(New York ) - CBS President Les Moonves said the network would air a show this fall offering a new twist on an old television staple. The show, whose working title is “Tree Surgeons,” features a mixed race cast of brilliant, devoted young arborists struggling to balance their professional responsibilities with the challenges of being attractive, single, and sexually active. “We’re taking the medical genre to the next level,” said Moonves. “I’ve only seen the first three episodes, but I’ve never seen a more moving treatment of the scourge of Dutch Elm disease in my life. They ought to just mail us the Emmy right now.”
Television scholars say this is the first time in history that a show revolving around arboriculture has been developed for the small s creen. “There has been the occasional educational program on the subject for PBS, but that doesn’t count,” said Dr. Mike Maloney, Director of the Institute for Television Studies at the University of Dayton. Dr. Maloney said he has watched several episodes screened for critics. “This is by far the grittiest treatment of the management and maintenance of shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants ever attempted on network television.” Dr. Maloney would not speculate on the show’s prospect for success. “So far, the only sexual tension I have observed is between the male lead and a lilac bush,” he said. “They may want to recast the lilac bush.”
