TV Shows That Lived to Tell Primetimes' survivors. How TV's longest running have dodged the cancellation bullet. By Deborah Netburn, Times Staff Writer May 16 2006 Source: UPI It's upfronts week, that magical time when the networks announce to their advertisers (and the world) which pilots they believe have the potential to become big hits. As everybody looks ahead, we've decided to pause and take a look back at the survivors of prime time, shows that have managed to survive on the air for eight years or more. We asked Paul "The King of TV" Goebel to tell us how they dodged the cancellation bullet all these years. Here's a big hint to producers, execs and show runners alike keep a lid on those darn stars! They'll bleed you dry. "The Simpsons" (1989) "'The Simpsons' is the longest running comedy on the air. The reason 'The Simpsons' has been on so long is they have a cast that never ages, and it is fairly cheap to produce. Unlike 'Friends' for instance, the cast members don't demand raises every year — they kind of stick with it because it is a good gig. It's not like a sitcom where you don't have time to do anything else. They have time to do other projects and they do." "Law & Order" (1990) "Dick Wolf is notorious for not being held up by his actors. When he was doing 'New York Undercover' there were two cast members who thought they were the stars, and demanded more money. He said, 'Sorry,' and recast them. He doesn't negotiate like that. Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach were very popular, but everybody is replaceable. They can replace the cast whenever they feel like it. People watch the show for the stories and process, not so much for the actors. "ER" (1994) "I hate that show, so it's is a mystery to me how it has stayed around for so long. It is a huge cast, and there are a lot of cast changes. They recycle the same stories. Maybe people like to see the same stories. But it is kind of weird it is still on air because that show is really expensive to shoot. They pay Michael Crichton and all these people for that show. " "7th Heaven" (1996) "I just read it may go one more season, so not only did they dodge the bullet, it looks like they dodged it twice. The show is a good show that families can watch together and it has been from the beginning. And it hasn't really deviated from that. It is one of the few shows on the air that adults and kids can watch together and it really struck a chord. People like to watch shows like that where they see people grow up. It's like watching their friends and family get older." "King of the Hill" (1997) "Again in 'King of the Hill' the characters never age and the star of the show is also the creator, so he's not going to hold himself up for more money. It's odd because I watch 'King of the Hill,' but I don't go out of my way to watch it. It has really almost flown under the radar. It's never won any awards but it's always there and makes you laugh so they leave it alone." "That '70s Show" (1998) "They had a big advantage when they started because the whole cast was unknown so none of them were going to immediately rocket to stardom. When Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace left the show, they could continue and go on, and change the cast, but then you are getting into 'Happy Days' territory where the show is a shadow of itself. They want to end it now, when it is still considered funny. It also helps that the show takes place in a particular time period. When the show takes place in the present time you have to age in reality. On a show like 'That '70s Show,' time doesn't have to move like it does in reality. 'M.A.S.H.' lasted 10 times longer than the actual Korean War." "The King of Queens" (1998) "I don't watch 'The King of Queens.' But one thing that is weird is they don't have any kids on the show, so it's pretty much been the same show from beginning to end. Maybe that's why people like it so much. It hasn't changed much. There were a lot of story arcs about them trying to get pregnant, but they have yet to bring a kid on the show. I think that would kill the show. Historically people love to see pregnant characters on TV but they don't like kids so much. When Helen Hunt was getting pregnant on 'Mad About You' the show got huge ratings, shortly after the baby came it was cancelled." "Will & Grace" (1998) "There are only four characters on the show, which is unusual. Usually it's either a big gang comedy or one or two main characters. 'Will & Grace' is four people and that's it. They are equally big and there is nobody else in the show. But for whatever reason people really took to these characters .The show didn't really change much. She got married, and that whole nonsense, but mainly people watch the show because of Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes and those characters didn't change at all." "Charmed" (1998) "I don't even know anybody who still watches that show. Maybe teenage girls watch that show." "South Park" (1997) "Comedy Central knew how to promote the show. MTV would have shown it and made it real cheap, and run it into the ground. Comedy Central knew enough to give Matt and Trey whatever they want. Also because it's a cartoon, the characters never age. They also have the advantage because it is cheap animation, so they don't have to farm it out. The bottom line is the show is funny, you can watch them out of order, you can watch them multiple times."