Get ready for 'sweeps' month

By KATHRYN GRAHAM
Collegian Staff Writer

In a Chicago hospital, the setting of NBC's hit show "ER," things are going to be a little less intense.

Pediatrician Doug Ross will be leaving behind a tumultuous career and a few broken hearts when George Clooney, who plays Ross, leaves the show to work on his burgeoning film career.

Clooney's anticipated departure is one of many classic strategies the major networks will be using to win ratings. In the month of love and groundhogs, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX are the main players in the battle for ratings during the period known as "sweeps."

"Sweeps" occurs four months out of the year. Each network vies for the top ratings by scheduling elaborate miniseries, such as NBC's "The 60s," and intricate plots for favorite television series.

In order to achieve ratings glory, every network brings out its secret weapons. Here is the best of what the four major networks have to offer this February.

NBC -- Noah Wyle will have to pick up the slack as the resident sex symbol on "ER" when Clooney hangs up his scrubs. In a thrilling roller-coaster ride that will last all month, Clooney's loose-cannon character, Doug Ross, will face one of his toughest battles as he risks his career and friendships by breaking yet another hospital policy.

Clooney's downfall begins when he breaks through bureaucratic red tape to give experimental medicine to a boy with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"ER" will continue to survive through every emergency, but Clooney will be missed both onscreen and off.

"As much as he's a valuable asset on camera, off camera his sense of humor and professionalism and the way he welcomes actors and new crew members onto our set smooths out ripples," said Wyle, Clooney's costar, in a recent interview.

FOX -- Yes, Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully finally will find what they have been looking for the past six years: the truth. Well, at least some of it.

In two stunning airing at 9 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 14, the popular FBI agents (played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) from the hit sci-fi series "The X-Files" hopefully will find the answers to the mysteries that have dogged them for almost six seasons.

"These episodes are very serious," Casey Grunnet (junior-environmental resource management) said. "They make up for all the goofy ones from this season."

Lacking all signs of goofiness, the upcoming two episodes reportedly will answer many questions, most centering around the existence of aliens. Of course, it wouldn't be "The X-Files" if all the answers were revealed. More surprises and more questions will emerge during the powerful two-parter.

Many recurring characters on "The X-Files" will make appearances, including the mysterious Cigarette-Smoking Man and FBI agent-turned-psycho Alex Krycek.

ABC -- In the month of love, a show about love, "Cupid," has been unexpectedly cancelled.

This quirky show about a delusional man, Trevor Hale, who believes he is the Greek god Cupid, is played to perfection by former "Ellen" frontman Jeremy Piven. Trevor has to unite 100 couples in order to regain his god status, but his psychiatrist, Claire Allen (Paula Marshall), keeps questioning his methods.

In the final first-run episode debuting at 9 p.m. Feb. 11, Trevor tries to find a husband for the mother of twins, played by "90210" dropout Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

In a statement from ABC, network executives voiced their support of the show:

"The writing was phenomenal, the production was first rate, and the tremendous talent of its stars, Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, really gave the show life."

Hailed by the critics as an eclectic mix of romance and wit, "Cupid" just didn't get the audience to fall in love with it.

CBS -- One of the perennial CBS February events is the "41st Annual Grammy Awards," celebrating the music industry's best artists. This year, Lauryn Hill is in the lead with 10 nominations for her record-breaking album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The show airing at 8 p.m. Feb. 24, will be hosted by Rosie O'Donnell.