The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 138

Wednesdays A 'Townies' trio (clockwise from left) Elfman, Ringwald, Graham: unlikely lifelong friends Vvl "1, EZ Streets Premiere: To be announced; CBS, Global, U.TV Ken Olin has a brooding intensity that always makes him seem rs if he could explode at any second (on screen and off). It's a bonus in this stylish drama from Canadian producer Paul Haggis (Due South). The series traces the paths of a police detective (Olin) and an ex-convict (Murder One's Jason Gedrick). Joe Pantoliano adds brilliant shading as a psycho crook pursued by Olin. Debrah Farentino is a lawyer walking a dangerous line between cops and killers.

Pearl Premiere: Sept. 18; CBS, CHCH, C1CT, ITV, CISA, CHEK Tired of her go-nowhere life, Pearl (Rhea Perlman) heads for college, where she encounters a gaggle of misfit students, and an acerbic professor (Malcolm McDowell). The verbal sparring that results is top notch. Public Morals Premiere: Sept. 18; CBS, CHCH, CHEK, CISA CBS promised it would be the Barney Miller of the '90s, but executive producer Steven Bochco's provocative new ensemble comedy about the detectives in New York's public-morals squad has none of that show's sharp wit.

Beware, though: It does play fast and loose with language and adult subject matter. Townies Premiere: Sept. 18; ABC, BBS, BCTV Welcome to Friends in a New England Fishing Town Molly Ringwald is the ring leader in a trio of twentysomething women (along with Jenna Elfman and Lauren Graham) who still live near the high school they all attended. They spend much of their time working and hanging out at the local watering hole with the rest of their lifelong friends. NOTEWORTHY CHANGES: Ellen (Returns Sept.

18; ABC, BBS) Spurred by a desire to own a house, Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) sells her bookstore and must contend with a new corporate boss. Grace Under Fire (Returns Sept. 18; ABC) Grace (Brett Butler) gets to try out her new teaching credentials. The John Larroquette Show (Returns Sept. 18; NBC.

Also Thursdays; CTV) John and Carly (Gigi Rice) embark on a rocky marital road. Law Order (Returns Sept. 18; NBC, BBS) With Jill Hennessy's abrupt departure in last season's finale, actress Carey Lowell becomes the latest newcomer to enter the DA's office through the show's revolving cast door. Gullage's i Premiere: Oct. CBC It looks and sounds like the rough, grainy TV shows CBC used to come up with back in the 1960s.

And, at quick glance, this comedydrama plays a lot like a Canadian Coronation Street. The regional flavor is exceptional, the setting colorful, and the characters simple and wonderfully eccentric. The show revolves around the misadventures of a band of cab drivers working at the fictional Gullage's taxi company in St. John's, Nfld. At the core of the group is Calvin (Bryan Hennessey), a beleaguered middle-ager who lives with his chain-smoking mother (Janis Spence).

Men Behaving Badly Premiere: Sept. 18; NBC, BBS, CHEK Political correctness goes out the window with hilarious results in this buddy comedy based on the British series of the same name. ER's Ron Eldard and Saturday Night Live grad Rob Schneider play roommates living under a basic men-are-dogs principle. Girlfriend Justine Bateman tries to keep Eldard in line. 14 TV Times.