Elaine Liner
is Caller-Times' media critic. Her columns are published Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Sundays. She has been known to occasionally gossip with her readers in the
Elaine
Liner Forum. Elaine can be reached at linere@caller.com
Tuesday, January 4, 2000
Cable Channels start the year with new series
Cable unveils most of its premieres in the summer, when the broadcast networks are mired in reruns. But the first quarter of 2000 will see lots of changes all over the cable universe, as channels rush new series on the schedule to compete with broadcasters' sweeps specials and game shows.
Here's a sneak peek at what's coming up on cable:
TBS presents "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" (Jan. 12), a one-hour weekly reality show based on the old newspaper feature about human oddities and unusual events.
E! Entertainment Television debuts its first fictional series with "Off Ramp," an anthology drama using stories about life in Hollywood. This one seems to be an offshoot of the channel's reality show "Mysteries & Scandals." (No premiere date yet.)
Court TV features "Mugshots" (Jan. 17), a documentary series examining notable crimes and their perpetrators, hosted by former narcotics agent Arthur Nascarella. Also, "Hollywood & Crime" (Jan. 21), a series exploring the dark side of celebrities' lives, from the Fatty Arbuckle scandal to the misdeeds of various Sheens. "Crime Stories," returning with new episodes Jan. 17, takes a 13-part look at the "Anatomy of Crime" and the rise of murder-for-hire crimes.
USA Network has two new ones: "Brown Parcels of Land" (no date yet), a half-hour comedy series about a city cop and his son who move to a small desert town; and "Just Act Normal," a one-hour drama based on an undercover FBI agent's stories of life on the run from the baddies. That one's written and produced by Shaun Cassidy and is due to premiere before March.
Fox Family Channel travels to "Higher Ground" (Jan. 14) for the network's first original one-hour drama. It's about teens-gone-bad who attend a special wilderness high school to get them back on the road to good behavior.
Sci-Fi Channel launches "Lexx" (later this month), a one-hour series about a group of space adventurers. Coming up in March is "Crossing Over," a weekday talk show hosted by medium John Edwards, who claims he can communicate with the dead. Later this spring, look for "Invisible Man," a series based on the H.G. Wells classic, and "Exposure," an anthology of sci-fi work by new filmmakers. The channel is also moving the series "First Wave" to Sunday nights.
FX is counting on "Son of the Beach," a new sitcom produced and created by radio shock jock Howard Stern. (March)
TNN tunes up its primetime lineup with its first-ever original drama, "18 Wheels of Justice" (Jan. 12), a one-hour series starring Lucky Vanous (the Diet Coke guy) as a federal agent forced to go into hiding as a big-rig truck driver. His arch-enemy on the show is played by rightwing radio talker G. Gordon Liddy. (For more about this one, see my review in next Sunday's TV Channels.)
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