Editing Acting Sheriff (section)

==Response==
Initially, ''Acting Sheriff'' was thought to have a good chance of filling the Saturday 10:30 PM slot in the [[1990-91 United States network television schedule#Saturday|CBS 1991 fall television schedule]].<ref name="Variety"/> In addition to the draw of noted actor Robert Goulet, the show was developed by the writing team of Larry Strawther and Gary Murphy, who were the writers of ''[[Night Court]],'' a then-widely popular American television [[situation comedy]], and the writers of ''[[Without a Clue]]'', a [[1988 in film|1988]] comedy film starring [[Michael Caine]] and [[Ben Kingsley]].<ref name="Variety"/> However, the one-time-only, August 17, 1991, presentation of ''Acting Sheriff'' received poor [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]].<ref name="Nielsen">{{cite news|title=Nielsen Ratings/August 12–18|work=[[Long Beach Press-Telegram]]|date=August 21, 1991|access-date=2008-09-17|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LB&p_theme=lb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAE8D3CA1FC7F99&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}}</ref>

In the August 21, 1991 [[primetime]] ratings for the week of August 12 to August 18, ''Acting Sheriff'' received a 4.6 share and was ranked as number 83 out of a total of 90 primetime television shows.<ref name="Nielsen"/> The 4.6 share represented 4.3 million TV homes out of a possible 93.1 million TV homes.<ref name="Nielsen"/> Despite the poor showing by ''Acting Sheriff,'' CBS tied television network [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] for first place in the August 12 to August 18 network ratings battle.<ref>{{cite news |first= Deborah |last=Hastings|title= 'Roseanne' grabs top spot. ABC's Diane Sawyer interviews Yeltsin.|work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date= August 21, 1991 |access-date=2008-09-17|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADDF7734C85AAB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}}</ref> CBS eventually filled the Saturday 10:30 PM to 11:00 PM primetime [[1990-91 United States network television schedule#Saturday|slot]] with ''[[48 Hours (TV series)|48 Hours]]'', a [[Television documentary|documentary]] and news program broadcast on the [[CBS]] [[television network]] since January 19, 1988.

Critics' reactions were mixed. The Florida daily newspaper ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' rated ''Acting Sheriff'' a "best bet."<ref>{{cite news |title=Best Bets |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |page=5D |department=Floridian |date=August 24, 1991 |access-date=2008-09-17 |url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50653544.html?FMT=FT&dids=50653544:50653544&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Aug+24%2C+1991&author=&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=BEST+BETS+Series%3A+BEST+BETS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927152457/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50653544.html?FMT=FT&dids=50653544%3A50653544&FMTS=CITE%3AFT&type=current&date=Aug+24%2C+1991&author=&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=BEST+BETS+Series%3A+BEST+BETS |archive-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, the weekly entertainment trade newspaper ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' found the Brent McCord character too [[wiktionary:cartoonish|cartoonish]] to support the show as a series.<ref name="Variety"/> In describing Goulet's performance as Brent McCord, ''Variety'' stated that it was "a goof on [[Ronald Reagan]] by way of [[Ted Baxter]]" and came across as a "[[wiktionary:trigger-happy|trigger-happy]], [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]]-bashing [[wiktionary:boob#Noun|boob]] whose disregard for the law is equaled only by his vanity."<ref name="Variety"/> ''Variety'' also faulted the show's appearance and other characters as too closely resembling the look, feel, and characters of ''Night Court''.<ref name="Variety"/> Fourteen years later, American actor [[Lee Tergesen]], who was on ''Acting Sheriff'' with Robert Goulet, characterized Goulet's performance as "quite good."<ref>{{cite news |first= Michael| last= Starr| title= The edge of night; 'Wanted' man in another gritty role |work=[[New York Post]] |page=73| department= TV Saturday| date= August 27, 2005 |access-date=2008-09-17 |url= https://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=He+even+did+an+unaired+pilot+with+Robert+Goulet+called+%22Acting+Sheriff%22+%28Tergesen+says+Goulet+was+%22quite+good%22%29.+&btnG=Search&hl=en&um=1}}</ref>