Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 98

PAGE F6 STAR TRIBUNE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 1999 FALL TV PREVIEW: Entertainment story lines and some of the same actors. No sunwise, then, that the SUNDAY Jane Kaczmarek After two seasons of lackluster pilots, the networks have finally recruited a future all-star team of lawyers, guns and mothers. By Neal Justin, TVcritic Gray tone on schedule grids indicates critic's choice i Star to watch: The show: "Malcolm in the Middle." Where you've seen hen Julie's birth mom on "Felicity." Why we love hen She's loony, blunt and frazzled. In other words, the perfect Mom. She'll remind you of: Roseanne.

Amazing fact: Hubby John Whitford stars in "The West Wing," the season's other great rookie show. On her soon-to-be-famous topless scene (see below): "One of our favorite things as children was one of us screaming, 'Mom's putting on her And one of the kids would have the bra on her head, playing Mickey Mouse, and I realized, 'You know what? My mom must have been in quite a stage of undress for us to be playing that' "Malcolm in the It's a typical family scene with mother (Kaczmarek) running around frantically trying to get ready for work, sorting laundry and barking at her three kids. "Two of you can have slices of pizza for lunch! For the other one there's, I don't know, peas!" Did we mention she's doing all this topless? That the scene plays real and not raunchy suggests that the story of reluctant genius Malcolm 6:00 to 6:30 I 6:30 to To prepare for the fall TV season, critics converge on Pasadena, every July to mingle with executives, producers and stars over cocktails and lukewarm roast-beef sandwiches, trying to unlock the world's greatest mysteries such as who does Felicity end up with, and who the heck gave Mike O'Malley his own show? In search of answers, many celebrities shared pearls of wisdom that are worth passing on: "Most of us don't know 20-year-old white people living in a great apartment in New York with no visible means of income. I can tell you, if that was black people, 'Friends' would be under indictment" DJ- Hughley, star ofThe Hughleys' "I have kids. I have Hollywood kids, and in Hollywood, 8 years old is 23 in Minnesota years." Chris Thompson, creator of the Fox series "Action" "I knew everything about it "Suddenly Susan" in the entire universe.

I knew every line, every innuendo. And NBC made me an offer I couldn't understand." Monty Python veteran Eric Idle, when asked how familiar he was with the sitcom he's joining. "Perhaps my most unnerving fan encounter was flying back from New York a little while ago and having the flight attendant say, 'God, I wish you were here yesterday, because we had a stroke victim on the If I have a stroke on the plane, I hope the pretend doctor isn't on the plane. I want a real doctor!" "ER'star Anthony Edwards "My wife and I are developing a couple of projects along the lines of those teen slasher films. We've got 'I Know What You Did Last We're working on that 'I Think I Saw You at the Piggly And we're so excited about that one, we've actually started writing the sequel, which is 'I'm Still Pretty SurelSawYou at the Piggly "Work with Me" star Kevin Pollak "They told me about this show, and they said, "You are our first choice.

We're not talking to anyone else, and we would love to have you. And I turned around to see if Shirley Jones or Marian Ross was sitting behind me." "Brady Bunch" veteran Florence Henderson on joining "Later Today" "Someone once asked an actor what he thought about critics, and he said, 'Does a dog ever praise his actor James Cromwell of the TNT movie "A Slight Case of Murder" "All our breasts are real. That's all I'm saying." actress Paula Marshall on the difference between her show, "Snoops "and "VIP," starring Pamela Anderson Lee "I wasn't the class clown, because my parents couldn't afford those shoes." "Norm" star Norm MacOonald "If I was indispensable at one point, I'm no longer indispensable. Nobody is indispensable. It's a brand name.

It's Crest. It's Menudo." David Duchovny on whether "The X-Files" could continue without him. "I'm a huge, huge, huge Bob Dylan fan, and I would love to call my new talk show 'Idiot which is the tide of my favorite Bob Dylan song, but I don't know if we can clear that" Ben Stein "I actually had the pleasure of meeting Al Gore on Martha's Vineyard this summer and the man is charming and dynamic, regardless of what you say although he was bitten by a tick while he was on the island, and the tick came down with chronic fatigue syndrome." Jonathan Katz, "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist" FOX-TV photo (Frankie Muniz), a kid who's blessed (or cursed) with a 165 IQ and weird, wonderful parents, might be the smartest, sassiest adventure of the season. (6 p.m., WFTC-Ch.

29; starts after the football season) A out of five stars "Third Paramedics, firefighters and cops (oh, my!) treat street victims after dark in this "ER" on wheels. The shows -share a breakneck pace, multiple 7:00 I 7:00 to 7:30 I 7:30 to 8:00 I 8:00 to 9:00 9:00 to 10:00 ABC The Wonderful World of Walt Disney Snoops He Practice CBS 1 60 minutes Toncaei by an Angel Movie FOX I WalCTla at tte iliddte ISgg af the Hifl iTheSiapsons Firturama TbeX-Ffles NBC 1 Dateline NEC TairiWatch Movie WB 1 7th Heaven (renins) producer is John Wells, the guy who supervises NBC's juggernaut The new show generates some gripping action, but not nearly enough to justify another medical show. Maybe the rookies should point their ambulances toward "ER," a show badly in need of resuscitation. (7 p.m., KARE-Ch. 11; starts Sept.

26; preview at 9 p.m. Sept. 23) Those still pining for Charlie's Angels" will be relieved to know that TV guru David E. Kelley, the writer who explores the dark side of the law and medicine is spending the rest of his time searching his own libido. His latest fantasy involves three comely detectives (Gina Gershon, Paula Marshall, Paula Jai Parker) whose understanding of the law is only slightly fuller than Gershon's lips.

Like Kelleys "Ally McBeal," this series is more interested in kink than cases. (8 p.m., KSTP-Ch. starts Sept 26) "Jack Jack is actually a woman, played by Amanda Peet, while Jill is the nickname for a guy, played by Ivan Sergei. If you think that's absolutely hilarious, you might be mildly amused by this romantic sitcom, which suggests that people can fall in love at first sight even if they're adorably dull In trying to suppress his feelings, Jack tells his future lover "This would be a lot easier if you were a bitch." Yeah, and a lot more fun. This show has been recast since the pilot we saw.

(8 p.m., KMWB-Ck 23; starts Sept 26) Jack Jin looks totally natural withher co-star, Thomas Newtoa But the sexy, adult banter is clever without being crass. (7:30 p.m., KSTP-Ch. starts Oct. 7) Kevin Williamson, the godfather of teen fare "Dawson's graduates with this drama about twentysomethings who only act like their kids. It's hard to feel sorry for these six gorgeous creatures as they whine their way in and out of relationships.

There are a few sexy moments, most notably some "dirty dancing" foreplay, but meatier storylines and more sympathetic characters would be even hotter. (8 p.m., KSTP-Ch. starts Oct 7) It's about Finally, a network sitcom that goes over the line without going over the top. Creator Chris Thompson Larry Sanders skewers Hollywood politics through the eyes of Peter Dragon (Jay Mohr), a man so vile and arrogant he makes Buffalo Bill seem like a puppy dog. Parents should be careful who's watching, since the other lead character is a hooker and even the constant bleeping won't hide the fact that a waiter urinates in Dragon's salad.

But the outrageous language and behavior are appropriate in this very adult sitcom. (8:30 p.m., WFTC-Ch. 29; starts Thursday) "Stark Raving Doogie's all grown up and needs a doctor himself. Neil Patrick Harris, who created the role of Doogie Howser, gives a tic-driven performance as a hypochondriac book editor assigned to a Stephen King-like novelist CTonyShalhoub) who picks his teeth with a machete and stages his own death for inspiration. The odd-couple pairing is effective, thanks to the manic performances, but one wonders how many chapters this story can sustain.

(8:30 p.m., KARE-Ch. 11; starts Sept 23) THURSDAY WE ONES DAY Star to watch Jay Mohr Star to watch: The show: "The West Wing." Where you've seen him: In more than 40 movies, including "The Lost World" and "Hoffa." Why we love him: He's just the kind of smart cynic we hope is in the White House. Hell remind you of. Your favorite high-school teacher. Amazing fact: He married his first wife behind the Guthrie Theater.

On his fascination with Harry Truman: i Felicity FOX-TV photo television, the sexual overtones, especially between the stepchildren, are more than a little disturbing. (7p.m, WFTC-Ch. 29; sched-. uled to start in late November) "WWF I can't, in good conscience, give this traveling-wrestling show a rating, since I watched only 15 minutes of the two-hour program before having to go bang my head against the wall. (7 p.m., KMSP-Ch.

started Aug. 26) "Then Came If there was any doubt that youth is taking over the airwaves, consider that the lead character in this romantic sitcom is a book editor having a midlife crisis at 33. She bounces back from a divorce by having an affair with a 22-year-old hotel waiter. "Is this what you meant when you said you wanted children?" her best friend asks. The Mrs.

Robinson twist doesn't really work, primarilybecause actress Susan Floyd, one of the season's most attractive new stars, i ceovers or by talking to the camera to "Dawson's Creek," "My So-Called Life" and "7th Heaven." The narration and pop-culture asides can't I just escape from the world like Alicia are fast, loose and often very funny, especially when delivered by the sarcastic Jesse Eisenberg, who reacts to bullies and his parents' marital troubles with hilarious nerd-in-the-headlights takes. The writers may pretend to be nobler than the competition, but the barrage of sexual references and hunky bods suggest that they're trying to be just as hip as everyone else in the school pool. (8 p.m., WFTC-Ch. 29; premiered last Wednesday) Two high-schoolers fall in love, even though one of them is an alien, in this mopey version of "Mork Mindy." The premise suggests that the alleged UFO crash in Roswell, N.M., resulted in three babies left behind who grew up disguised as mortals. Now they're dealing with human love, a suspicious sheriff and Dave Matthews' "Crash" playing in the background.

And you thought zits were a teenage crisis. The good-looking cast and goofy sci-fi premise make this adventure bearable. (8 p.m., KMWB-Ch. 23; starts Oct. 6) "Oh Grow Three little pigs one studly, one sarcastic, one gay share a house and laughs in the network's politically correct version of male bonding.

Some funny stuff gay and having a wife are somewhat incompatible unless you're a politician or a movie but there are far too many gay jokes and, as a result, the character ends up a one-dimensional punchline. Given some time to mature, however, this sitcom has a shot. (8:30 p.m., KSTP-Ch. starts Sept 22) "He seemed to be a guy who didn't want to be there. He sort of Richard Schiff NBC photo the Oval Office.

This is a joint effort from "ER" producer John Wells and "Sports Night" creator Aaron Sorkin, which should be obvious without looking at the credits what with Wells' patented fast pace and the intricate, clever writing that's uniquely Sorkin. Some critics worry that audiences won't be interested in a weekly drama that takes place in Washington, but there's enough scandal, sex and sizzle in the first episode to put those worrywarts at ease. (8 p.m., KARE-Ch. 11; starts Sept. 22) "Get Thes are not, repeat not, your typicial TV teens, or so the kid characters in this hour-long comedy insist by making snide references either in voi- -urn 4 plopped into history.

I think I grew up thinking that's how a president should be." The show: "Action." Where you've seen him: Slimy agent in "Jerry Maguire." Why we love him: He's a jerk with a heart of OK, maybe he's just a jerk. He'll remind you of: Volatile producer Joel Silver (who just happens to be executive producer of the series). Amazing fact: He's an occasional guest host on the syndicated radio sports show "The Jungle." On show business: "I would say I loathe Hollywood, but I think loathe is too kind a word." Only in WB Land could the class nerd be played by Carry Pope, an actress so cute she could make millions of young men join the chess club. On the other hand, the cast of this light-hearted teenage comedy also includes a slightly overweight student (Sara Rue) who wows everyone at a cheerleading audition but still doesn't make the team, and a football star who secretly pines to be on stage. There are also enough smart pop-culture quips is like a bad Mariah Carey power ballad come to to keep us enrolled, at least for a while.

(7 KMWB-Ch. 23; starts Sept 30; preview at 8 p.mSept29)Vi "Manchester The scandalous 18th-century novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" gets yet another reworking, but instead of aristocratic French the show substitutes some spoiled students who could be Heather Locklear's children. This a spinoff of the feature film "Cruel Intentions," and on "Work With Talk-show aficionados recognize Kevin Pollak as one of the most hilarious impressionists in the business, but he has a heck of a time imitating a sitcom straight man in this disappointing endeavor. He's a corporate lawyer who gets bypassed for a promotion and partners with his wife (Nancy Travis), who runs a downscale law firm. Pollak, as usual, hums on frantic energy, but a cramped office doesn't leave him much room to maneuver.

(7:30 p.m., WCCO-Ch. starts Sept. 29) "The West For those tired of the long-running White House comedy about Bubba Clinton's exploits, here's a series that dares to suggest dignity in 7:00 to 7:30 7:30 to 8:00 8:00 to 8:30 8:30 to 9:00 9:00 to 10:00 7:00 to 7:30 7:30 to 8:00 8:00 to 8:30 8:30 to 9:00 9:00 to 10:00 ABC iTwGiysiii'iGirt Hon Drew Carey On Grow Bp 1 2020 ABC 1 Whose Line Is It? Then Came Ysi Wasteland 2020 CBS Cosby Work Witt He Movie 1 CBS Diagnosis Murder Chicago Hope 1 48 Hoars FOX Beverly Hills, 90210 GetReal FOX Manchester Prep Family Gny Actjoij NSC Dateline HBC The West Wing 1 Law Order I NBC Friends 1 Jesse Frasier Start Raring VPN 7Pays StarTrefc Yoyagef 1 I UPN WWFSmackdown! W3 I Dawson's Creek Roswell WB Popular 1 Charged.