstacles, most notably her male colleagues, such as ruthless programming head Jack Kiley ( Alex Cord), drunken has-been news chief Gus Dunlap ( Richard Basehart), and ratings-obsessed research chief Harvey Pearlstein (Lee Wilkof). The initials that comprised ''W.E.B.'' were never explained on the series; presumably, it referred to the fact that "web" is a slang term for a broadcast network. (In promotional spots, the show was called simply "web", not "double-you ee bee".) ''W.E.B.'' was originally scheduled to air on Wednesday nights at 10pm Eastern, and debuted on Wednesday, September 13, 1978. However, new NBC boss Fred Silverman's decision to scrap the proposed hour-long sitcom ''Coastocoast'', originally announced for the Thursday 10pm slot, caused the network to move ''W.E.B.'' to Thursdays. It didn't help -- ''W.E.B.'' aired just four more episodes, the last on October 5, 1978. The show, the sixth lowest-rated network program of the entire 1978–79 season (10.1 rating, 18 share), was replaced with the police drama '' David Cassidy: Man Under Cover''. In a case of life and art imitating each other, ''W.E.B.'' was at least partially inspired by the 1976 film ''

Network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

'', starring Faye Dunaway. Dunaway's role in the film (ratings-mad TV exec Diana Christensen) was said to have been based on NBC's former daytime programming chief Lin Bolen—who produced ''W.E.B.'' However, Bolen has denied that the ''Network'' character was based on her.

Reception

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer Pr ...

wrote that most of ''W.E.B.'' was "just dopey-dreadful in a half-entertaining way – no competition for respectable dramas like '' Lou Grant'' and ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

'' but no real threat to one's bottom line of boredom, either." He described Ellen Cunningham by comparing her to the protagonist in ''

Way Down East ''Way Down East'' is a 1920 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. It is one of four film adaptations of the melodramatic 19th century play ''Way Down East'' by Lottie Blair Parker. There we ...

'', saying that she was "perhaps the most put-upon and abused heroine since

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

carried a silent-movie baby across the ice floes with the hound dogs yappin' at her heels." He also mocked Trans-American Broadcasting by calling it "the only TV network ever to be named after a cola" because of its

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

. He only praised the performances of Bellwood, Basehart and

Tisch Raye Tisch may refer to: *Tisch School of the Arts at New York University *Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University * Tisch Library, the main library of Tufts University *''Tisch'', a novel by Stephen Dixon Peop ...

who played Gus Dunlap's wife Christine.Shales, Tom. "''W.E.B.'': A Super Woman at the Network ," ''The Washington Post'', Wednesday, September 13, 1978.
Retrieved June 15, 2022.

References

External links

* *{{cite web, url=http://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php?title=The_Carolyn_Jackson_Collection,_no._65_-_Interview_with_Pamela_Bellwood_(1978) , title=Interview with Pamela Bellwood/''W.E.B.'' (1978) , publisher=Texas Archive of the Moving Image , year=1978 , access-date=June 29, 2014 NBC original programming American television soap operas American primetime television soap operas 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series about television Television shows set in New York City