Daily News from New York, New York • 1062

p.m. rsa or3 .5 n9 TMd if UeJ(illlllU21l! fa LOOK WHO'S TALKING 4F 1 TB y. TONIGHT is premiere night for NBC's two new comedies, "Friends" and Dabney Coleman's new vehicle, "Madman of the People." The former precedes "Seinfeld" at 8:30, the latter follows it at 9:30, and both should benefit greatly from that proximity. "Friends," however, clearly is a better fit The reason is that "Friends," which comes from Kevin Bright and "Dream On" creators Marta Kauffman and DAVID ElANCULLI CV David Crane, has tapped into the same sensibilities as the shows surrounding it It's got the flavor of Fox' "Flying Blind," with the emphasis on personality, affable performing and oddball situations. The stars of 1 I ft" 1 COMPANION PARTS: Courteney Cox, center, and the rest of her "Friends" MORNING 7:00 This Morning.

Ralph Fiennes; Dave Thomas; Cindy Crawford; California senate race. 2 Today. Actor Dabney Coleman; author Wendy Harpham; columnist William Satire. 4 Good Day New York. Hot jobs and how to get them; Lou Diamond Phillips.

5 Good Morning America. Singer Luther Vandross; '50s quiz show scandals; Audrey Meadows. 7 Marilu. Pros and cons of breast-feeding. 2 Jane Whitney.

Teacher accused of assault. (Repeat) 4 I Gordon Elliott. Teens with lesbian mothers. 5 Live with Regis Kathie Lee. Tori Spelling.

7 10:00 Leeza. Attractive men who are brothers. 4 Morrtel Williams. Girls who lie about age. 5 Rolonda.

Children and violent crimes. 7 Susan Powter. Just ask. 11 11:00 Jerry Springer. Parent-child reunions.

4 Richard Bey. Affair ruined friend-: ship. 9 AFTERNOON Noon Ricki Lake. Fat people and their tormentors. (Repeat) 9 1:00 Jenny Jones.

Men dislike wives' clothes. 9 2:00 Maury Povteh. Mock trial for OJ. Simpson. 4 3:00 Sally.

Man allegedly stalked by ex-wife. 4 4:00 Geraldo. Celebrity stories of the week. 2 Donahue. Cosmetic surgery beauty pageant (Repeat) 4 Oprah Winfrey.

Won't use "good stuff." 7 Cristina. El tamano del pene. 41 5:00 Morrtel Williams. Harassed over good looks. 5 Rick Lake.

Women attracted to violent men. 9 EVENING 10:00 Mai one. Gerald Dermer. 25 11:35 Late Show. Macaulay Culkin; musical guest Blues Traveler.

2 Tonight Show. Actor Charlie Sheen; singer Wayne Newton; comic George Wallace. 4 12:30 Jon Stewart. Tori Spelling; Fugees. 9 12:35 Late Night.

Actress Kellie Martin; comic David Brenner; music guest Seed. 4 1:35 Later. David Justice. 4 "Friends" include Courteney Cox, last seen (if you looked quickly) in "The Trouble With David Schwim-mer, who played the paranoid occupant of apartment 4-B on "NYPD Jennifer Aniston, who matched Julie Brown laugh for laugh on Fox' "The and Lisa Kudrow, who serves up more comedy than food or drink in her waitress job on "Mad About You." Tonight's pilot sets up the odd and evolving group dynamics. Cox plays Monica, whose brother Ross (Schwim-mer) has just been left by his wife for another woman.

The other major plot has Monica's best friend from high school, Rachel (Aniston), leaving her husband-to-be at the altar. These aren't one-joke setups, it's a relief to note, because next week's epi- man's character in two arenas: a home life, where he holds court and bellows like Archie Bunker, and the magazine work place, where he works as a feature columnist and works for his daughter, played by Cynthia Gibb, the titular star of "Gypsy." The best work Gibb did in the original pilot was cut from tonight's finished version, but she and Coleman could work nicely together. The initial script is too formulaic, though especially when contrasted with "Seinfeld" so this series has a ways to go before it's a comfortable Thursday-night fit sode, which is crisper than tonight's pilot, follows those plot threads. While "Seinfeld" fans should enjoy "Friends," how they'll take to "Mad- man of the People" is a tougher call. The good news is that "Madman" is infinitely more entertaining than Coleman's previous sitcom, Fox' "Drexell's Class" but that's not really saying very much.

"Madman" has a decent premise, though, which plants Cole Eiipsslig iiisii-sssn tint iiilis tii8 fis By ERIC MINK ducer Ceil Sutherland, she is diagnosed with everything from heart problems to asthma and tested for everything from allergies to syphilis. The clinics, meanwhile, bill Medicare for thousands of dollars, sometimes for examinations and tests that were never performed. There's plenty of undercover footage, confrontations with doctors (real and fake) and interviews with Washington bureaucrats who clearly would prefer that taxpayers not be losing billions of dollars a year to these crooks. The report could use some facts about government cutbacks that left agency fraud inspectors impossibly overloaded, but this is by and large some first-rate reporting. complete with hidden-camera footage, who are thriving in the senior-rich environs of south Florida.

The first step of the investigation discovers a network of parasites who prowl areas of town for seniors, often poor seniors, and promise them cash in exchange for agreeing to visit a so-called medical clinic. In the next phase, the program deputizes Lizzie Green, described as "a 75-year-old widow who lives on Social Se-curity and a small pension." "PrimeTime" has Green examined by two reputable physicians, who find her fundamentally healthy except for some arthritis in her knees. But when Green visits several of the clinics, accompanied by associate pro Daily News TV Critic BS this a great country, or what? Well, yes, there is definitely a problem supplying high-quality, affordable health care to all our people. And, yes, our society tends to exploit older people when we're not ignoring them entirely. Nevertheless, it's kind of inspiring or something to find out about people who have figured out how to take advantage of these problems and make billions of dollars for themselves while ripping off the rest of us.

Tomorrow night at 10 on "Prime-Time Live," ABC News producer David Kelley and correspondent Chris Wallace expose these scam operators, hi JIHIIIMIHiWWWIIJWI i ICKPICKS p.ra- (HBO) "The China Syndrome" (1979). It's Mondo Meltdown time as a nuclear reactor threatens to self-destruct in James Bridges' urgent, suspenseful thriller. Power-plant official Jack Lem-mon wrests top acting honors from. 11:30 (55) "Miss Firecracker" (1989). Holly Hunter, Mary Steen-burgen.

The ever-versatile, Hunter puts an inventive spin on the title role as a regional beauty-contest hopeful in Thomas Schlamme's entertaining adaptation of the Beth Henley play. 11:35 (MAX) "Fright Night" (1985). Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall. Tom Holland's vampire romp starts slowly but revs into high fear eear when new 'burb neighbor Sarandon is revealed as a secret bloodsucker. Imaginative makeup FX and McDowall's hack horror-show host character add to the fun.

3:00 a.m. (TMC) "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (1992). Sheryl Lee, Moira Kelly. Skip the first half-hour's desperate pseudo-surreal mayhem and you'll find a core story Laura Palmer's decline and fall that's as haunting as anything David Lynch has ever lensed. 8:00 (MAX) "Zebrahead" (1993).

Michael Rapaport, Ray Sharkey. Low-key perfs and leisurely pacing lend credibility to Anthony Drazan's autobio-based tale of an interracial affair at a Detroit high school. 8:30 (AMC) "Second Chance" (1953). Tough guy Robert Mitchum tries to shield mob target Linda Darnell in Mexico. The standard storyline receives a boost from a top cast (including Jack Palance) and authentic locations.

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