Dennis Mahoney on… The New Fall Season: So Far, So What?

(Originally published on UltimateTV.com in October 1998)

As of this writing, November is fast approaching and the new television season is in full swing. Medical shows, relationship shows, coming-of-age shows — they’re all here. But something is missing this season: buzz. Where is this year’s “Ally McBeal?” Where is the new “Friends?” Where is the show that you just gotta see?

In the weeks before the season started, there was a good deal of talk about “Felicity,” (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) the new WB drama about a small-town girl (Keri Russell) experiencing life on her own for the first time while attending college in New York. When the series premiered September 29th, it became the WB’s highest rated debut ever. For a few days, anyway.

On October 7th, the WB presented “Charmed,” (Wednesdays, 9 p.m.) a new series from producer/TV God Aaron Spelling. The show, which concerns three twentysomething sisters who learn they’re witches, surprised everyone by breaking “Felicity’s” week-old record. Expectations for the show were high, but not that high.

The last-minute addition of Alyssa Milano (“Melrose Place,” “Who’s the Boss,” my adolescent dreams) to the cast certainly didn’t hurt. Neither did the presence of the notorious Shannen Doherty (“Beverly Hills 90210,” “Heathers,” various barroom brawls). Third sister Holly Marie Combs may be a little overshadowed by her better-known costars, but no doubt her presence attracted at least a few “Picket Fences” fans.

Spelling’s association to “Charmed” added to the appeal. But the deciding factor in the show’s immediate success was undoubtedly the popularity of its lead-in, “Dawson’s Creek.” The teen dramedy, which was this spring’s buzz hit, had its second-season premiere right before “Charmed” debuted.

Lost in all the hoopla was the gentle WB family drama, “Hyperion Bay” (Mondays, 9 p.m.) Mark Paul Gosselaar (“Saved By the Bell”) stars as a small-town boy made good who returns home to head a new factory which is vital to the town’s survival.

Created by former “thirtysomething” writer Joseph Dougherty, “Hyperion” deals with issues like fraternal jealousy and parental disappointment in a quiet manner that fits well with its lead-in, “Seventh Heaven.” The WB has shown a great deal of faith in the series, recently ordering a full season’s worth of episodes despite so-so ratings, in hopes of nurturing it over time in a method that worked wonders for “Seventh.”

Not so lucky was the season’s first casualty, “Costello,” the FOX sitcom about a South Boston cocktail waitress who decides to go back to school. The series, which showcased the talents of comedian Sue Costello, was loud, abrasive and only occasionally funny. It was also canceled a month after its premiere.

Another FOX comedy fared better. When the fall schedule was announced, “That ’70s Show” (Sundays, 8:30 p.m.) seemed destined to win only the “worst title of the season” award. Instead it surprised everyone (except those who had actually seen it) by racking up big, demographically desired ratings. Created by Bonnie and Terry Turner (“Third Rock From the Sun”), “That ’70s Show” concerns a group of teens growing up in, well, the ’70s. Despite initial controversy over veiled drug references in the debut, the show has turned out to be a surprisingly gentle, low-key affair with an engaging young cast. Topher Grace, who plays focal character Eric, and Laura Prepon, who plays Eric’s best friend/possible love interest Donna, are the most appealing new finds of the season.

Another great find is Sean O’Bryan, whose manic performance keeps ABC’s new TGIFer “Brother’s Keeper” (Fridays, 9:30 p.m.) from becoming the maudlin piece of kiddy crap that it so desperately wants to be. O’Bryan is Bobby Waide, a wildman NFL superstar forced to either live with his stable older brother Porter (affable William Ragsdale, the Herman in “Herman’s Head”), a widowed single dad, or lose his career. Ragsdale is winning as the straight-laced Porter, and blonde moppet Justin Cooper (“Liar, Liar”) is far less annoying than most child actors as Porter’s son, Oscar. But it is O’Bryan’s goofy frat boy charm that makes “Brother’s Keeper” worth a look if you are stuck at home on a Friday night. And your cable goes out. And you don’t know how to read. Or operate your VCR.

ABC also has one of the few shows that drew even a mild pre-season buzz: the new, “improved” “Fantasy Island” (Saturdays, 9 p.m.). Executive produced by Barry Sonnenfeld, who handled the same chores on this summer’s winner “Maximum Bob,” “Fantasy Island” stars Malcolm McDowell as a more sinister Mr. Roarke. Supposedly a darker, more twisted take on the trash classic, the new “Island” is more toothless retread than postmodern revisionism, which may explain why it has so far been getting its ass kicked by the least likely television star in ages.

Sammo Hung is a portly fellow from China who is approaching middle age, but that hasn’t kept CBS’s “Martial Law” (Saturdays, 9 p.m.) from pulling in big audiences. Sammo plays Sammo Law, a cop from mainland China (“The best cop in a country of one billion people”) who comes to Los Angeles in search of his missing protégé (Kelly Hu, “Nash Bridges”). Sammo’s martial-arts skills come in handy while he and his new American partners battle the toughest criminals in L.A. while searching for the missing woman.

Sammo was raised by the same Peking Opera master as Jackie Chan, and the two spent their childhood together under his rigorous tutelage (along with fellow Hong Kong film stars Yuen Wah and Yuen Biao). As such, Sammo has moves that David Carradine could only dream of. His quick moves and quicker wit make “Martial Law” the sleeper action hit of the new season.

Another CBS sleeper is the strange, hilarious “Buddy Faro” (Fridays, 9 p.m.), which concerns the reemergence of the greatest private eye the world has ever seen after a 20-year self-exile. Dennis Farina (“Get Shorty”) is a hoot as the title character. This is the role of a lifetime and Farina knows it, relishing each delirious line of dialogue as if it were his last. Frank Whaley (“Pulp Fiction”) and Allison Smith (“Kate and Alley”) shine as his sidekicks. So far their efforts have paid off with decent ratings and resounding critical success.

The raunchy CBS comedy “The Benben Show” hasn’t fared as well: it was canceled earlier this month. Brian Benben starred as a local news anchor, recently demoted to covering human interest stories. Desperate to win back his old position, Benben waged war on his slick replacement. Although quite funny, its cruel and often racy humor didn’t gel with that of its kinder, gentler but still hilarious lead-in, “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

ABC’s “Sports Night” (Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m.) has a similarly sophisticated brand of humor, minus the raunch, but it has fared a little better. Closer in spirit to the sophisticated “Broadcast News” and “The Larry Sanders Show” than the broader “Benben Show,” “Sports Night” is an inside look at the making of a “Sportscenter” type cable show.

Josh Charles (“Dead Poets Society”) and Peter Krause (“Cybill”) are a fine match as the smart-alecky anchors, and Robert Guillaume (“Benson”) and David Mamet regular Felicity Huffman (“The Spanish Prisoner”) are quite good as their bosses. But much of the shows appeal comes from Josh Malina (“The Larry Sanders Show”) as the newly hired copywriter and Sabrina Lloyd as the young producer who has a crush on him.

Combine the lightning pace with the fact that “Sports Night” actually dares to concern itself with issues (the behavior of certain sports figures, the morality of some players’ salaries) and even take a stand, add to that the fact that the show is just plain funny — “Sports Night” is simply the season’s best new comedy.

The worst new comedy is easily “Encore! Encore!” (Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m.), despite the presence of the brilliant Nathan Lane. A disaster on all counts, the new NBC comedy takes a winning cast (besides Lane there’s Glenne Headly, Ernie Sabella and the great Joan Plowright) and well-worn plot (a grown man is forced to return to live with his family) and creates an unwatchable mess. It takes a lot of work to make people this good look this bad. “Encore! Encore!” is, in that respect at least, a resounding success.

NBC had more luck with two of its other sitcoms. “Jesse” (Thursdays, 8:30), thanks to its cushy post-”Friends” time slot, is the season’s biggest new hit. Christina Applegate, freed from the hell that was “Married With Children,” shines as the title character, a single mom raising her young son with the help of her two goofy brothers and her cranky old man. Though the love connection between Jesse and her hunky Latin neighbor is a bit forced, Bruno Campos is charming in the thankless role.

“Will and Grace” (Mondays, 9:30 p.m.) stars Eric McCormack and Debra Messing (“Ned and Stacy”) as the title characters, a straight-laced gay man and gay-laced straight woman who are best friends and mismatched soul mates. Both actors are wonderful, as are costars Megan Mullaly as Grace’s sassy assistant and Sean P. Hayes as Will’s flamboyant pal. So far the scripts don’t fulfill the cast’s potential, but the show looks to be a solid, though not astounding, hit.

The same cannot be said about the season’s most talked about new series. UPN’s “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer” stole the worst new title award from “That ’70s Show” and debuted to devastating ratings despite all the controversy it has received due to its subject matter: a black British butler working for a buffoonish Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Chances are that the protests may have driven away some viewers, but it is much more likely that the wrongheadedness of the entire concept kept them at bay.

Faring even worse than “Pfeiffer” is UPN’s now-canceled sci-fi drama “Mercy Point,” billed as “ER” in space. A bland take on an interesting concept, “Mercy Point” was nonetheless diverting entertainment. With an able cast headed by the great Joe Morton (“The Brother From Another Planet,” amongst many other John Sayles films), “Mercy Point” was a near miss, but a miss nonetheless. It deserved better than to be UPN’s lowest rated show.

UPN’s other new sci-fi series, “7 Days,” is more successful on all counts. The tale of a man who can go back in time seven days and make changes to help better mankind, “7 Days” is an oddly appealing adventure. While lead Anthony LaPaglia is no Scott Bakula and “7 Days” is no “Quantum Leap,” the two shows share similar charms.

The season so far has shows both good and bad, but none that have drawn national attention to them with the immediacy of series from years past. While nothing new is great, there is quite a bit that is pretty damned good. And several shows have the possibility of growing into greatness, like such late bloomers past as “Just Shoot Me” and “7th Heaven.” It seems that, this season especially, patience is indeed a virtue.