The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 103

THE NEWS OBSERVER SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1994 Turning BY BOB LANGFORD STAFF WRITER omehow I thought there would be more. A drama that grabs you by the throat. Two or three sitcoms that are fall-off-the-chair funny. they're not there, and the only consolation in a TV season whose mantra is "one more sitcom" is that the networks aren't putting on too many dogs. So here's a rundown of what's ahead on the tube in '94 from Monday through Sunday.

The shows are rated from 0 (the worst) to 4 (the best); means no preview tape was available. Blue Skies (ABC): 2 When: Monday at 8:30. Stars: Corey Parker, Matt Roth. Premise: Two guys start a mailorder company specializing in outdoor gear. Verdict: Since it's produced by the people who do "Coach," it gets a plum slot.

Too bad it's not a plum show. Party of Five (Fox): 1.5 When: Monday at 9. Stars: No one you've heard of. Premise: Mom and Dad get killed in a car crash, so the kids raise themselves. Verdict: How does it sound? You don't need to be a professional TV critic to figure this stuff out.

Me and the Boys (ABC): 2.5 When: Tuesday at 8:30. Stars: Steve Harvey. Premise: "My Three Sons," right down to promos with shoes. Verdict: Clever writing and good acting keeps this from being horrible. But for me to watch another show in which a single parent has three kids, it has to be better than not horrible.

Martin Short (NBC): 2.5 When: Tuesday at 8:30. Stars: Martin Short, Jan Hooks. Premise: Short is the host of a sketch show, so he can put all his characters on display. Verdict: This show has endless possibilities, but it's not there yet. The Boys Are Back (CBS): 1 When: Wednesday at 8.

Stars: Hal Linden, Suzanne Pleshette. Premise: They're ready to retire, until their three sons decide to drop in. Verdict: Somehow someone has made a show with two easy-to-like stars that is impossible to watch. Touched By an Angel (CBS): When: Wednesday at 8. Stars: Della Reese, Roma Downey.

Premise: Downey is an angel, and Reese her angel boss. They go around solving the problems of mere mortals. Verdict: The pilot was so bad that CBS tore it up and started over. Not a good sign. Maybe divine intervention is required.

Cosby Mysteries (NBC): 2 When: Wednesday at 8. Stars: Bill Cosby. Premise: He's a retired criminologist who helps his old friends do their jobs. Verdict: First Dick Van Dyke, now Cos. Where is it written that every star over 55 has to do a mystery? All-American Girl (ABC): 2 When: Wednesday at 8:30.

Stars: Margaret Cho. Premise: The Kims are a Korean family making the transition to modern San Francisco life. Verdict: It's nice to see a show about Asian-Americans. It would be nicer to see a good show about them. Daddy's Girls (CBS): 1 When: Wednesday at 8:30.

Stars: Dudley Moore, Harvey Fierstein. Premise: Dudley's wife has run off with his best friend, leaving him to run a business and his family. Verdict: Remember Dudley Moore's last show, No? Well, a year from now you won't remember this one either. My So-Called Life (ABC): 2.5 When: Thursday at 8. Stars: Claire Danes, Bess Armstrong.

Premise: She's 15, and it ain't easy. Verdict: The show would be easier to like if it just didn't try so hard to be liked. But in a mediocre season, "Life" may turn into a hit. Due South (CBS): 3 When: Thursday at 8. Stars: Paul Gross, David Marciano.

TELEVISION on the Premise: Dudley Do-right goes to Chicago. Verdict: A fun show with action, humor, a neat hook. But it has a tough time, and there are lots of Canadian references that might not thaw out South of the border. Friends (NBC): 3.5 When: Thursdays at 8:30. Stars: Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer.

Premise: An apartment full of guys lives across from an apartment full of women. Verdict: It has a can't-miss time slot, but it doesn't need one. This show, done by the people who do HBO's "Dream On," is the year's best sitcom. McKenna (ABC): 1.5 When: Thursday at 9. Stars: Chad Everett, Eric Close.

Premise: The McKennas operate a back-to-nature dude ranch while dad and son work out their differences. Verdict: I wish I could claim credit for this line, but it comes from a TV critic friend in Chicago. "If this show had one or two more cliches, it might actually be entertaining." New York Undercover (Fox): 2 When: Thursday at 9. Stars: Malik Yoba, Michael DeLorenzo. Premise: "Miami Vice" with bad weather.

Verdict: Good for producer Dick Wolf and Fox for casting a black and an Hispanic as the leads. But take away the cool facades and the we-bad talk, and you're left with just one more cop show. Madman of the People (NBC): 2 When: Thursday at 9:30. Stars: Dabney Coleman, Cynthia Gibb, Concetta Tomei. Premise: Dabney Coleman is a newspaper columnist, and his daughter is the editor.

Verdict: After three failures with Dabney as a mean guy, NBC has tried to tone down his act. It makes you miss the old one. Chicago Hope (CBS): 3.5| When: Thursday at 10. Stars: Adam Arkin, Mandy Patinkin, Hector Elizondo. Premise: It's a hospital show.

OK. Verdict: And it's real good. Good acting. Good scripts by David Kelley. The show spends the first 45 minutes getting you to like somebody, then they have to save his life.

It's a formula that has worked since film was invented. E.R. (NBC): 3 When: Thursday at 10. Stars: Anthony Edwards, Sherry Stringfield. Premise: It's another hospital show, OK? Verdict: Michael Crichton has created a good drama, albeit a bit more overwrought than "Chicago Hope." Look for one or the other to change time periods.

M.A.N.T.I.S. (Fox): 2 When: Friday at 8. Stars: Carl Lumley, Roger Rees. Premise: A scientist is left a paraplegic after an attack. But he invents an exoskeleton that gives him the strength of 10 men (or about a million mantisses).

Verdict: Strictly for kids, or those guys who don't get out much on Friday night. Under Suspicion (CBS): 0.5 When: Friday at 9. Stars: Karen Sillas. Premise: She's a female cop who wants to be taken seriously despite her tight skirt and high heels. Verdict: Easily the worst drama of the year, as painful to watch as anything you'll ever find on TV.

Something Wilder (NBC): 1.5 When: Saturday at 8. Stars: Gene Wilder. Premise: Gene Wilder has a house full of kids. Verdict: Poor Gene Wilder. He was in "Blazing Saddles." He was in "Young Frankenstein." All you can say about this show is that every once in a while, Wilder pushes it above what it deserves.

Five Mrs. Buchanans (CBS): 2.5 When: Saturday at 9. Stars: Eileen Heckart, Judith Ivey, Harriett Harris, Charlotte Ross, Beth Broderick. Premise: Four women are married to Buchanans. Then throw in the mother-in-law.

Verdict: The pilot was a tad broad, but the show has a lot of promise. It should do well following "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." Sweet Justice (NBC): When: Saturday at 9. Stars: Melissa Gilbert, Cicely Tyson. 3G season Premise: Gilbert is a lawyer returning to the South, and Tyson becomes her mentor.

Verdict: Sounds a little cloying, but not without appeal. On Our Own (ABC): 1 When: Sunday at 7:30. Stars: Ralph Louis Harris and the seven Smolletts. Premise: Mom and Dad have died, so older brother dresses up like a woman to take care of them. Verdict: Nothing like orphans and cross-dressing to bring down the house.

Earth 2 (NBC): When: Sunday at 7. Stars: Deborah Farentino. Premise: We've screwed up the planet so bad that humans have to live in space stations. Verdict: The brains at Amblin Entertainment had such a big hit with "seaQuest" that they just had to do it again. Fortune Hunter (Fox): 3 When: Sunday at 7.

Stars: Mark Frankel. Premise: James Bond keeps all those male viewers who were watching football. Verdict: If you like James Bond, you'll like this. Even though bad guys are hard to find these days. Hardball (Fox): 2 When: Sunday at 8:30.

Stars: No one you've heard of. Premise: Oh, baseball's wacky Pioneers. Verdict: There are no Pioneers in the major leagues. Hell, there aren't even any major leagues any more. Wild Oats (Fox): 1.5 When: Sunday at 9:30.

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