ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997 TAG: 9703040043
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: FRAZIER MOORE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Drama lovers have a feast in store this week: the return of ``EZ Streets,'' plus three excellent new series.
*ABC's ``The Practice'' hangs out its shingle tonight at 10 EST.
*CBS' ``Feds'' launches Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST.
*NBC's ``Prince Street'' previews Thursday at 10 p.m. EST, before getting rerouted to Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST.
What can we say about this dramatic triad? Well, all deal with the law. Two are set in New York City. Two of the titles start with P's. All deserve your attention.
More details follow. But first, a few words about ``EZ Streets,'' CBS' critically celebrated drama that got two airings last fall before getting pulled for low ratings.
``EZ Streets'' (rated TV-14) is about a police detective (Ken Olin) and a borderline hood (Jason Gedrick) in a dying Rust Belt city.
``EZ Streets'' packs the moral ambiguity and chilly dread a show like ``Millennium'' can only wish for. It's sexy, suspenseful and, at times, morbidly comic. It's a privilege to watch.
Like they used to say about Heinz ketchup, maybe ``EZ Streets'' is too thick, too rich to win a ratings race. But for the moment it's back, airing tonight at 10 EST, then again two days later in its ``regular'' time slot, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. - which, starting next week, pits it against another street: NBC's ``Prince Street.''
Speaking of streets, there are almost certainly dead ends right around the bend. Each of these four series is scheduled for only a handful of airings. They don't have much time to prove themselves with you. Nor do you, to discover and support them.
Here are the three premieres:
*``The Practice'' (parental rating: TV-PG) centers on Bobby Donnell, a defense attorney in a small, struggling Boston law firm whose goal, as much as to win cases, is to pay the light bill and keep its doors open.
Although Donnell is surrounded by scrappy, dedicated associates (played by a solid ensemble of new faces), ``The Practice'' is a showcase for star Dylan McDermott, who as Donnell is passionate, fast-talking and, often, held aloft only by the seat of his pants.
But another name looms large on ``The Practice'': its creator, David E. Kelley, who was once part of a diametrically different sort of practice, ``L.A. Law,'' and since then created ``Picket Fences'' and ``Chicago Hope.''
As usual, Kelley stands for well-rounded characters, important issues thrashed out colorfully, and a taste for the absurd.
*``Feds'' (rating: TV-14) is a crime drama set in the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office. What this means to viewers is a variety of action, ranging from paneled courtrooms to seedy stakeouts.
It's all overseen by Blair Brown, TV's erstwhile ``Molly Dodd'' now portraying tough-as-nails U.S. attorney Erica Stanton. Other members of the strong cast include two alumni from ``Murder One,'' Grace Phillips and Dylan Baker.
``Feds'' is the latest from Dick Wolf, whose ``Law & Order'' is the gold standard for episodic drama.
But what threatens to dim ``Feds''' luster, if anything, is its pious tone. That, plus familiar storylines such as the one where an attorney returns to work (too soon? can he handle it?) just weeks after his family was slain before his eyes in a mob-connected shooting he pledges to avenge (any bets he won't?).
*``Prince Street'' (rating: TV-PG) starts with ``Feds''' rectitude, then takes it all undercover.
Working out of a warehouse-like fortress, an elite but top-secret New York Police Department unit infiltrates criminal organizations and brings them down.
Sounds a little cloak-and-daggerish? Maybe, but the series is from Robert Nathan, who has ``ER'' and ``Law & Order'' to his credit. Joe Morton heads a capable ensemble.
And - lo and behold - the series is based on the true stories of real undercover detectives (the opening titles tell you so).
At times, however, the realism falters. At the end of the first episode, for instance, one of our heroes dashes from the sewer line he was scrambling through to prevent a terrorist bombing, straight into a hospital delivery room to assist his wife with childbirth.
Even cops have to wash their hands.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB