“Frasier.” Kelsey Grammer returns in a new show as the same guy, Dr. Frasier Crane. He moves to his native Seattle to host a call-in radio show, packing a bachelor’s energetic libido and ready to match wits with his brother, also a shrink. But what were the creators thinking when they decided to cast the great Chicago actor John Mahoney as Frasier’s father, a bitter ex-cop? The character is superfluous and he puts a monkey wrench into potentially funny stuff.
“Grace Under Fire.” Standup comic Brett Butler plays a refinery worker who is newly divorced and has three kids to raise. The kids are young – 7, 5 and 14 months – and the premiere was surprisingly charming. Butler’s character is subtly shaded, potentially complex. This might be a sleeper hit, from the “Cosby”/ “Roseanne” team of Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner.
“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” Talk about scraping the bottom of the TV bin. This show seeks to combine romance, action-adventure and comedy as it reheats some of the world’s most familiar characters. Dean Cain gives the Man of Steel that hunky-boyish look that might be more suitable on “Melrose Place,” and Teri Hatcher gives Lois a flamboyant air. They live in Metropolis, work for the Daily Planet – haven’t we seen this before, ad infinitum? (That’s Krypton for zzzzzzzzz.)
“The Nanny.” The main character is played by comic Fran Drescher, a terrific talent who is terribly wasted as the caretaker of the three children of a Broadway producer. The kids are typical TV characters, but really troublesome is Charles Shaughnessy as the producer, hamming it up unmercifully, and Daniel Davis as a foppish British butler.
“NYPD Blue.” The most controversial show of the new season is being condemned by people who haven’t seen it but have heard it contains bad language! There is a word or two that might shock a nun. But nothing about this show rings false. Creator Steven Bochco is gently pushing network rules, not breaking them, with this gritty, very solid, extremely well-written and, yes, violent and raw cop show with David Caruso and Dennis Franz.
“The X-Files.” The title refers to the FBI’s toughest unsolved cases. How tough? They all involve paranormal phenomena. To solve them, TV calls on David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. . . . Anyone can win (the Friday night) ratings battle, though “20/20” is a sure thing at 9 p.m. The rest represents as silly a collection of shows as you’ll find.
