ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180066
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: TELEVISION REVIEW
SOURCE: JAMES ENDRST THE HARTFORD COURANT
I used to like ``Suddenly Susan,'' NBC's new sitcom starring Brooke Shields.
Now I love it.
The show hasn't hit the air yet - it makes its debut Thursday night - but one thing is for sure, ``Suddenly Susan'' is going to be huge. Can't miss.
I'm sure of it.
In fact, I'm twice as sure as I usually am because I've seen two versions of the show.
The first was good. The second, and final product, was great.
And that's very unusual.
You see, every season at least one high-profile show headed for the fall lineup is pulled back for an overhaul after already being previewed by critics.
The upshot? Nine times out of 10 the program - when and if it does come out - is D.O.A.
Not so with ``Suddenly Susan.'' Most critics were pleasantly surprised by Shields (who poses in the altogether on the cover of Rolling Stone that hits newstands Tuesday) when they saw the original pilot this summer. But most agreed, too, that the foundations of the show were shaky.
Apparently, the network felt the same way.
So they went back to the studio, got some new producers, changed the cast, the setting, the dynamics - everything but Shields (model/actress/fiancee to Andre Agassi) - and voila, came back with more than just a solid opener. They made a show with a future.
Here's how everything worked on the first take, which we'll call ... Suddenly Susan: The First Time Around.
The setup: Shields plays a book editor named Susan working in Pasadena, Calif. She breaks up with her boyfriend when she realizes he's not committed to much more than their sexual relationship. She wants kids. His response: ``Do you really want to ruin your body like that?''
The co-stars: Philip Casnoff (``Sinatra'') played Susan's boss; Elizabeth Ashley (``Evening Shade'') was an egomaniacal, best-selling but talent-light trash-romance novelist, and Nancy Marchand (``Lou Grant'') was Susan's grandmother.
The story line: Shields, a sheltered girl, breaks up with her beau, goes out for a night on the town, gets drunk on Jell-O shots, bites the end off a cigar and swallows it because she doesn't know any better and gets a hangover.
Highlights: Abundant pratfalls, physical comedy from Shields - something like Lucille Ball without the polish.
The problem: A boring setting. Ashley overpowered Shields. Casnoff marched through the pilot like he was auditioning for another ``North and South'' miniseries.
But what a difference major changes can make. Which brings us to what we'll call ... Suddenly Susan: The Final Cut.
The setup: Susan is already at the altar, having second thoughts and hyperventilating. So she heads for the door, realizing just in time that the man she's about to marry is really in love with himself. Now she has to go begging for her old job back, a major feat because her boss is her former fiance's brother.
Co-stars: Judd Nelson is the new boss, Jack. Barbara Barrie replaces Marchand as Susan's grandmother. Ashley is out, as are all of Shields' former co-stars and co-characters.
The story line: We won't tell you how she does it, but Susan actually ends up with a promotion - from copy editor to columnist for The Gate, a hip San Francisco magazine. But she's still got to prove herself. So she goes out on the town, gets drunk on Jell-O shots, bites off the end of a cigar and hits a bystander when she spits it out, ends up singing ``It's Raining Men'' to a bar full of men, and gets a hangover.
Highlights: Abundant pratfalls, physical comedy from Shields but this time there's polish, and it's used sparingly. Look for a great little homage to Mary Tyler Moore, too.
Perhaps the smartest move the producers have made is to make Shields a young woman who is beautiful but tentative, educated but still on a major learning curve.
It's going to be a wonderful show with a nice long run.
I'm triple sure.
Why?
Did I mention that the show is being broadcast Thursday nights on NBC. Between ``Seinfeld'' and ``ER''?
LENGTH: Medium: 84 linesby CNB