ABC’s “NYPD Blue” is back after a controversial hiatus, but from the quality of Tuesday’s seventh season premiere, you have to wonder if the gritty cop drama is really back.
The series has been off ABC’s schedule to let the network’s romantic drama “Once and Again” gel. “Once and Again” did well in “Blue’s” 9 p.m. Tuesday time slot and the network toyed with letting the freshman show keep that slot permanently.
Emmy-winning star Dennis Franz, producer Steven Bochco and some TV critics balked at the move, and the network eventually restored “Blue” to its original spot, moving “Once” to 9 p.m. Mondays starting Jan. 24.
Tuesday’s episode on WLS-Ch. 7 is solid, reflecting the type of high drama and action that has been “Blue’s” hallmark.
And yet, a certain spark is missing. The story line — detectives Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder) and Andy Sipowicz (Franz) investigate the role that two cops might have played in a man’s death — is compelling, but not spectacular: The episode comes off like a typical “Blue” segment, rather than a more rousing season premiere.
Schroder continues his development as Sorenson, who gets into an interesting relationship with young beat cop Mary Franco (Sherri Rappaport).
Franz flexes different muscles as a mourning, widower father, whose wife, Sylvia Costas (Sharon Lawrence), was shot to death last season. And the producers have a find in Austin Majors as little Theo Sipowicz. The scenes between father and son are touching and tender.
Some critics have said that despite the well-handled departure of Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) and the smooth deployment of Sorenson, last season showed hints of decline.
Hopefully, the show’s first two episodes — which include a dispute between partners Jill Kirkendall and Diane Russell (Andrea Thompson and Kim Delaney) that could have gone further than it does — aren’t signs that “NYPD Blue” is headed toward last call.
Sunday
– Full of cheeky fun and wicked humor, Fox premieres the quirky new comedy “Malcolm in the Middle” at 7:30 p.m. on WFLD-Ch. 32. Frankie Muniz shines as the head of a silly ensemble cast, playing the third youngest of four boys who is a reluctant genius longing for a normal life, but who is buffeted by his mildly dysfunctional family.
– Sci-Fi Channel’s dark aliens-invading-Earth series “First Wave” kicks off its second season at 6 p.m. with special guest the WWF star formerly known as Sable, Rena Mero.
– The TV game show ante is upped on Sunday, as NBC presents a limited run of “Twenty One.” It’s an update of the 1950s quiz show of the same name and is hosted by Maury Povich at 7 p.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5. Episodes also will air Wednesday and Jan. 16 and 19.
– Meanwhile, ABC, possibly nervous at all the competition facing its “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” is airing eight straight nights of Regis Philbin teasing contestants with his “Is this your final answer?” catch phrase, beginning at 8 p.m. Sunday on WLS-Ch. 7. After this week’s marathon, the series will air regularly on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
– Showtime presents a taped Broadway performance of the Tony-winning “Death of a Salesman” at 7 p.m.
– Stalwart film actor Bill Pullman succeeds in pulling double duty as director and soft-spoken star of TNT’s original movie “The Virginian,” a faithful adaptation of Owen Wister’s 1902 western novel of love, justice and being true to one’s self at 7 p.m.
The ocean liner Britannic sank four years after its infamous sister ship Titanic was lost in 1912. That story, with Jacqueline Bisset in the lead, is presented by Fox Family Channel at 7 p.m.
– Last year, Danny Bonaduce’s take on his television family the Partridges aired on ABC. Now it’s David Cassidy’s turn, which is even more biographical than Bonaduce’s. Andrew Kavovit (“As the World Turns”) stars, and look for a cameo by Cassidy himself, at 8 p.m. on NBC-Ch. 5.
– The alluring Peta Wilson is back for a fourth season of action — and the resolution of last season’s finale, which saw her brainwashed into the perfect killing machine — on the USA Network’s “La Femme Nikita.” A two-hour premiere is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Monday
– Who is Ainsley Harriott, and why is he getting a five-days-per-week show? Well, he’s a chef, author and TV show host from Britain. His syndicated talk-entertainment-cooking show originates from New York and premieres at noon Monday on WMAQ-Ch. 5.
– NBC’s new Monday lineup starts at 7 p.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5 with the well-received teen 1980s comedy-drama “Freaks and Geeks,” while the cops/firefighters/paramedics series “Third Watch” moves to 9 p.m.
– Jeff Daniels plays George Washington at a pivotal point in the Revolutionary War — Washington’s historic trek across the Delaware River and into the Battle of Trenton. “The Crossing” premieres at 7 p.m. on A&E.
– ABC’s Monday night Muhammad Ali biopic, starring Terrence Howard at 8 p.m. on WLS-Ch. 7, has prompted Fox to postpone airing its own take on the electrifying heavyweight boxer. Fox’s version was scheduled to air later this week and now is TBA.
– PBS’ “The American Experience” presents a special biography on indomitable First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at 8:30 p.m. on WTTW-Ch. 11.
Wednesday
– Believe it: At 7:05 p.m. TBS premieres “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” a new series on the bizarre and fantastic that was once a 1980s ABC show with Jack Palance as host. Dean Cain of “Lois & Clark” is the host here.
– WTTW-Ch. 11 dips into its “Soundstage” archives at 8 p.m. for a gem: a 1983 special starring Andy Kaufman, whose biopic “Man on the Moon” is generating renewed interest in the off-center comedian.
– TNN premieres its first action series, “18 Wheels of Justice,” at 8 p.m. It’s about a Justice Department agent (Lucky Vanous) working undercover as a trucker who helps ordinary people while staying one step ahead of the vicious drug overlord he testified against. Billy Dee Williams and G. Gordon Liddy co-star.
– One of comedy’s rare birds, the irrepressible and inventive Jonathan Winters, is honored with the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize in a 9:30 p.m. Comedy Central special featuring Winters devotee Robin Williams, plus Steve Allen, Richard Belzer, Sid Caesar, Bonnie Hunt and others.
Thursday
– Finally, the World Wrestling Federation’s the Rock has come back to Chicago! UPN’s “WWF Smackdown!” originates from the Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. on WPWR-Ch. 50.
Friday
– CBS’s “Cosby” airs at its new day and time, 7:30 p.m. on WBBM-Ch. 2.
– The Fox Family Channel series “Higher Ground” debuts at 8 p.m. Starring Joe Lando (“Dr. Quinn”), it follows a group of at-risk kids enrolled at Mount Horizon, an emotional growth school set in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.
– The Sci Fi Channel’s 9 p.m. series “LEXX” is a comedy-drama about four misfits who have stolen a Manhattan-sized, genetically modified insect. Sounds enticing, huh?
Saturday
– CBS’ high-action series “Martial Law” takes a new tack at 8 p.m. on WBBM-Ch. 2, as Sammo Law (Sammo Hung) is introduced to the crime cartel Scorpio, a group that will battle Law and his partner Terrell Parker (Arsenio Hall) for the rest of the season.
