
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 1, 1995                   TAG: 9506010053
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID BIANCULLI NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW FALL LINEUPS BRING NET GAINS AND LOSSES|

As the last network to get all its ducks in a row for fall, CBS has officially unveiled its schedule. That provides the opportunity to step back and look, for the first time, at all the networks' schedules - and predict, among other things, which of those ducks are liable to be dead on arrival.

It's also a chance to pinpoint the boldest scheduling moves, the biggest conflicts for viewers, and so on. Here goes:

Biggest trend: A sitcom glut, sparked by the success of NBC's first-year ``Friends'' and the aggressive use by ABC and NBC of hit comedies as building blocks.

Last season, the four networks presented a very balanced schedule of new series: 14 dramas, 13 comedies. For the 1995-96 season, there are 11 new dramas on the schedule, and 21 new sitcoms.

Biggest move: A total of 18 returning series are coming back in new time periods and/or days this fall. Perhaps the most surprising: CBS, eyeing the success of its rivals in relocating popular first or second-year sitcoms, has shifted ``Cybill'' to 8 p.m. Sundays, giving it the time slot occupied for most of the past 11 years by ``Murder, She Wrote.''

Other moves, though, may make some people shift their normal ``appointment viewing'' patterns. ``Picket Fences'' is shifted an hour, from 10 to 9 p.m. Fridays on CBS; ``Roseanne'' moves to 8 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC; ``Friends'' is moved to the leadoff spot on NBC Thursdays, and ``Mad About You'' is moved to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Dumbest moves: NBC's ``seaQuest DSV'' to 8 p.m. Wednesdays (where young viewers will be loyal to ``Beverly Hills, 90210,'' and smart viewers to ``Ellen''), and ``Coach'' to the spot behind the hit ABC series ``Home Improvement'' (why waste such a prime time slot on such an old series?).

Toughest odds: The first two hours of ABC's Thursday lineup, ``Charlie Grace'' and ``The Monroes,'' both of them new shows, may not even be able to get sampled, and Fox' ``Strange Luck,'' also a new show, at 8 p.m. Fridays, will need a lot of it to buck what has been, for Fox, a no-win time slot.

Biggest conflicts: These are subjective, of course, but among discerning viewers, one red-flag head-to-head battle will be between Steven Bochco's new ``Murder One'' series on ABC and the ultra-successful NBC incumbent ``ER'' Thursdays at 10 p.m.

Personally, I also foresee problems trying to choose among ``The Simpsons,'' ``Mad About You'' and ``Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' on Sundays at 8 p.m. Also, on Fridays, there's two new face-offs. At 9, there's ``Picket Fences'' vs. Fox's ``The X-Files,'' and at 10, there's ``Homicide: Life on the Street'' on NBC vs. an intriguing new CBS entry, ``American Gothic,'' starring Gary Cole as a sinister modern-day sheriff.

Start saving for the VCR now, or reading the manual to master that fine, elusive art of recording one program while watching another. Next season, on Fridays and Sundays, that ability will come in very handy.

Biggest question: Does Bochco's ``Murder One,'' which essentially is a season-long courtroom miniseries delivered in weekly installments, really belong opposite one of TV's most popular shows (``ER'')? Viewers who miss even one or two episodes of ``Murder One'' may feel they've missed too much to dive back in. A less competitive time slot may have been more nurturing to a series demanding so much loyalty from its audience.

Biggest disappointment: No ``My So-Called Life'' or ``VR.5.''

Biggest thrill: For the second fall in a row, no new reality programs or newsmagazines.

Enough is enough, and there just isn't that much news, or interesting ``reality'' on the planet.

by CNB