Kiddie surfing yields engaging stops What's new and what's cool for little viewers

If you're one of those parents who likes to keep your kids' viewing options simple - PBS, Nickelodeon, videos or turn it off! - this article may not be for you. But if you're like most parents, less restrictive but with a watchful eye on your children's choices, here's some help in navigating the new shows for the under-12 set this fall. Preschoolers On shows aimed at 2- to 5-year-olds, somebody always seems to be singing a song. And no one has more reason to sing than the folks at Nickelodeon, the overwhelming choice of the youngest viewers thanks in large part to perennial hit "Rugrats" (7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. weekdays). Now the "Nick Jr." lineup, airing 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays, has grown another perennial: "Blue's Clues" (8:30 and 11:30 a.m. weekdays). Host Steven Burns enlists his audience to help him solve various puzzles created by a whimsical animated blue dog. Among the new episodes this third season: a pre-Thanksgiving lesson on being grateful. Over on PBS, the weekday "Ready to Learn" block doesn't have new shows, but it does have new episodes of "Arthur," "Puzzle Place" and the pre-preschool crowd's favorite, "Teletubbies." "Noddy," a charming update of "The Olde Curiosity Shoppe," has begun airing Sundays at 9 a.m. on Channel 19. Noddy is a humble wooden toy who expands his world whenever he uses his imagination - and teaches kids to do the same. The Disney Channel just launched a new "Little Kids" block from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. weekdays and 5 to 9 a.m. on weekends. "Out of the Box" (9:30 a.m.) features a daily clubhouse singalong with two adults and seven kids. "Bear in the Big Blue House" (7 a.m. and noon) stars a lovable 7-foot creation from Jim Henson's shop. The rest of the Disney morning lineup has classic Disney cartoons and animal shows. "Jay Jay the Jet Plane" is the newest addition to The Learning Channel's "Ready, Set, Learn" block of educational shows (5 to 11 a.m. weekdays). "Jay Jay," debuting Monday and airing at 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. weekdays, is based on the home-video series about a curious little plane, his six flying friends and the real-life humans who keep their engines in tip-top shape. Fox Family Channel, which launched in August, has a new Captain Kangaroo at the helm of "Captain Kangaroo's Treasure House," a two-hour block of shows for preschoolers airing 10 a.m. to noon weekdays. Among the regular features are repeats of the long-running PBS series "Shining Time Station" (with George Carlin as the conductor) and "Thomas the Tank Engine. " The half-hour "Magic Adventures of Mumfie," about a curious little elephant, is from "Thomas" creator Britt Allcroft. Among local stations, KCWB, Channel 29, now airs PBS defector "The Magic School Bus," 7 a.m. weekdays; "Bloopy's Buddies," which encourages exercise and good nutrition - and throws in Jonathan Winters for good measure - at 2 p.m. weekdays; and "The Mr. Potato Head Show" (8 a.m. Saturdays), with new adventures of the exuberant tuber. On Saturdays, KMBC, Channel 9, offers an hour of high-quality all-ages cartoons sandwiched between several hours of animated slapstick you may not want the under-6 crowd watching. "101 Dalmatians: The Series" (10:30 a.m.) actually has an educational message and "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" (11 a.m.) has won an armload of awards from parents' and teachers' groups. On Sundays, KCTV, Channel 5, offers "Franklin" at 7 a.m. Paulette Bourgeois' stories are about a young turtle who often gets in over his shell while learning life lessons. Older kids Fox Family's "Morning Scramble" block (6 to 8 a.m.) features the high-energy Freak and DJ Germ introducing such classic kidfare as "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (6 a.m.) and "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (7:30 a.m.) "Toon-A-Casserole" pretty much describes the noon-to-2 block, a hash of warmed-up cartoons from "Dennis the Menace" to "The Real Ghostbusters. " And "The Basement" (2 to 5 p.m.) is loaded with kidcoms introduced by three improv comics. Disney's megamovie "Hercules" is the basis of a new madcap Saturday-morning cartoon at 7 a.m. on Channel 9, leading into the popular "ABC Saturday Morning. " "Squigglevision" (11:30 a.m.) is the new name for "Science Court," last year's tongue-in-cheek educational cartoon from the animator of "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. " That's followed by the second season of one of my favorite educational shows, "Popular Mechanics for Kids." CBS (Channel 5) overhauled its entire Saturday-morning lineup after last year's shows bombed in the ratings. All of the new offerings come from the Canadian animation shop Nelvana; most are based on best-selling children's books. "Anatole," based on the popular French comic about a family of mice, airs 7:30 a.m. Sundays. Channel 29 introduces two new shows capitalizing on the popularity of medieval adventure series. "Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog" (4 p.m. weekdays) follows the adventures of a young medieval Celtic hero, while "Young Hercules" (no relation to the new "Hercules" cartoon) is an action-adventure featuring the mythical hero as a teen-ager with a distant dad who happens to be Zeus. Channel 62 adds "BRATS of the Lost Nebula," the most unusual new kids show this fall, 9 a.m. Sundays. A product of the Jim Henson shop, it combines muppetry and computer effects in a sci-fi adventure about kids marooned in space. "Histeria! " yet another frantic cartoon from the Warner Bros. shop, joins 62's after-school lineup at 3:30 p.m. On Saturdays, Leo the MGM Lion and his family are the basis of a new cartoon, "The Lionhearts," at 8 a.m., followed by a computer-animated action-fantasy, "War Planets." The Discovery channel is adding a game show to its Sunday-morning kids block (8-11 a.m.). "Zap It! " (8:30 a.m.) uses a standard quiz format with Discovery channel-skewed questions. NBC is sticking to its strategy of teen sitcoms and basketball-related fare on weekends. The quasi-educational shows air from 9 a.m. to noon on Channel 41.

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Tonight's installment of "The Pretender" (8 p.m. on Channel 41) is even less realistic than usual. Jarod (Michael T. Weiss, above) manages to impersonate a federal agent and gain limitless access to a dangerous serial killer. Miss Parker (played by the aptly named Andrea Parker, right) is deliberately thrown off Jarod's trail during the pursuit - and if you haven't been hopelessly confused by episode's end, you'll learn why. Also tonight, E! gets into the Halloween spirit by telling 12 of the scariest celebrity stories ever told on a "Mysteries and Scandals" marathon beginning at 4 p.m.

'Benben' producer closes book on 'good experience' of canceled show

Robert Borden finally got around to returning TVKC's call last week. Even though "The Brian Benben Show," the sitcom he created and executive produced, had been canceled two weeks earlier by CBS, the Kansas City native still was obligated to finish the episode he was taping on the day of the pink slip. Since then he had been holed up in an editing studio, working on a episode no one will likely see. "I just finished the other day, and since then I've been sleeping and getting back a little of a life," Borden said. Just this summer Borden was sweating the million-and-one details that every new "show runner" - TV-speak for the person in charge - worries about. His biggest challenge was filling a room with writers he'd never worked with before. He told me he felt like a detective, asking around about job candidates, trying to figure out if, impressive credits notwithstanding ("Cheers," "Mad About You"), they actually had any material make it on the air. Ultimately, Borden solved most of his problems - most. "I would say it was a good experience with one exception, which is the ratings," he said. "I liked it, the Warner Bros. people and the CBS people liked it, and I think we did a show we didn't have to be ashamed of. But basically, it was on the wrong network. And the network agreed." So now Borden, who is under contract to Warner Bros. for the next year-plus, will work on other shows, like the Norm Macdonald sitcom being developed for ABC. Any other plans for Borden? "We're going to get all the actors together and go have dinner and too much wine somewhere." The 'Truthwatch' hurts Longtime WDAF, Channel 4 reporter and anchor Dave Helling is in his element. Just last weekend, 11 new political ads hit the airwaves, most of them attack ads. For Helling, whose "Truthwatch" feature airs nightly on WDAF's early-evening news, it was glorious grist for the mill. Take the ad in which Democrat Dennis Moore charges his opponent, Rep. Vince Snowbarger, with voting "against needed special education funding" and approving "tax breaks to golfers." On its face it sounds ludicrous - and, Helling said, it is. "You go and check the record and you find that Snowbarger voted to increase funding above the base appropriation. " The congressman's sin was settling for a $ 20 million hike rather than $ 25 million. That kind of funhouse-mirror trick comes as no surprise to Helling, who has done "Truthwatch" for a decade and has yet to see the negative campaign commercial that tells the truth. "Candidate A never quotes Candidate B's record accurately; votes are always taken out of context," Helling said. Helling knows that 80 percent of the voters rely primarily on these ads for information about candidates. Yet for all this, "Truthwatch" hasn't made him cynical on the democratic process. "I think we've helped the public be much more skeptical about what they see in campaign ads," he said. "I've had literally hundreds of people come up to me over the past 10 years and say, 'I've seen that ad, but I'm waiting to see what you have to say about it. ' " Look for a "Best of Truthwatch" compendium on the 9 p.m. newscast Sunday. StarTouch: (816) 889-7827 and enter 8852 (TVKC). E-mail: writeme@tvbarn.com

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Cable TV is continuing to pull viewers away from the broadcast networks, and here are two couldn't-be-simpler reasons. At 8 tonight, Animal Planet (Time Warner channel 57; Jones channels 61M, 45K; Time Warner TCI channel 35B) presents "Twisted Tales," showing how three creatures demonized by the pop culture - bats, snakes and crocodiles - are actually wonderful animals we're lucky to have in our ecosystem. The documentary on bats is delightfully written (the more so with Dick Cavett's narration) and sympathetically filmed. Also at 8, Sci-Fi Channel presents "Martian Mania," a 60th-anniversary look back at Orson Welles' groundbreaking radio adaptation of "War of the Worlds. " Nothing fancy here, just a re-creation of that fateful night in 1938 when the broadcast aired, with recollections from some of those tricked by Welles' realistic drama.

Rock and fright all night Kiss and 'The Simpsons' are among those stalking the airwaves this Halloween

Viewers might look forward to the annual rite of Halloween-themed programming more were there not plenty of frightening shows on TV the rest of the year. In fact, if you say it just right, the word "Co-STELLLLLLL-oooo" will strike fear into even the most dedicated couch zombie. But a holiday's a holiday, and TV is driven by commercial interests, not aesthetic. That is why we're being treated to a record level of spooky spine-tinglers and macabre mysteries this weekend. And like those bags of candy corn you couldn't give away last year, a lot of what's being tossed our way looks awfully familiar. Tonight Fox re-airs the ninth annual "Treehouse of Horrors" episode of "The Simpsons" (7 p.m. on Channel 4), followed by last year's "Treehouse. " Both episodes also aired last Sunday but were resurrected to help boost Fox's Thursday ratings on this first night of an important Nielsen ratings "sweep." On Friday, fright rockers Kiss - who've now discovered that face paint is a great way to cover those unsightly wrinkles - guest-star on "Millennium" (8 p.m. on Channel 4). On Saturday, the band is back as the musical guest on "MAD TV" at 10:30 p.m. and then as star of its own half-hour live special from Dodger Stadium at 11:30 (also on Channel 4). JoAnne Worley, Gary Owens and other players from the comedy classic "Laugh-In" make a Halloween eve appearance as they sock it to "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" (8 p.m. on Channel 9). Also on Friday, two shows that are as old as the Butterfinger "fun size" bar return to CBS: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" (starting at 7 p.m. on Channel 5.) The Fox Family Channel airs possibly the least commercial Halloween special of the season, "Watts on Your Mind," at 7 a.m. Saturday. This animated 22-minute public service announcement teaches kids to conserve energy by updating the old story of Dr. Frankenstein. The cartoon tries to impart its message and a little cheek at the same time; so when the doctor first tries to bring his monster to life, he knocks out the power in his energy-inefficient house. Hanna-Barbera presents "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" at 7 p.m. on Cartoon Network. (If you currently receive Time Warner Cable's basic package only, Cartoon will be moving to Channel 58 on Sunday - maybe sooner if the spirits are favorable.) Also on Saturday, Gary (Kyle Chandler) is kidnapped by would-be witches on "Early Edition" (7 p.m. on Channel 5). Even public TV is getting into the holiday spirit Saturday when the Cincinnati Pops presents "Halloween Spooktacular" at 9 on Channel 19. (What we'd really like to see: a special "Antiques Roadshow" in which persons who have had their once-priceless items refinished are turned into newts.) Matt Frewer, star of the syndicated series "Psi Factor," used to play Max Headroom on TV. But with his Boris Karloff haircut and pallid complexion, he's actually creepier-looking on "Psi Factor," a paranormal anthology airing at 3:35 a.m. Sunday on Channel 9 and 9 p.m. Sunday on Channel 29. (The "psi" refers to the Greek letter for the unknown, not a gauge for tire pressure.) In this week's Halloween-themed episode, guest star Linda Blair plays a mystery writer who has a bad PR week: Her novel becomes the blueprint for a serial murderer, and she suffers an outbreak of multiple personalities. All weekend long there will also be holiday-appropriate movies on American Movie Classics, Comedy Central, the Sci-Fi Channel and Fox Family Channel. Joe Bob Briggs is our guide for five - count 'em, five - "Friday the 13th" movies Saturday night on TNT.

Multicasting the future upstart Sinclair Broadcasting bases continued success on digital split

BALTIMORE - Strange as it may seem, KSMO, Channel 62 - once the runt of the local TV litter - may be riding the crest of radical change in the way we watch television. Ask an executive at a major TV network what the new era of digital television will look like and you're likely to hear about pretty pictures. Digital TV promises to offer viewers stunning clarity through a technology called HDTV - the HD is for high-definition. Hollywood movies will look better than they do in the multiplex. Football will be all too lifelike. You'll even get to see "Meet the Press" and Jay Leno more clearly, whether you want to or not. That's one view of the future. Here's another: Channel surfing one night on your new digital set, you come upon a kids' show on Channel 47 - actually, it's Channel 47A. And 47A shows nothing but kids' programs 24 hours a day. Next is Channel 47B, a locally produced music station. You recognize the voices of the on-air personalities from one of the local radio stations. On Channel 47C is CNNfn, a business-news spinoff of CNN. But you don't have cable. You're getting it because there's no room on your local cable system for CNNfn. Finally Channel 47D looks like a conventional TV station showing repeat episodes of "ER" and "Dawson's Creek." Now here's the kicker: These four programs are all being beamed by one local TV station. Its call letters are KSMO. These examples are purely speculative. But the vision behind it - a single station offering multiple viewing choices - is real. And it belongs to a group of broadcast renegades operating out of the back of a nondescript, three-story office building in west Baltimore. In the last three years Sinclair Broadcast Group has come out of nowhere to become the nation's seventh-largest TV group and a force to be reckoned with, from Baltimore to Kansas City. It has been acquiring TV stations almost nonstop, in mid-sized markets like Charleston, S.C., and San Antonio. Today Sinclair owns, operates or is acquiring 64 TV stations, including Channel 62 (which will do digital broadcasts on Channel 47). That's more stations than the Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS networks combined. As those big networks prepare to introduce viewers in the nation's largest cities to HDTV, Sinclair is crafting its own plan that would boldly flout it. Sinclair would turn broadcasters like KSMO into multicasters, using digital technology to squeeze several channels into the space currently needed for one. The pictures won't be as brilliant as those on stations airing in HDTV. But it would multiply viewers' choices dramatically - and, Sinclair executives believe, multiply their revenues as well. 'Never been built before' Barry Baker, the company's chronically hoarse CEO-designate, likes to joke about people coming to Sinclair's unpretentious headquarters to "meet the godfather. " At his desk, Baker monitors his e-mail constantly, glancing over occasionally to check the TV on the wall that's tuned to CNBC. He is a deal maker, and at Sinclair there are always deals to be done. In a barely audible whisper - his voice recently required surgery after years of overwork - Baker tells an interviewer, "We're building a system that has never been built before." Sinclair embodies the split personality of the current economic bull market: equal parts performance, opportunism and chutzpah. Most of its stations are affiliated with the Fox and WB networks, which are popular with young adults and, therefore, with key advertisers. But Sinclair's rapid growth is mortgaged on a bet that not only the ratings but also the economy will remain strong. If there is a sudden downturn, the company could find itself buried in debt and the dream will be lost. Besides the 64 TV stations, Sinclair owns 52 radio stations, including four FMs in Kansas City - KCFX, KQRC, KCIY and KXTR. "The theory is that lifestyle radio stations can work together with the television programs," Baker says. Sinclair's enormous size gives its stations bargaining power when competing for hot syndicated shows, like repeats of "ER" or talk shows like "Roseanne. " And Sinclair also has started news operations at a third of its stations, giving them a community presence that can't be gained from reruns and late-night movies. At a party for Channel 62 staff and advertisers this fall, Baker hinted strongly that Sinclair was fishing for a second TV station in Kansas City. Companies can't own two TV stations in one market, but they can operate a second station through a special agreement. If Kansas City were to become a two-TV market for Sinclair, Baker said he'd like to do news here as well, since two stations can split the cost of one newsroom. Tune in to tomorrow In contrast to Baker, Sinclair's chief technical officer Nat Ostroff affects a laid-back manner. He is thought to have one of the brightest minds about the new technology and he thinks the big broadcasters' strategy of a single signal would be a money-losing waste of time for smaller market stations. Ostroff's plan would cost Sinclair stations some picture quality - the four-way split would leave each with a look comparable to what satellite services can offer now - but no one else is thought to be as far along in developing an alternative to HDTV. Sinclair would get its programming from existing sources, meaning that four channels wouldn't cost anywhere near four times as much to produce, while KSMO would have four times the opportunities to sell advertising and promote its channels. Sinclair stations would always have the option of switching to HDTV for blockbuster movies and sports, and then return to separate channels. "It's like going from being a bakery to being a supermarket," Ostroff says

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"American Masters" profiles Leonard Bernstein (right) on what would have been his 80th birthday. Airing at 8 on Channel 19, this two-hour tribute to the legendary conductor and teacher was perhaps America's greatest proponent of the arts. And he was the inspiration behind arguably the two high water marks in commercial TV, "Omnibus" and his "Young People's Concerts. " Elsewhere on the dial, several former cast members reunite and another doctor slips into a coma as "Chicago Hope" airs its 100th episode at 9 on Channel 5. Drew Carey is roasted by the Friars' Club in a TV-MA special at 9:30 on Comedy Central.

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For three years, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross have been answering the question: What would it be like if "Monty Python's Flying Circus" had been made for HBO? Their no-holds-barred approach to sketch comedy, "Mr. Show With Bob and David," returns for another season at 11 tonight on HBO. For added viewing fun, make a flow chart showing how each sketch segues into the next. Also tonight, John Glenn week kicks off with the three-hour "Return to Orbit," beginning at 7 on the Discovery channel.

Eight Emmys boost KMBC back to the top among area stations

After an off year, KMBC, Channel 9, returned to dominance as the most-honored Kansas City TV news operation at last weekend's Mid-America Emmys ceremony in St. Louis. Channel 9 took home eight awards, nine if you count the one sister station KCWE, Channel 29, won for promotion. That matches the night's high total of nine Emmys won by St. Louis station KSDK. KMBC photographer Tim Twyman scored a hat trick with one photography and two editing Emmys, and the station led all Kansas City entrants with 24 nominations, twice that of KSHB, Channel 41. Other KMBC winners include its Sunday-night "Sports Final," director Tim Sapp for live coverage, Jim Flink and Jason Rhodes for live spot news, Nikki Egan for best newscast producer and Sam Jones for promotion. KSHB took only two Emmys this year, compared with seven in 1997. It was, however, the only local station nominated for best newscast, and 41's Denny Brand won in a tough investigative-news category. Brand's expose of unqualified school-bus drivers beat out Stan Cramer's report on a crooked ambulance company and Brian Karem's look at the creaky Chouteau Bridge. Now for the downside: KSHB investigative producer Kim Kruger was laid off this summer. News director Lynn Heider is gone. And Lori Miller, nominated for best weathercaster, was recently demoted in favor of WDAF's Gary Lezak, who joins the station next year. Once again, KCPT, Channel 19, scored more Emmys than KCTV or WDAF, thanks to "Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations," the celebration of Midwestern folk art with Randy Mason, Mike Murphy and Don Mayberger. KCPT also won for "This Place Called Home," the Kansas City remembrance written and narrated by The Star's Charles Gusewelle. Longtime KCTV, Channel 5, news executive Jim Overbay got a nice retirement gift, sharing the award for best community outreach with Carol Williams. It was Channel 5's only Emmy. Laura Manivong collected the sole Emmy for WDAF, Channel 4, in writing. The short-lived "Fox 4 Investigates" unit, nominated this year for two Emmys, is now a memory. Reporter Brian Karem is reportedly leaving the station for personal reasons; his producer left WDAF months ago, and the position was never filled. Also winning an Emmy were Jim Wheeler and Claudia Wight of Lenexa-based Wheeler Film Productions for a public service announcement produced for the Kansas Health Foundation. Local stations took 15 of the 61 awards in the regional competition, dominated (as usual) by St. Louis TV stations. The Mid-America region includes TV markets in Missouri and parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana. Most of the judging was done by members of the Cleveland and Ohio Valley chapters of the TV academy. Former Kansas City newsman Russ Mitchell was host; he is co-anchor of "CBS News Saturday Morning," a program KCTV chooses not to air. Maria moves off mornings After more than 13 years of early rising, KMBC's Maria Antonia is taking a sanity break. Citing health and family reasons, Antonia signed off KMBC's 5:30 a.m. newscast and will assume weekend anchor duties next Saturday. Weekend anchor Flink moves to "First News" on Monday. Antonia will continue her reporting chores during the week. StarTouch: 889-7827 and enter 8852 (TVKC). E-mail: writeme@tvbarn.com

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Now you have even more choices on Saturday night: Channel 62 is airing repeats of "ER" at 10 p.m., and at 1o:30 you get opposite "MAD TV" on Channel 4; "The Howard Stern Radio Show" on Channel 29 and "Saturday Night Live" on Channel 41. And that's before we even get to cable, where one of my favorite sitcoms, "Maggie," repeats at 10:30 on Lifetime and "Mystery Science Theater 3000" deconstructs the un-classics from 10 to midnight on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Winds of change at Channel 5 Katie Horner promoted to chief meteorologist.

The forecast for KCTV, Channel 5, calls for a sudden change in the weather. In a move station officials hope will reverse the sagging ratings of its 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, Katie Horner was named KCTV's chief meteorologist Thursday. She replaces Gary Amble, who will assume Horner's duties on morning and noon newscasts. The switch will take place Monday, three days before the start of the first Nielsen ratings sweep of the 1998-99 television season. In the last year, KCTV has seen portions of its news audience decline steeply. At 10 p.m. it fell from second to fifth place among women viewers ages 18 to 34, and ratings dropped significantly among adults ages 25 to 54 - two demographic groups cherished by advertisers. Channel 5 news director Don North said Thursday that the move had been planned for some time. North was quick to add that persuading Amble to remain on staff was always part of the plan. "He's a terrific guy, which is precisely why we wanted him to stay," said North, who cited Amble's expertise with the station's digital radar system and his good working relationship with Horner. Although Horner and Amble are about the same age, the promotion of Horner is expected to inject lifeblood into Channel 5's evening newscasts. In focus testing, Horner reportedly scores high with Channel 5 viewers in terms of name recognition and likability. Horner and Amble were both hired by Channel 5 in mid-1994. At the time, Amble, a University of Kansas graduate who arrived from WHO-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, was a certified meteorologist. Horner, hired from WEAR-TV in her native Pensacola, Fla., was not yet certified. She has since obtained her meteorology degree. Horner nearly left Kansas City two years ago when she and her husband, Dan, were both offered positions at CBS-owned WBBM-TV in Chicago. But after KCTV made a strong counteroffer, the couple changed their minds. Both are now employed full time at KCTV. Meanwhile, Channel 5's parent company, Meredith Corp. of Des Moines, Iowa, has named three group general managers to oversee its 11 television stations. Frank DeTillio, general manager at WSMV in Nashville, Tenn., will oversee KCTV in Kansas City and WHNS in Greenville, S.C. He and the two other group general managers will report to John Loughlin, who replaced Phil Jones last year as president of Meredith Corp.'s broadcast group.

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Why Fox didn't simply schedule "Brimstone" on Fridays to begin with is beyond me. One of the fall's most impressive new series finally debuts at 7 tonight on Channel 4, starring Peter Horton (above) as a dead cop sent back to Earth to reclaim escaped demons after a jailbreak in hell. Filmed in a noirish blue haze and definitely not for the kiddies, "Brimstone" would seem a natural paired with "Millennium," which follows at 8. Fox thought otherwise this summer but has now recanted and sent the two sitcoms that previously filled the 7 p.m. hour to their eternal rest.

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You can kill some ideas, but that's no guarantee you can keep them down. Witness the arrival of "The New Addams Family," the latest addition to Fox Family Channel, airing nightly at 6:30. Glenn Taranto and Ellie Harvie are pressed into service as the latest version of Gomez and Morticia. Along with Fester, Thing and the kids, their household seems less playful and more unpleasant than in previous forms. If I want to watch a dysfunctional family this close to dinner, I'd try reruns of "The Simpsons" at the same time on Channel 38.

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Finally, it's time for the season premiere of "NYPD Blue" at 9 tonight on Channel 9. While the main story turns on (surprise!) a case being investigated by Sipowicz (Dennis Franz, left) and Simone (Jimmy Smits, who is exiting the show soon), the secondary story is the real winner, with powerful performances from Russell (Kim Delaney) and Kirkendall (Andrea Thompson) as they handle the rape of a teen-ager. Sharon Lawrence rejoins the cast.

Union label looks for a place inside Channel 4 Staffers weigh pros and cons of labor effort

Ask those leading the drive to organize a union at WDAF, Channel 4, and they'll tell you they're fighting for respect and common courtesy around the newsroom as much as for higher pay. To others around Channel 4 the campaign is mainly about money - and it won't work. The local chapter of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or AFTRA, has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to represent the approximately 55 reporters, anchors and photographers currently employed at Channel 4. An AFTRA spokesman said a majority of those employees have filled out union cards. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday to determine whether to divide on-air talent and photographers into separate voting groups for the union election, expected to take place in early December. Neither side is free to speak for the record. Management can't be perceived as trying to influence the vote, and those leading the union drive will be suspended without pay if they're quoted in the press without permission (a wonderfully self-contradictory policy for a news organization). But among those staffers interviewed recently - on the condition of anonymity, of course - even those not wild about organizing say they understand why so many have union fever. They say the work environment can be harsh and inflexible. And the demand for 46 1/2 hours of local news per week can be exhausting. On top of it all employees are paid less than their colleagues at Channels 5 and 9, both union shops, even though they put out far more news product. The boiling point, insiders agree, came on July 1 (or "Black Wednesday" as some called it), when general manager Stan Knott announced that overtime pay for all reporters and anchors would be eliminated the following week. In effect, claim union organizers, Knott was proposing as much as a 15 percent pay cut for some employees who work overtime routinely to fill WDAF's enormous news hole. Organizers say Knott pledged to help them fight for higher pay after he joined Channel 4 earlier this year. That's why the news relayed on Black Wednesday spurred new interest in organizing. (Knott was merely passing along Fox corporate policy to eliminate nonexempts in his reporting ranks.) "We have a group of people who work very, very hard and are putting out a lot of product filling a lot of news hours each day, and in some instances staffing is low and people are working harder than they should," said Don Scott, acting executive director for the AFTRA local. "They've gotten to a point where they think they need an outside voice for their issues and concerns, because management wasn't hearing them." Knott takes exception with that assessment. After the July 1 meeting, he offered a compromise: Reporters could stay nonexempt - or they could choose exemption and receive a salary hike to compensate for the lost overtime pay. "I met with 44-45 people individually and only three or four had any displeasure," Knott said. "They certainly have communicated with you more than they've communicated with anyone else, and that's sad, isn't it?" As Knott is always ready to point out, his door is wide open to hear any employee complaints. Many at WDAF say Knott's arrival earlier this year has been good for newsroom morale. The problem, employees on both sides of the union question say, is a news operation that's been unresponsive to them for years. They say reporters and photographers are assigned back-to-back or weekend shifts and informed of them at the last minute - usually by young, inexperienced managers. And even after hardship duty, getting a day off to recuperate is a hassle. "Everything is a hassle," one staffer said. Recent losses include anchor Courtney Maxwell Greene and reporter Randy Eilts, and some claim that the work environment encourages burnout. Others say the tough work would be easier to take were employees better compensated - although Knott contends that WDAF's total compensation package is competitive. "There's no question that the situation is intolerable," said one staffer who is undecided on whether to unionize. "The question is whether collective bargaining would improve it for the better." New GM at KTWU Eugene Williams is the new general manager at Topeka's public television station KTWU, replacing Dale Anderson, who retired this summer. Previously Williams managed the Chicago City Colleges' public TV outlet and was executive producer for the video satellite unit run by Western Illinois University in Macomb. His chief task at KTWU will be getting the station's digital signal on the air by the year 2003, as mandated by the government. That will involve raising millions of dollars and solving countless problems related to the new technology. At least Williams won't have to worry about equipment breaking down at KTWU's modern new facility, for which he has Anderson to thank. Williams called Anderson "a broadcast pioneer." "In my career I've always been building facilities and putting together staffs," Williams said. "Here I didn't have to do that." StarTouch: 889-7827 and enter 8852 (TVKC). E-mail: writeme@tvbarn.com.

Remote patrol

I tried, honest I did, to get into "Africans in America," the beautifully sculpted PBS miniseries that chronicles the country's three centuries of slavery. (It airs tonight through Thursday on Channel 19; each episode is shown twice, at 7 and 8:30 p.m.) But after a while the scenic video, the scholarly voices holding forth, even Angela Bassett's (above) luscious narration, all reminded me of every Ken Burns movie I've seen. By contrast, the story of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss (below) on tonight's "American Justice" (8 p.m. on A&E) seduced me immediately. Sure, the subject matter is lurid, but this documentary turns on a script that's tightly written and has you guessing what happens next - something that never happens while watching "Africans in America."

Remote patrol

The "Thrillogy" is back: NBC's Saturday-night franchise of evil returns for a third season on Channel 41, beginning with "The Pretender" at 8, a show that's starting to grow on me. Michael T. Weiss (above) is a charming lead, and I think I'm beginning to untangle the pile of yarn that is the show's ongoing story line. Tonight's episode tells us who survived that horrible blast at the Centre last spring (here's a hint: everybody who mattered). "Profiler" at 9 resolves last season's cliffhanger as Sam Waters (Ally Walker, below) and that creepy serial killer Jack finally are reunited. Don't bother tuning in any earlier than 8 or you might wind up catching that dreadful new Bo Derek mess, "Wind on Water."

Remote patrol

Channel 19 brings back "Vote for Me," the marvelous, tongue-in-cheek two-parter from 1996 that follows candidates on their real-life adventures on the campaign trail, at 10:30 tonight. Culled from thousands of hours of footage, we meet Irish aldermen in Chicago learning to speak Spanish, a caustic media consultant from New York producing attack ads for Democrats in Alabama and municipal candidates in Honolulu in a bizarre ritual known as "sign-waving." Also tonight, "Trinity," the last of the Irish-family shows to premiere this fall (8 p.m. on Channel 41), looks to have a high degree of hokey, with stereotypical roles assigned to the three brothers (priest, cop, blue-collar guy) and sometimes melodramatic writing.

Remote patrol

UPN's Thursday-night movie franchise seems to be aiming at teen-age boys. Last week it was "I Married a Monster"; this week it's "Thirty Years to Life" (7 tonight on Channel 29), a grim semi-futuristic tale about an adolescent framed for the murder of his dad. As his punishment, he's scientifically aged three decades and becomes a presumably 47-year-old (Robert Hays, above, of "Airplane! " fame). Any more of this poorly written, needlessly violent junk and those "Star Trek" repeats on Channel 38 are going to look awfully enticing.

Remote patrol

The fifth season of "Star Trek: Voyager" (8 tonight on Channel 29) finds the crew of the Starship Voyager stuck in a space void, drifting aimlessly far from anything and feeling, well, kinda lost. Capt. Janeway (Kate Mulgrew, left) is down in the dumps, and crew morale is in the pits. A bored Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) is trying out a new Holodeck game that could pass for a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" movie. The writing on this episode isn't much better than an "MST3K" movie, either. "Star Trek" fans have complained for years about the mediocre scripts on "Voyager," and that may explain why the show's viewership has dropped by half since the first season.