New TV Fall Line Up
By Peter Geraldino '00
This season ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX will add a total of 24 new shows to the prime-time grid, further crowding blocks with other returning shows. Who knows which new series will be worth following? More importantly, what are they all about? Although they are too numerous to be reviewed, you might find some of the selected shows highlighted here worth your while.

NBC opens the new fall season with the half-hour comedy Jenny, starring none other than Jenny McCarthy. This sitcom follows a young woman whose life changes dramatically when she inherits her father's home in the Hollywood Hills of California. Besides the semi-interesting plot of a hometown girl trying to retain her values in the fast-paced world of Los Angeles, NBC figured right that this show instantly secures an audience. Men will watch to see Jenny walk, women will watch to see Jenny talk! (But can she really act??) Jenny airs on Sundays at 9 PM.

If Jenny McCarthy doesn't turn you on, (no pun intended) try Players, also an NBC creation. Players tracks three street-smart con-artists on parole under a radical new plan designed to give the FBI the upper hand. The three partners use their criminal skills to do the Bureau's bidding and stay out of the federal prison, dealing with situations the Feds can't handle. They don't follow the same rules as the G-men though, and even if instructed not to break the law, they at least test its flexibility. Players airs Fridays at 8 PM.

NBC is not alone in its attempt to launch a new onslaught of cop shows; CBS adds to its line-up Brooklyn South, a cop drama which, not surprisingly, focuses on the streets of Brooklyn. Yet another credit to Steven Bochco and his creative team, (NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues), what makes this cop show special is that unlike any other part of New York, it's hard to distinguish between the people cops are pledged to protect and those they ought to arrest or shoot. Brooklyn South airs Mondays at 10 PM.

And finally in the law and lawless genre, comes Dellaventura, starring Academy Award winner Danny Aiello. Aiello plays a veteran police detective who has built his private business on the kinds of cases the NYPD can't or won't handle. What truly makes Dellaventura entertaining is the questionable methods used to get the job done, whether it be force or seduction. Aiello's team of skillful men and women is composed of brawn, brains, and sex appeal. Dellaventura airs Tuesdays at 10 PM.

Moving right along, FOX beefs up its sci-fi line-up this season with The Visitor. The Visitor chronicles the voyages of a man who mysteriously disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle 50 years ago, recently re-emerged without having aged at all, and simultaneously launches a mission to alter the course of human destiny and save our civilization from total annihilation. Sound ambitious? Actually, it aims no farther than many of FOX's characteristically far-fetched, "who came up with this?!", yet mesmerizingly occult shows. The Visitor airs Fridays at 8 PM.

For the more grounded FOX viewers out there, if you feel you've outgrown Melrose Place, fear not-- Ally McBeal features a young, attractive attorney whose life somersaults when her old boyfriend joins the firm as her colleague. The question everyone's popping is: Can she work with him... even though she's never gotten over him? With a caustic wit, but a little more class than the Melrose cast, Ally McBeal hooks her viewers with a seriously funny drama!

So, next time your vegging in front of the tube and can't find an old favorite to watch, try giving one of these picks a try!