The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 104

TIIK 6F SUNDAY Hi NEW PRIME TIME SCHEDULE When all the show ore finally In place around lute October this is what the fall schedule should look like Meanwhile some opinionated pointers have been supplied to guide you from now until the first crop of cancellations A time slot is a terrible thing to waste KayMcFuddcn sf i fs ixjf schedule for major IV networks (New shows are listed in boldface) rszri 5 I NRC CBS FOX- N8C ABC CBS FOX i 1 ABC CBS I roX NBC IJ ABC a CBS fox eauw Knight Ridder Tribune A critical look at new series and when they will make their debuts REVIEW CBS photo fox photo Gerald McRaney and family seek Karyn Parsons (left) and Lori Petty lead a as unlikely America in roommates in the new Fox buddy show OLD SHOWS RETURNING newspaper a day early (via a cat) The pilot was a bit clumsy but the moral dilemma is compelling and Kyle Chandler is perfectly cast as the introvert suddenly confronted by the possibilities of interfering in the affairs I hope the episodes smooth out Premieres Sept 28 from 9 to 10 pm We are family Touched by the White House or at least the threat of regulation the big networks have come up with some wholesome offerings None are quite as good as the WB show premiering at 8 pm Monday It got an A (CBS): Based on the British hit Foot in the Bill reincarnation as a cranky downsized worker is funny and the vitriol always lurked under his humor is put to good use here However take more from harmonious wife Phylicia Rashad and sassy drop-in neighbor Madeline Kahn to round out the show and prevent domination B-Premieres Monday from 8 to 8:30 pm Land" (CBS): The semi-saccharine spin-off of by an and also produced by Martha Williamson Her aim is to make this the patriotic equivalent of by putting a family of out-of-work Carolinians on the road where they kindly intervene in lives Gerald McRaney is the husband Wendy Phillips the wife Celeste Holm the grandmother and there are a couple of kids all come to look for America Premieres in special by an episode today from 8 to 9 pm will air regularly from 8 to 9 pm Tuesdays starting this week "Everybody Loves (CBS): Comedian Ray Romano stars as a lovable guy who keep his close-knit Italian family out of his life Mom (Doris Roberts) and Dad (Peter Boyle) are well-meaning clods who barge in and snoop around whenever they feel like it to the dismay of wife (Patricia Heaton) Can what was funny in the 1950s be funny now? I think so but I loved actor Brad Garrett as weird brother the cop Premiered Friday airs regularly from 8:30 to 9 pm Fridays So (NBC): Something is wrong Mel character was nervous and whiny enough in now turned into a tension-riddled performer who seems completely out of place as the mother of a complicated extended family Jere Bums is good as the dad but I get funny about the fact that remarriages have created complex living arrangements Yet a punch line milked endlessly and mindlessly C- Premieres Tuesday from 8:30 to 9 pm and (Fox): This sitcom about a blue-collar couple coping with three kids and the rough economic realities of the tries to squeeze onto territory already occupied by As a still-cooing pair of Italian American New Yorkers actors Tony Denison and Patricia Healy thankfully lack the Conner household air of bitterness unfortunately they also lack its intelligent bite Premieres Sept 28 from 9:30 to 10 pm Jeff Foxworthy (NBC): Foxworthy said in an interview that ABC let him be Southern enough Perhaps be different with the Peacock people but this is another case where the pilot make press time It is certain the new show will be set in Atlanta and that Foxworthy will have acquired a dad and an additional child No grade Premieres Sept 23 from 8 to 8:30 pm Wondering when an old favorite will run new episodes? See page 4F for a list of returning shows and their premiere dates He loves and she loves not about the (law firmnewspaperprecinct house) about the Out in Los Angeles what they say when you comment on how unrealistic romantic settings are Manual typewriters in newsrooms? Obvious ethical breaches? Apartments only the wealthy could own? Hey love conquers all City" (ABC): Michael appeal helps carry an otherwise silly plot about a media relations man and his romantic partner a reporter (Carla Gugino) a flagrant conflict of interest but not in the real world as you can tell by the office full of white-bread folks who cringe and giggle at the thought of gayness in New York yet B-Premieres Tuesday from 9:30 to 10 pm (ABC): From the same folks who did now comes Heck Generation deserves its own relationship show So meet a young woman (Kimberly Williams) who is snuffling and moping around a square in Rome (Italy not Georgia) when she meets a handsome stranger (David Conrad) to whom she is of course attracted Problem is engaged to someone else Premieres Sept 24 from 10 to 11 pm will air regularly at 10 pm Saturdays starting Sept 28 Those who do The search for a realistic well-done show about teachers continues You know one where they wrestle with bureaucracy and struggle to make ends meet on the lousy salaries the state pays them "Dangerous (ABC): Annie Potts is a fine comedic actress is a drama one thing wrong with this leaden takeoff on the Michelle Pfeiffer movie Another is the teaching methods which strain credulity even by ghetto-lecturing standards Another goof is the hackneyed lineup of teaching types including the cynical middle-aged principal C-Premieres Sept 30 from 8 to 9 pm (NBC): Tom Rhodes is supposedly a very funny stand-up comedian but his timing is off in this story about a too-hip-by-half boho who returns to his preppy alma mater to teach A colleague in Los Angeles called it and just right the show whiplashes between yucks and dreadful mo- ments of strained sincerity C- Premieres Sept 23 from 8:30 to 9 pm Flatfoots skells and TV continues to do shows about cops and criminals better than it does any other genre thus two entries in this category can be found on the list (CBS): One of those shows sent back for serious body work as of press time the new and improved pilot appeared So all I can tell you is about police psychiatrist Nick Moloney (Peter Strauss) who works as a consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department on issues ranging from serial killers to jumpers to cops gone bad No grade Premieres Thursday from 9 to 10 pm There Is nothing like a dame Nobody made a to-do about this being the of the on TV but the numbers tell women witches dames and grrrls abound What a riot (NBC): Brooke Shields was the best thing in this pilot about a woman who discovers her independence still true even after the pilot was redone You may be surprised to discover talent for comedy whether that can or should carry a show with bad writing is another story However is wedged into hot Thursday night lineup so cry for me Andre Agassi Premieres Thursday from 9:30 to 10 pm the Teenage (ABC): This show precedes on Fridays and easy to see why Both are about empowered young women and how they use their intelligence and in the case of Sabrina extra-special talents Sabrina the ward of two attractive witch aunts is played by the charming Melissa Joan Hart late of Explains It Alas no pilot was ready No grade Premieres Sept 27 from 8:30 to 9 pm (ABC): like based on the hit movie about a well-meaning meddlesome material girl Rachel performance measure up to Alicia hilarious turn But I thought the TV pilot gave the character more of a moral compass than she had in the film Decent fare for girls and adolescents mom (a combination that should be no sweat for most moms) The show is billed as being in the tradition of Roseanne Ellen DeGeneres and Brett Butler so assume a comedy No grade Premieres ues-dayfrom 8:30 to 9 pm Coincidence? I think not TV captures the apocalyptic gloom of the late Welcome to an America where sunshine lurking beneath the shadows and being able to predict the future or learn about the past is equal cause for despair "Dark (NBC): 1962 and an idealistic young congressional aide (Eric Close) and his girlfriend have moved to Washington to be part of Camelot Before you know it encountered a nest of conspirators and conspiracies the biggest one being that something strange did happen in Roswell NM in 1947 If you believe aliens have shaped US history since then you may enjoy this show I found it cumbersome B- Premieres Saturday from 8 to 10 pm will air regularly from 8 to 9 pm Saturdays (NBC): The weakest of Saturday-night paranoia lineup this show centers on a forensic criminal psychologist (Ally Walker) who has insight into serial killers not as good as similarly themed (see the lineup) perhaps because drifts too far into the unconvincing any-thing-can-happen psychic realm C- Premieres Saturday from 10 to 11 pm (CBS): This is a nifty idea: Take a stockbroker and give him the ability to see the future by delivering Comedian Tom Rhodes (center) heads cast of Rhodes" with former co-star Farrah Forke (left) Jessica Stone Ron Glass (formerly of top left) and Stephen Tobolowsky and wisely programmed at 9 pm Fridays B- Premieres Friday from 9 to 9:30 pm "Lush (Fox): Odd but what a difference 30 years a change in gender and Fox make Lori Petty plays a free spirit with a penchant for troublemaking she takes in a childhood friend (Karyn Parsons) who walks out on her philandering husband The dialogue is sharp and trashy Petty white and Parsons black do on sex race and self-sufficiency Warning: delivery can irritate B- Premiered Monday will air regularly from 9:30 to 10 pm Mondays (CBS): If Carla of went to college this half-hour is what get Rhea Perl man was good as part of an ensemble cast but she gets blown sideways by Malcolm McDowell in command as the insufferable professor who is working girl cultural nemesis Better supporting characters are required to make this click and Perlman needs to stand up dramatically to McDowell Premieres Monday from 8:30 to 9 pm a second episode will air at 8:30 pm Wednesday the show then will air at 8:30 pm Mondays until premieres Oct 21 at which time will move to 8:30 pm Wednesdays (ABC): Another pilot that get fixed in time Stand-up comedienne Lisa Ann Walter plays a woman juggling her job as a prosecutor with being a KayMcFadden IT".