New on the tube

The Geena Davis Show Airs: 8:30 p.m., ABC (Channel 9) Stars: Geena Davis, Peter Horton, Mimi Rogers, Cindy Lu, Wendy Makkena, John Daley, Makenzie Vega, Esther Scott and Katya Abelsky. In brief: "Stepmom," the TV series. But is it any good? Forget tonight's overly earnest and mostly humorless set-up episode about a widower (Horton) who asks Davis to move in with him and his two kids. This sitcom gets a lot better in the next two weeks as the joke writers remember what they're there to do. Davis, meanwhile, shows off genuine comedic skills as she tries to adapt her hard-driving single ways to the demands of family. The supporting cast is shaky: Horton, Daley (the former "Freaks and Geeks" player) and Vega are an adorable family, but Davis' workmates, well, need work. Also, all of the black people in the first three episodes are essentially servants of the white co-stars - not exactly a blow for racial diversity. Is it a survivor? Provided there are more episodes like next week's and fewer like this week's, "Geena Davis" can become the ideal companion to "Dharma & Greg," the show that precedes it. And it should provide a great lead-in to "Once & Again" (a drama, also about reconstituted families) when it returns later this month. Gideon's Crossing Airs: 9 p.m., ABC (Channel 9) Stars: Andre Braugher, Ruben Blades, Barry Miller, Rhona Mitra, Hamish Linklater, Ravi Kapoor, Sophie Keller, Russell Hornsby, Jascha Washington, Megan Gregoryn, Brian Wilshire, Eric Dane and Marianne Muellerleile. In brief: Idealistic doctor drama about a super-surgeon and his brood of young medical students. But is it any good? Braugher's Ben Gideon is more than a gifted cancer surgeon; he's a teacher who allows his own suffering to make him a more compassionate doctor. This is a very talky show, filled with Braugher soliloquies, and it will be hard to top the first episode, which plays out like a Greek tragedy (patient gets his life back, only to rue every minute he's lived). But I was spellbound, except for the jarring interludes involving Gideon's motley crew of medical students. Is it a survivor? Can't ask for a better time period on ABC. (It will air regularly at 9 p.m. Wednesdays starting next week.) Airing the premiere tonight without commercials (instead of paring down its 50-minute rough cut) is a smart move. This show is Braugher's to save or lose. @ART CAPTION:Geena Davis @ART CREDIT:ABC @ART:Photo (color) >>>