Remote patrol

Three years, countless magazine covers and an Emmy Award later, "Ally McBeal" (8 tonight, Channel 4) finally has settled down and become - at least by the measure of hype - just another TV show. And what a juicy good show it still is. Judging by last week's top-notch season premiere, this may even be a revival year for Ally and the gang. The big change at the Fish law firm is the departure of Billy and Georgia, the show's increasingly out-of-place Ken and Barbie dolls. Now I hardly remember they existed. That's because Hollywood bad boy Robert Downey Jr. has been so exquisitely cast as a fast-talking lawyer who immediately establishes a love-hate tension with Ally (Calista Flockhart). And then there are all the little things that have always made "Ally" so oddly enjoyable: the personal and professional story lines that flow like parallel streams; the bizarre tics of Biscuit (Peter MacNicol); the perfectly matched song stylings of Vonda Shepard; and the trademark rants from the pen of executive producer David E. Kelley, who will more than atone for his obnoxious "Boston Public" if he keeps churning out "Ally" episodes like last week's. Tonight: Ally holds a "male models night" at the bar while the firm defends a woman who pressured her assistant into sex. @ART CAPTION:Flockhart @ART:Photo (color) >>>