THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 18, 1995 TAG: 9509160056
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Long : 149 lines
ISN'T IT NICE TO have ``Seinfeld'' on the air six days a week instead of just one? George is so desperate for a date that he's flirting with telephone operators.
Live it again.
What man wouldn't be thrilled to learn that Xena, the leather-clad woman from ``Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'' has a show of her own?
And isn't it a hoot to see former Cosby kid Tempestt Bledsoe all grown up with a talk show, asking guests, ``If he beat you, why did you stay with him?'' She's 22 now.
And would you believe that Gabrielle Carteris quit ``Beverly Hills 90210'' to plunge into the already overcrowded neighborhood of daytime talk television?
Such are the wonders of ``synditel'' - first-run syndicated television filling hours and hours of air time.
``Baywatch,'' which used syndication to propel itself into the most watched TV show on the planet, this year spins off ``Baywatch Nights,'' premiering on WGNT Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.
What's the difference between ``Baywatch'' and ``Baywatch Nights?''
Simple, said Syd Vinnedge, president of the company (All-American Television) that produces both shows. `` `Baywatch Nights' is about the unsavory characters you don't see on the beach until the sun goes down.''
Serial killers stalk their victims!
David Hasselhoff appears in both shows as Los Angeles County lifeguard Lt. Mitch Buchannon.
WGNT, the United Paramount Network affiliate in Hampton Roads, has been the busiest of the local stations in buying up new syndicated programming. ``Xena: Warrior Princess,'' which evolved from the appearances of sword-wielding, high-kicking, neck-pinching, chakram-tossing Lucy Lawless on ``Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'' airs Friday at 8 p.m. and again Sunday at 2 p.m. on Channel 27.
The chakram is a razor-sharp discus thing that Xena tosses at disagreeable warlords. She was pretty disagreeable herself in three ``Hercules'' episodes until Xena discovered her humanity.
Now she's as heroic as Hercules.
Beware all slave traders!
Another new syndicated action hour - ``U.S. Customs Classified'' - is on WGNT's schedule at 9 p.m. Saturdays.
This is a show from producer Stephen J. Cannell, who has four other series on TV. In the new series about the U.S. Customs Service - an agency that is involved in more things than you think - Cannell will appear on camera.
He thinks of himself as the coach of a team producing all those syndicated hours. ``The shows run well without me, thank you,'' he said when asked if appearing on ``U.S. Customs Classified'' will be a bit stressful.
WGNT has stripped in Bledsoe's talk show at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday as well as at 3 p.m. At 3, it runs before repeats of ``Beverly Hills 90210,'' which will appear on Channel 27 Monday through Saturday at 4 p.m.
``Blossom'' (Monday through Friday at 6 p.m.) is also new to WGNT's schedule as is a talk show with comedian and radio talk-show host Stephanie Miller (Saturday night at 11), ``Flipper'' (Saturday at 3 p.m. starting Oct. 7), the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries (Sunday at noon beginning Sept. 24), ``The Hitchhiker'' (Saturday at midnight beginning Sept. 30) and the offbeat comedy series, ``Night Stand,'' at 11 p.m. on Saturday.
This show, hosted by actor Timothy Stack, had to happen sooner or later. It's a parody of the daytime talk shows, wilder than ``Talk Soup.'' ``Night Stand'' will plunge into such topics as, ``Whoops! I Think I Like My Cousin.''
And this big news from Channel 27: The Rush Limbaugh TV version of the Rush Limbaugh radio talk show has shifted from WTVZ at midnight, Monday through Friday, to WGNT at midnight, Monday through Friday.
Also, WGNT is adding ``One West Waikiki'' to its Friday night schedule at 9 following ``Xena'' starting Sept. 29. This series, set in Hawaii, has evolved from the show that CBS ran briefly in 1994. Cheryl Ladd stars as a medical examiner.
WTKR, the local CBS affiliate, bought two of the hottest and costliest shows in syndication this season in ``Seinfeld'' and ``Home Improvement.'' Channel 3's new look at 4 to 5 p.m. has ``Hard Copy'' followed by ``Seinfeld,'' with ``Seinfeld'' also scheduled for Saturday at 11:35 p.m.
``Home Improvement,'' which goes round and round with ``Seinfeld'' for the honor of most popular network sitcom, appears in reruns on WTKR at 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Sunday at 11:35 p.m. ``Home Improvement'' premiered in syndication with a show never seen on ABC - ``Tool Time'' Tim gets to drive a tank.
Why is Channel 3's news director Barbara L. Hamm smiling? Because in ``Home Improvement,'' her bosses gave her a terrific lead-in for the 6 p.m. news, which will break out a new look soon.
At 10 a.m., WTKR picked up ``Gabrielle'' in which Carteris and her producer, J. Darlene Hayes, promise a different kind of a daytime talk show. ``We'll take the high road,'' said Carteris. (The Sally Jesse Raphael talk show, which it replaced, is seen weeknights at 8 on WVBT. You'll also find Phil Donahue there at 9 a.m. followed by ``Leeza'' at 10.)
Will the public have a difficult time buying one of ``Beverly Hills 90210'' gang as a serious talk-show host? If it were Tori Spelling, perhaps.
But Carteris sees no problem here.
``Remember that on `Beverly Hills 90210' I played Andrea, the mature one. It's not a bad image to be stuck with.'' Channel 3 today moves Tom Snyder's ``Late, Late Show'' up to 12:35 a.m., and at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, has already added ``America's Most Wanted: Final Justice'' with John Walsh.
This show, as with ``America's Most Wanted'' on Fox, is perfect for the times, said Walsh when he met with TV reporters in Los Angeles not long ago. ``We are often the court of last resort for a society overwhelmed by crimes of violence. We can catch the bad guys right away. We've already helped to catch over 360 of them.''
ABC affiliate WVEC didn't do much tinkering with the fall schedule, adding ``The George and Alana Show'' weekdays at 10 a.m. in place of the Maury Povich show, which moves to 1:05 a.m.
George Hamilton and Alana Stewart were married for six years, have been divorced for 17 and now they have a talk show together. From what I've seen of these two, it's an awkward hour of talk TV.
Another ``Live With Regis and Kathie Lee''? I don't think so.
The show has been on the air for only a week and I'm already weary of hearing these two talk about their past together. ``We never agreed on anything,'' Stewart told TV writers when their show was unveiled not long ago.
If they can't agree on anything, why do a TV show and make the rest of us uncomfortable? How about if she drops George and instead teams up with another ex-husband, Rod Stewart?
A singer with a talk show? It happens. At NBC affiliate WAVY, Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips is doing a daytime talk show at 10 a.m., moving the Gordon Elliott talk show over to WVBT at 1 p.m. in the process - unless it gets bumped by coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial.
WVBT, which has a working agreement with WAVY in which the WAVY brass programs both stations, adds a one-on-one talk show hosted by model and actress Lauren Hutton weeknights at 11. WAVY brings on ``Inside Court TV'' on weekdays at 12:30 p.m.
Also new to WVBT at 11 a.m. is a talk show hosted by ol' Danny Partridge himself, Danny Bonaduce. ``Danny!''
And how will he approach this project? ``I'll take the advice of my executive producers, producers and anybody else who wears a suit. I'm the new guy in television talk.''
There are 11 new action hours offered in syndication this season including ``Land's End'' in which Fred Dryer from ``Hunter'' stars. It will be on WTVZ Saturdays at 6 p.m. starting Sept. 23.
Tempestt. Carnie. Danny. George and Alana. Lauren. Gabrielle. Will viewers ever be as comfortable with them as with Oprah, Ricki and Sally?
You haven't arrived in ``synditel'' until the world knows you on a first-name basis. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Lucy Lawless stars as the heroic "Xena: Warrior Princess"...
ALL AMERICAN COMMUNICATIONS photo
From left, GregAlan Williams, Lisa Stahl, David Hasselhoff, Lou
Rawls and Angie Harmon star on ``Baywatch Nights,'' premiering Oct.
1 on WGNT.
by CNB