Buck Up, Amy Poehler

Focus groups pan comic's sitcom (just like "Friends" 15 years ago)

MARCH 24--So Amy Poehler's new NBC comedy fared poorly in recent test screenings, according to a March 18 internal network research report cited in an online posting. The former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, seen at right, stars in "Parks and Recreation," a sitcom scheduled to debut on April 9 (in case you haven't seen the frequent promos). Of course, these network reports can wildly miss the mark. Witness the May 1994 NBC research report on "Friends," a copy of which we've reprised below. Test audiences thought the sitcom was "not very entertaining, clever, or original," and "found the characters smug, superficial, and self-absorbed." The "Friends" pilot received a "weak" grade of 41 out of 100. Of course, the series lasted a decade and earned NBC hundreds of millions. (4 pages)

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