BOSTON -- City Council President Bruce Bolling entered the 'Save Our Spenser' campaign Wednesday with a formal resolution urging ABC to keep its Boston-based series 'Spenser: for Hire' on the air for a third season.
Bolling said he was sponsoring the resolution to show the city's support for a major letter-writing campaign to get ABC to save the slipping series.
The resolution says reasons to continue the show include Massachusetts residents' pride in it, the benefit to the state's economy and the positive racial image of the friendship between the white 'Spenser' and black 'Hawk' characters.
A copy of the resolution was also sent to ABC Entertainment President Brandon Stoddard in Los Angles.
The appeal to the network to continue the show, launched by the Massachusetts Film Bureau and Boston radio station WRKO-AM, has garnered thousands of letters -- some bearing several hundred signatures.
The detective series, starring Robert Urich, is based on novels by Massachusetts author Robert Parker and filmed in Boston nine months of the year. It ranked number 55 among 66 shows in Nielsen ratings released Tuesday.
Film bureau director Mary Lou Crane said the series has had a difficult time building a large audience because of frequent rescheduling.
'It has long been our contention that the show is important nationally in that it is a quality series that addresses social issues to a positive conclusion,' said Crane. 'We want to demonstrate this to ABC through the campaign.'
Film bureau spokesman Terri Morris said 'Spenser: for Hire' contributes about $50 million a year to the state's economy. 'Needless to say, it gives a tremendous amount of exposure to the city of Boston and the state,' said Morris.
