ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 24, 1997 TAG: 9701240024
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JENNIFER BOWLES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ally Walker's not her usual bouncy self. She blames it on her breakfast.
``I actually had a bagel today and it's showing, I'm really tired,'' says the svelte blond-haired, blue-eyed actress.
``Starch,'' she explains, pointing upward, ``then immediately bang,'' as she points downward. ``It's not good.''
But otherwise, life is good for Walker. She plays FBI forensics psychologist Dr. Samantha Waters in NBC's ``Profiler,'' her biggest role to date. And the series is the highest-rated among NBC's Saturday night thrillogy, which begins at 8 with ``Dark Skies,'' followed by ``Pretender'' at 9 and capped with ``Profiler'' at 10.
The show, one of the few hour-long, action-packed TV dramas featuring a woman in the lead, is overshadowed in the time slot by ``Walker, Texas Ranger,'' starring martial arts pro Chuck Norris, on CBS.
The creators of ``Profiler'' took a lot of heat at the season's beginning as critics complained of its similarities to ``Millennium,'' the Fox show from ``The X-Files'' creator Chris Carter.
While Walker's character is obviously a woman and ``Millennium's'' is a man, both main characters delve into the criminal mind through visualizing the actual crimes and drawing on deductive abilities and intuition.
But the comparisons have withered as the differences have emerged.
``I think they're two different styles,'' Walker says. ``For me, they [``Millennium''] do scarier kind of gorier things, certain parts of the pilot really disturbed me. But we're not so much like that. Ours is more like puzzle-solving.''
``Profiler's'' executive producer Ian Sander said he didn't even know ``Millennium'' was in the works when he and his team were creating ``Profiler.'' Carter also claimed ignorance about ``Profiler.''
``It's really a coincidence,'' Sander said. ``There's a genre similarity, but outside of that there's not much. They clearly have chosen to go to a darker place than we have. We go to dark and scary places, but we invest a little more heart.''
Walker, Sander says, was cast after several better-known actresses auditioned to play Sam.
``She really nailed it when she read and tested,'' Sander said. ``She has a real intelligence which absolutely translates to film, and this was a character that wasn't a cupcake, a woman who is a hero and has a talent and a take-charge attitude.''
Sam also has her share of personal grief. Her husband was killed by a mysterious serial murderer named Jack who continues to track Sam and her daughter.
That's a lot of drama for an actress who fancies herself more of a comedian.
``When I was young, I was watching `Lucy,''' Walker says. ``I never watched `Policewoman' or other cop shows, although I did watch `Get Smart.'''
Walker previously starred in the short-lived TV series ``True Blue,'' a police drama, and ``Moon Over Miami,'' a romantic detective series. On the big screen, she's appeared in such varied films as ``Universal Soldier,'' ``Bed of Roses,'' ``While You Were Sleeping'' and ``Kazaam.''
She also starred in the daytime soap opera ``Santa Barbara,'' where she would meet her future ``Profiler'' co-star A Martinez, who after two guest-starring spots will become a regular starting with the Feb. 15 episode.
Martinez plays an expert on terrorism and explosives, as well as Sam's love interest.
In ``Santa Barbara,'' however, Walker played a spy who was supposed to kill Martinez.
``And now he's my lover,'' Walker says with a smile. ``You never know.''
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Ally Walker stars in "Profiler" on Saturday nightsby CNBat 10 on NBC (WSLS, Channel 10, in Roanoke).