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What about Fall TV 1998?
To start, the most critically hyped new series, WB's "Felicity", has tumbled from its pedestal. Even the once most-reviled woman on TV (aka Shannen Doherty) is having more success with "Charmed" - perhaps it has to do with the titles? I mean, isn't "Felicity" quite a mouthful? Isn't Kerri Russell the most over-rated new star this side of Katie Holmes? Speaking of Holmes, the new season of "Dawson's Creek" has more complex plotlines and subtlety in its writing. Now, someone please tell Holmes to STOP shrugging her shoulders - that's not acting! Another person ill at ease in front of the camera this season is Nathan Lane. "Encore! Encore!" is really awful and NBC should cancel it asap. Ditto ABC's excruciatingly forced "The Secret Lives of Men", the over-hyped "Fantasy Island" (instantly boring in spite of a talented cast that tries hard) and CBS' inanely silly "L.A. Doctors" (who coined that name?). And, please, cancel the new Ted Danson show before it even airs.
Christina Applegate's "Jesse" is just plain boring, "Veronica's Closet" needs major renovation work and "Seventh Heaven" has one-too-many characters. The new "Early Edition" has introduced one very irritating character (that kid) and his mother (Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy, the vampire slayer), and seems a little less interesting this year, although Kyle Chandler and Shanesia Davis-Williams deserve a lot of credit for making the show work as well as it does. Speaking of Chandler, his one-time sweetheart on the much-loved, short-lived "Homefront", Tammy Lauren, is chopping up criminals together with Hong Kong action star Sammo Hung on "Martial Law" - a show which works in spite of the lead actor's obvious discomfort with the English language. Hung, a veteran movie star and martial artist has the sort of charisma and talent which transcends language boundaries - Louis Mandylor, are you listening?
Other pretty faces who can't act include Portia De Rossi on the grating "Ally McBeal" (please, let it be canceled next year at the latest!), Anthony LaPaglia's brother Jonathan on UPN's "7 Days" - the ER doctor turned actor needs to loosen up a bit - and the entire casts of UPN's "Legacy" and NBC's "Wind on Water" (a serious contender as this year's "Push").
As far as returning series go, "Melrose Place", "Beverly Hills 90210" and the morosely self-important "Party of Five" should be consigned to the "Die! Die! Die!" heap. With any luck, so will the highly irritating "Dharma and Greg" - Jenna Elfman's forcefully quirky personality is just painful to watch; Mimi Kennedy and Susan Sullivan are what keep the show afloat. The new season of "ER" opened with a distinct lack of fanfare (compared to last year's much hyped "live" episode) but the show continues to showcase interesting work from Noah Wyle and Laura Innes, and maintains its high standards. The newly minted "The Practice" also keeps up its unusually high standards (for two years, the little show that not enough people watched has kept many fans glued to the screen; let's see if the Emmy helps any), and returning stalwarts on NBC, "Friends", "Mad About You" and "Frasier" - though aging - retain their dignity and flair. "Buffy", meanwhile, after last season's heart-wrenching finale, has found new ways to keep the show interesting.
So far, so so. What's good about the new shows? Well, for a start, there's NBC's "Will and Grace", which should be good for at least another season before the writers start pulling out their hairs to keep the somewhat bland lead characters from falling in love with each other a la "The Object of My Affection". Sean Hayes does marvelous work on the show and helps keep it interesting. Another NBC Monday night offering, "Conrad Bloom" is not doing too well at the moment, but the show really needs new writers. The material's not much good, even though the cast, which includes the always outstanding Linda Lavin, often perform above expectations. Mark Feuerstein deserves a better showcase for his talents (and the writers should stop contriving ways to get him to whip off his shirt every week - it's boring and alienates some viewers). Another deserving show that is under-performing at the moment is ABC's "Cupid". So, it does have a silly title, but the witty banter between Jeremy Piven (giving a fantastic, modulated performance) and Paula Marshall make this one of this season's best new shows. ABC's also got a winner in the form of "Sports Night", which stars the under-rated Josh Charles. Sharp and quick, both these shows need to find an audience quick before the notoriously itchy fingered execs at ABC pull the plug.
So, what's the final score? 1998's TV line-up is slightly more promising than last year's. But something needs to be done about those older shows which should RIP with dignity. For some - like "MP" and "90210" - it's already too late. Don't wait till everyone turns off the box.