HOME PAGE
|
Sunday, September 20, 1998
Old faces, concepts get fresh look for new season
By Ken White
Review-Journal
By Ken White
Review-Journal
New talk shows, remakes of old game shows and off-network sitcoms highlight the local TV syndication scene.
Donny and Marie Osmond, Roseanne and Howard Stern are the big names topping the list of new talk programs, but there's a host of remakes to keep track of, too, from "Hollywood Squares" to "Match Game."
Independent stations KVVU-TV, Channel 5; KVWB-TV, Channel 21; and KFBT-TV, Channel 33 picked up the bulk of the hourlong action shows, which includes the flamboyant Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls in "Special Ops Force"; Lorenzo Lamas' latest foray, "Air America"; the Pamela Anderson Lee opus "VIP"; and the return of bikini-clad women with guns in "Acapulco H.E.A.T."
KVBC-TV, Channel 3
"Hollywood Squares" (4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): Tom Bergeron hosts the latest incarnation of the popular game show that first appeared in 1966 with host Peter Marshall. This version has Whoopi Goldberg in the late Paul Lynde's center square. Rosie O'Donnell, Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston, and Sharon Stone are scheduled to appear along with regulars Caroline Rhea ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch") and the show's head writer, Bruce Vilanch.
"Game Warden Wildlife Journal" (5 a.m. Saturdays, noon Sundays; debuted Sept. 12): The lives of natural resources and wildlife professionals across the United States and Canada are chronicled for this half-hour show.
"Animal Rescue" (5:30 a.m. Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. Sundays; debuted Sept. 12): A weekly half-hour reality series, "Animal Rescue" showcases spectacular rescues of animals, focusing on the work of medical teams around the world.
"Living Better with Carrie Wiatt" (5:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. Sundays; debuts Oct. 4): Lifestyle guru Carrie Wiatt provides tips on saving time, money and energy, from no-stress entertaining to fast and easy meals, during this half-hour program.
"Rebecca's Garden" (5 a.m., 10:30 a.m. Sundays; debuts Oct. 4): A half-hour of tips geared to all levels of gardeners. Hosted by Rebecca Kolls, the show features everything from the basics of good gardening to the latest gadgets and gizmos.
"Quick Witz" (3:30 a.m., 4 a.m. Saturdays; debuts Sept. 26): Two teams of comedians square off in improvisational challenge rounds using constantly changing subjects, props and situations.
"B. Smith with Style" (10 a.m. Sundays; Sept. 20): Shot on location, B. Smith is a weekly lifestyle series starring author, restaurateur and trendsetter Barbara Smith, and features topics ranging from affordable fashion and food to decoration and design.
"Kickin' It!" (3 p.m., 2:05 a.m. Sundays; debuts Sept. 20): Byron Allen hosts this hourlong music video countdown and comedy show. Includes interviews with music stars.
KVVU-TV, Channel 5
"The Roseanne Show" (5 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): Noted mostly as a stand-up comic and sitcom actress, Roseanne takes on the talk-show format in this hour show.
"Donny & Marie" (9 a.m. Monday-Friday; debuts Sept. 21): It's a combination of talk and variety as the Osmonds return to television after 20 years. They'll be doing their old act again with plenty of sibling teasing.
"Friends" (7 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuts Sept. 21): Back-to-back episodes will give viewers a chance to become friends all over again with the hit NBC series.
"Hard Copy" (10:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuts Sept. 21): Not the same old "Hard Copy" tabloid show, producers promise. This new version is supposed to be more along the lines of "Dateline NBC" or "20/20."
"NewsRadio" (11 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuts Sept. 21): The late Phil Hartman shines in this sitcom about a radio news station.
"VIP" (4 p.m. Saturdays; debuts Sept. 26): Pamela Anderson Lee stars as Vallery Irons, a small-town girl who wants to hit it big in Hollywood but instead becomes the figurehead of a security company. There isn't much more to say, except that the former "Baywatch" regular will be spitting lead and one-liners. It also stars Natalie Raitano, Leah Lail, Molly Culver, Shaun Baker and Angelle Brooks. Oddly enough, Anderson Lee is also the executive producer, along with creator J.F. Lawton of "Pretty Woman" and "Under Siege" fame.
"Stargate SG-1" (5 p.m. Sundays; debuts Sept. 27): Richard Dean Anderson brings his "MacGyver" act to science fiction in this series based on the movie "Stargate." Originally produced for Showtime.
KLAS-TV, Channel 8
"ER" (7 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays; debuts Sept. 26): The hit NBC series comes to local TV in reruns. Viewers can relive the series that made George Clooney a star.
"The Howard Stern Radio Show" (11:30 p.m. Saturdays; debuted Aug. 22): Basically it's Stern's radio show transferred to television.
"Extra" (9 a.m., 12:30 a.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): Maureen O'Boyle hosts this half-hour news program.
"Judge Joe Brown" (9:30 a.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): From the creators of "Judge Judy" comes this "feisty" Tennessee lawyer who
"gives a damn." Brown was brought up in South Central Los Angeles, but lives and works in the South.
KTNV-TV, Channel 13
"Access Hollywood" (7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 7): Pat O'Brien and Giselle Fernandez co-host the "Entertainment Tonight"-style program that covers the entertainment industry.
KVWB-TV, Channel 21
"Maury" (noon Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): Maury Povich goes personal on us as he deals with the emotional conflicts facing his guests. It holds the distinction of being the only single-topic talk show premiering this fall.
"People's Court" (1 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 7): Judge Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City, presides over the troubles of the whole country, not just a few million people.
"Match Game" (2 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuts Sept. 21): George Hamilton, Vicki Lawrence and Nell Carter are the panel in a revival of the old "Match Game" show that was hosted by Gene Rayburn. This one has Michael Burger in charge of the hilarity.
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (5 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): More embarrassing videos of kids throwing up, animals acting wacky and men getting hit in the groin by various objects.
"The Nanny" (5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): Reruns of the CBS sitcom starring Fran Drescher as the nanny.
"M*A*S*H" (10 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 7): The old standby comes to Channel 21 with back-to-back episodes.
"Highlander: The Raven" (11 a.m. Saturdays; debuts Sept. 26): Former Miss America Elizabeth Gracen co-stars as the immortal cat burglar and con artist Amanda, and Paul Johansson ("Beverly Hills, 90210") plays her mortal sidekick Nick Wolfe in this retooled version of the "Highlander" series.
"Special Ops Force" (4 p.m. Sundays; debuts Sept. 27): Dennis Rodman dresses up again to join the cast of this weekly one-hour series, formerly called "Soldier of Fortune," about a team of covert military operatives on secret missions. Rodman, of course, will provide comic relief. Executive producer is Jerry Bruckheimer.
"Mortal Kombat: Conquest" (7 p.m., 1 a.m. Saturdays; debuts Oct. 3): A one-hour live-action series based on the "Mortal Kombat" franchise that follows the adventures of Kung Lao and his friends as they defend Earth against the forces of Outworld. Promises to have scads of martial arts sequences and special effects.
"The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" (8 p.m. Saturdays; debut Sept. 26): Based on "The Crow" feature films, the one-hour weekly series stars martial-arts champ Mark Dacascos and has the requisite dark photography and symbolism.
"Air America" (6 p.m. Sundays; debuts Oct. 6): Lorenzo Lamas of "Renegade" fame stars in a one-hour adventure series as Rio Arnett, an ex-Navy SEAL who is a pilot for a swanky hotel in the fictional Latin American country of Costa Perdida. Rio, it turns out, is really a secret agent.
KFBT-TV, Channel 33
"Judge Mills Lane" (9 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuted Sept. 14): A former welterweight boxer, district attorney and Nevada boxing referee, Lane heads up this one-hour talk show. Each episode is a single court case, commented upon by a legal expert. It's from the same folks who gave us "Inside Edition" and "American Journal."
"Love Connection" (10 p.m. Monday-Friday; debuts Sept. 21): A new version of the old Chuck Woolery dating show with new host Pat Bullard.
"Change of Heart" (10:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.; debuts Sept. 21): Hosted by radio personality Chris Jagger, this companion piece to "Love Connection" features couples at a crossroads in their relationship who find out if they're really meant for each other by going on a date with someone else.
"Acapulco H.E.A.T." (1 p.m. Sundays; debuts Sept. 27): The Hemisphere Emergency Action Team is back with two members of the show's old cast, Alison Armitage and Michael Worth, plus Lydie Denier and Christa Sauls as they fight crime on the Mexican Riviera.
"The New Adventures of Robin Hood" (Noon Sundays; debuts Sept. 20): John Bradley is Robin Hood, Barbara Griffin is Marion, and Richard Ashton and Martyn Ellis play Little John and Friar Tuck in yet another version of the legend about a man and his merry band who robbed the rich and gave to the poor.
Give us your FEEDBACK on this or any story.
Fill out our Online Readers' Poll
|
"Mortal Kombat: Conquest," a one-hour live-action series based on the "Mortal Kombat" franchise, debuts this fall on KVWB-TV, Channel 21.
A retooled "Acapulco H.E.A.T." adds new cast members to fight crime on the Mexican Riviera.
|
