NBC says show us the money!

Television, which used to be aimed at all Americans, has pretty much given up on anyone over 50. Never is this fact celebrated with more unrestrained glee than at the TV networks' fall season presentations in New York. On Monday, NBC added another wrinkle: It's also pretty much given up on people who earn less than $75,000 a year. Sitting in an audience filled with media buyers - the people looking to buy commercial time on network TV next season - I lost track of the number of times NBC executives bragged that their network had "the most upscale viewers" in television. Assuming a $75,000 cutoff for admission into the upscale club, NBC's West Coast president Scott Sassa pointed out that his network's "Will & Grace," which faces CBS' more popular hit "CSI" on Thursday nights, nevertheless beats the CBS drama "in young adult and upscale demographics." Still, there is that old line about a network that can't buy a hit, and NBC is no different from its rivals this year. The five new shows that were previewed on Monday were a mixed bag, but one thing became clear: It's still hard to grow good comedy on network TV. Two dramas - "American Dreams," which takes place in Dick Clark's Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and "Boomtown," described as a high-concept L.A. crime series - looked promising, though not dazzling. More buzz was generated by a sneak peek at the midseason show "Kingpin," about a south-of-the-border drug lord. But NBC's three new comedies could have the network going to its bench early in the season. One show, "In-Laws," stars Dennis Farina as a gruff dad who likes to order around his wife and married daughter. Farina last starred as private eye "Buddy Faro" on CBS, and creatively, that ill-fated show was a step up from this one. "Hidden Hills," about life in the suburbs, scored points for inclusiveness (a black couple lives in the otherwise all-white 'burb) but lost points for opening with that overused slapstick gag wherein some hapless male receives a batted ball to the groin area. The wild card is "Good Morning Miami," a show that will certainly attract a large audience, since NBC has scheduled it to appear after "Will & Grace" on Thursday nights. It's about a young TV producer's efforts to turn around a lousy local morning show. The preview, which had its moments, was filled with zany characters, none more so than the weathercaster, an ultra-zany nun named Sister Brenda, who opens her forecasts with such lines as "I have it on good authority ... " But there is a dark side to Sister Brenda, and this may spell trouble, particularly for the woman who plays her, none other than Kansas City native and ex-"Wayne Brady Show" player Brooke Dillman. When Sister Brenda isn't in front of the camera doing weather spots she shows a wicked temper, and she takes it out on her managers when they mention perhaps letting her go. The scene ends with Sister Brenda telling one of the men to "blow it out your ... " After the presentation, I reminded Dillman that the Catholic League, an anti-defamation group noted for its shrill faxes, had made life miserable for the ABC network when it aired a show with occasionally unflattering views of Catholic clergy. Was anyone at "Good Morning Miami" worried about a backlash against her character? Her eyes grew wide. "No one has said anything," Dillman said. "I mean, she's not mean-spirited or anything. She's just a little feisty, don't you think?" Sure. But then, I'm not the Catholic League. To reach Aaron Barnhart, call (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:The cast of "Good Morning Miami" includes Kansas City native Brooke Dillman (left), who plays nun Sister Brenda in the new NBC series for fall. @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:NBC