Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 45

jThlifsday." April 21," T98ff PHILADELPHIA DAILY' NEWS Page 47 mz- 5: 1 ') Tlll CBS Cops Same Old Police Story Good bad officers caught in lousy plot By ROBERT STRAUSS Daily News Staff Writer. When Jennifer O'Neill, as the grim-tough prosecutor Stephanie Hartford, makes her storming entry into the New York police morgue looking for Detective Dan Malone (James Faren-tino), she snips loudly, "I don't care if he's here for his own autopsy, I want to see him." It's one of those "Oy, vey," lines as in, "Oy, vey, Martha, are we going to have to sit through two hours of this tripe?" Well, fact is you don't and you shouldn't. "The Red Spider" (9 p.m. on Channel 10) is a potboiler gone to pot. Every hard-cop line is in it, as are every detective and prosecutor stereotype.

It's THEREDSPIDER 9 p.m., Channel 10 not that "The Red Spider" is bad, it's just that it's predictable. Which brings up the question: Has everyone in the TV generation seen so many cop shows that there is nothing new or exciting any more about detective stories? Look at what's on in the crime vein nowadays. In "Cagney and Lacey" we know more about Lacey's home life and Cagney's lack of same than we know about their police work. "Crime Story" just gives us a snippet of what it's like on the other side of the underworld tracks. Then there are the shoot-'em-ups like "The Equalizer" and "Spenser: For Hire." Cop shows are going either slice-of-life or gobs-of-gore these days.

Both are better choices than the return to the trite-and-true cop story on tonight. Malone, the head of a homicide unit, gets himself assigned to the mary Attraction Local stations get ready for Tuesday By ROBERT STRAUSS Daily News Staff Writer ehannel 29's owners, the TVX Broadcast Group of Virginia Beach, have applied to the Federal Communications Commission to change the station's call letters from WTAF-TV to WTXF-TV. The changeover will take place June 1, pending almost-certain FCC approval. When TVX bought the station from the Taft Radio Television last year, it agreed to give up the WTAF call letters since they were so closely identified with Taft. With Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary looking like Jesse Jackson's last stand in the Democratic presidential race, local TV news operations are gearing up to cover what may be the final bit of excitement before the national conventions.

Channel 10's (WCAU-TV) coverage actually begins tomorrow night with a debate between Democratic challengers Jackson and Michael Dukakis from 8 to 9 p.m. Larry Kane will moderate. Monday at 11:35 p.m., Kane will anchor a half-hour primary preview. On Tuesday, Channel 10 will pre-empt "Houston Knights" and start primary coverage at 8 p.m. with a special 15-minute update.

The station will then air the CBS movie "Sharing Richard" through 11 p.m. with primary coverage cut-ins as needed. Finally, the station will extend its 11 p.m. newscast until midnight. Channel 6 (WPVI), which often leaves extended election coverage to its rivals, will have a primary-night special Tuesday from 9 to 10 m.

Jim Gardner will anchor in the studio with former Mayor William J. Green and former Secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis as special commentators. Channel 3 (KYW-TV) is planning a 15-minute cut-in at 8 p.m. and then full coverage of the primary from 9:15 to 11:30 p.m. Pollster Gerry Cher-vinsky and political consultant Neil Oxman will provide analysis.

The Phillies will disrupt, but not delay, Channel 29's (WTAF) primary coverage. The station's "Ten O'Clock News" will move up to 8 p.m. Tuesday night with a regular half-hour newscast focusing on the primary. Former U.S. Rep.

Charles Dougherty will provide commentary. Channel 29 will have cut-ins during the Phillies-Houston game (which begins at 8:30 p.m.) and updated voting figures written along the bottom of the screen as necessary. The station will then have a 15-minute primary wrapup at the end of the game. Channel 3's "Evening Magazine" is having an open call for those of you who think you have the talent to do stupid-people tricks. It's for a segment called "Silly Stunts" that will air the week of May 9.

All you have to do is show up with your ahem talent at the 3 studios at 5th-and Market streets Saturday at 10 a.m. Jennifer O'Neill is the prosecutor investigating the death of a cop; The mark a symbol of an American battalion in Vietnam leads Malone to the watchdog of the city's Asian underworld, who, typically, is a restaurant owner with a plastered-on smile. -Invariably, the lines, the music and the camerawork are as predictable as a Harold Stassen loss. The producers could simply show a cou VCRs Help Teach Parents ABCs of Raising Kids James Farentino plays a detective murder of a cop-gone-rotten in a brothel. The cop-gone-rotten's daughter, Kate O'Day (Amy Steel), is the prettiest cop on the beat and wants to go on the case undercover.

Meanwhile, the suspected murderer, a blond-wigged prostitute, has apparently struck in three other cities, each time leaving an outline of a red spider carved into the victim's neck. the latest method for raising and teaching your infant during that crucial first year. "What Every Baby Knows" (assorted volumes priced at $9.95 each). Famous baby doctor T. Berry Brazel-ton gives you advice you can get from his books.

"When Baby Comes Home" Best-Sellers In Videotape Here are the top videos as they appear in the current issue of Billboard magazine. Sales 1. "Lady and the Tramp" 2. "Callanetics" 3. "Start Up with Jane Fonda" 4.

"Jane Fonda's Low Impact Aero-. bic, 5. Fonda's, New Workout" 6. "An American Tall1' ple of minutes, stop the camera and ask you to fast-forward, saying, "You know what's next, let's get to the good stuff." But in this update of the 1986 TV movie version of William Caunitz's novel "One Police Plaza," there's not much good stuff. Better just to fast-forward to "Miami Vice" tomorrow night.

and joys of having a baby. The tape is arranged in a helpful chapter format under such headings as choosing your baby's doctor, preparing the nest, when to call your baby's doctor, bathing your baby and many more informative topics. Run, Jesse, Run With Tuesday's Pennsylvania Presidential primary on everyone's mind, you may want to take a look at "Running With Jesse Jackson" (Alternative Video), a documenta-y by independent filmmaker Leanna Wolfe of the 1984 campaign. The one-hour tape, containing news footage and original interviews, is $19.95. Beyond Cliffs Notes MGMUA has developed a new line of videos based on what Hollywood calls "the great books." The selection ranges from "Dr.

Je-kyll and Mr. Hyde," starring Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman, to Greta Garbo's spectacular performance in "Anna The tapes sell for $24.95. Coming attractions: Page 49 This special made-for-video program will inform new parents on caring for the new arrival, and answer questions on subjects ranging from feeding and bathing to common ailments. "Your Newborn Baby" Joan Lunden and Dr. Jeffrey Brown take you through all the anxieties 7.

"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" 8. "Dirty Dancing" 9. "Beverly Hills Cop II" 10. "Pink Floyd: The Wall" Rentals 1. "Beverly Hills Cop II" 2.

"Stakeout" 3. "Dirty Dancing" 4. "The Lost Boys" 5. "The Living Daylights" 6. "Robocop" 7.

"The Big Easy" 8. "No Way Out" 9. "The Princess Biyde" 10. "Platoon" By BARBARA BECK Daily News Staff Writer For those daunted by diapers and fearful of formula, there's help in how-to videos. While mothers used to depend on the expertise of their extended families for advice on bringing up baby, post-modern parents can now turn to their VCRs.

And, you can always turn off the television. Try doing that to your mother or grandmother. There are at least 30 videos designed to guide you through childbirth and every stage of childhood, and all of them are available for sale or rent. Here are some examples: "The Joys of Natural Childbirth" It's an informative hour on natural childbirth, including a look at the Lamaze Method and an actual birth sequence. Celebrity parents in-' elude Lorenzo Lama and John Ritter.

"Creative Parenting: The First 12 Months" This is the perfect "how-to" tape for new hands" or even parents-to-be: Host' Beau'Briages'talk's wiW fatirilieS and child care professionals, discussing.