New on the tube

'Bram and Alice' Airs: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, CBS (Channel 5) Stars: Alfred Molina, Traylor Howard, Roger Bart, Katie Finneran, Michael Rispoli Nutshell: From the producers of "Frasier," a promising if undernourished sitcom aimed at the "Frasier" audience. Bram (Molina) is a womanizing, over-the-hill author still living off his fading reputation. Alice (Howard) is his 20-something illegitimate daughter who comes strolling into his life after all these years. He has a thing for younger women, she a thing for older men - and yes, the opening episode does mine that unseemly theme for laughs, although it isn't so terrible as other reviewers would have you believe. (TV Guide called the episode "icky" and "gamy"; aren't those "Simpsons" characters?) The real shortcoming is that other than Bram and Alice and Bram's nebbishy assistant with the gimmicky name of Paul Newman (Bart), the rest of the ensemble feels peripheral. The show is clearly modeled on "Frasier" - ritzy apartment, piano music, florid dialogue (sample line: "I am the one dollop of distinction in your otherwise errant existence!"). The difference is that "Frasier" relies on a company of regulars and recurring guests far larger than "Bram and Alice's" current talent pool. I expect CBS to be patient with this show, and I wouldn't bet against longtime "Frasier" producers Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan filling out the ensemble as the season goes along. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Alfred Molina and Traylor Howard star in "Bram and Alice." @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:CBS

'Dr. Phil' fixes what ails daytime TV

I will leave it up to licensed professionals to decide whether Phillip C. McGraw, best-selling author and host of the insta-hit "Dr. Phil," is worth his salt as a therapist. But in my opinion, "Dr. Phil" (3 p.m. weekdays, Channel 9) is the greatest thing to happen to daytime TV since Jerry Springer. True, McGraw's guests tend to stay in their seats and speak in a manner that does not require constant bleeping. "Dr. Phil's" audience is better dressed and behaved than the "Jer-ry, Jer-ry" chanting crowd. But not since Jerry Springer hired an off-duty cop to keep his guests from maiming each other has one person so effectively converted other people's problems into televised entertainment and then into personal stardom. "Dr. Phil" is off to a fast start and could soon approach the rating heights of his former client, Oprah Winfrey, whose show was the launchpad for his. And why not? Brassy, funny and brimming with more cornpone wisdom than Dan Rather, McGraw is a hoot to watch. What's more, unlike most daytime food fights, nobody gets hurt on his show, though whether the unhappy couples are healed by their encounters with the tough-lovin' Texan is another matter. Unlike the fading Laura Schlessinger, McGraw learned to stop taking himself and his profession so seriously. In the introduction to his book Self Matters, he describes bailing out of his "godforsaken career," albeit a well-paying one, as a psychoanalyst. Instead of listening to people and their problems, he decided to make people listen to him. He laid down the gauntlet, telling patients to "get real," examine their lives, figure out what's wrong and fix it. "You either get it," became McGraw's refrain every Tuesday on Winfrey's show, "or you don't!" Get it, get in, get out: The pace is snappy on "Dr. Phil," with as many as four interviews per hour. Each interview is preceded by a pretaped segment in which the man and woman not only explain their side of the problem (often making the divide sound more dramatic than it really is), but hilariously re-enact their problem for the cameras. One randy husband happily demonstrated his obsession with sex by walking past his wife while not so surreptitiously grabbing her behind. When that tape ended, McGraw turned to the wife and said, "Have you ever thought of just hosing the boy down?" The interview follows, a blend of searing insights ("Do y'all agree on anything?"), irrefutable axioms ("Failure is no accident") and lots of leaven ("In his defense," he said to one obviously agitated wife, "and God knows he needs one ... "). In a couple of instances it seemed pretty clear that a clueless spouse was merely nodding his or her way through the interview. But McGraw didn't get rich and famous worrying about stuff like that. "All the hard work takes place after the show is over," he said at the end of one episode. He might have added: And that's why they call it "the show." The quicker clicker "Frontline," 9 p.m. Thursday, KCPT and KTWU. John O'Neill was a very interesting guy - a high-profile spook, a counter-terrorism agent for the FBI who had a table at Elaine's. He was also obsessed with Osama bin Laden and pleaded for years with his superiors to let him pursue bin Laden. O'Neill was tolerated, then ignored, then eased out of the bureau. So he went to the World Trade Center to serve as its chief of security, and you can guess what happened next. This poignant 90-minute film called "The Man Who Knew" is a terrific start to "Frontline's" 20th season. It will leave you wondering if the FBI could've prevented the Sept. 11 attacks. "Surviving West Point," 7 p.m. Saturday, National Geographic Channel. This absorbing 14-week documentary series follows a dozen first-year cadets at the U.S. Military Academy as they undergo a hazing unlike any other college freshmen in the nation. Orientation consists of senior officers ordering them around all day, followed by six weeks of boot camp to toughen their bodies as well as their minds. The most engaging of the new kids is Ingrid, the granddaughter of a Bolivian general, who shrugs when asked why she chose this over parties and pledge. "It's just preparing me for the real world," she says. "Pyramid," 11:37 p.m. weeknights, Channel 5, following Letterman.Dick Clark's once-popular word game feels greatly diminished, despite a louder-than-loud new set and appealing new host Donny Osmond. In response to ever-atrophying viewer attention spans, rounds have been cut from 25 to 20 seconds, and the prize for guessing all six categories in the winner's circle is $10,000 - the same jackpot as 29 years ago - though repeat winners can try for the inflation-adjusted amount of $15,000. The old plink-plunk music has been replaced with "Millionaire" noises, but don't let those fool you: The new "Pyramid" isn't going to make anyone rich. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com.

New on the tube

'Less Than Perfect' Airs: 8:30 tonight, ABC (Channel 9), after "Life With Bonnie," which moves to 8 p.m. Stars: Sara Rue, Sherri Shepherd, Andy Dick, Zachary Levi, Andrea Parker, Eric Roberts Nutshell: Full-figured gal becomes network anchor's girl Friday in workmanlike workplace sitcom. In "Less Than Perfect," one of three new Tuesday night comedies on ABC this fall, Rue plays an office temp at a TV network who lands a plum 22nd-floor assignment working for star anchor Will Butler (Roberts). Appealing from the get-go, the plus-sized Rue deftly navigates 22nd-floor politics while cracking so many jokes about food and fat, you start to wonder if she's related to "The King of Queens." Shepherd and Andy Dick - who once again is cast in the role of Andy Dick - play Rue's fellow temps, and their esprit de corps gives this show a little pep. But the laughs drop off considerably when these three aren't involved (though I suspect Roberts and former "Pretender" vixen Parker would do fine in a detective thriller together). Given this ensemble, the possibilities for "Less Than Perfect" seem limited. Overall, I'm reminded of that joke Conan O'Brien told about another network on Emmys night: People are really excited about the network's fall schedule - especially the people on the network's midseason replacement shows. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Andy Dick, Sara Rue and Sherri Shepherd are the highlights of "Less Than Perfect." @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:ABC

New on the tube

'Still Standing' Airs: 8:30 tonight, CBS (Channel 5) Stars: Mark Addy, Jami Gertz Nutshell: Another forgettable but can't-miss comedy aimed squarely at the CBS Monday night crowd. Think of this one as "Yes, Dear," where the kids have speaking parts. Bill and Judy Miller (Addy, Gertz) have weathered 15 years since marrying out of high school. He's reckless, she's responsible, and between them there's nothing you haven't seen on a prime-time sitcom before. See Dad fret about his nerdy, trouble-free teen-age son. Watch the middle child call Mom and Dad uncool for saying no to a piercing. Look at the cute talking tyke who can barely get out her lines. I'm sorry to see "Becker," the show this one is replacing, get kicked over to Sunday nights. But given the incredible ratings of these cookie-cutter household shows, you can't blame CBS for wanting more. (And just wait until midseason brings us the return of "Baby Bob"!) To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Mark Addy (top left) and Jamie Gertz, star as the parents of three kids in "Still Standing." @ART:Photo (color)