Strong, opinionated, middle-aged, conservative and black, Russell Lincoln ("as Republican as Abraham," he avowed in the Aug. 1 premiere) is the proprietor of a Washington, D.C., bar and grill and the dynamic central character of this sitcom. Played with confidence by Steven Williams (X on The X-Files), "Line" commands attention even when the show seems undecided whether to go for intelligent commentary or to settle for pungent repartee. Creator-executive producer Tim Reid, best known as an actor on such series as Frank's Place and WKRP in Cincinnati, fills Line's place with a cross section of African-Americans, from fat-cat lobbyist Johnnie (Georg Stanford Brown) to glamorous liberal activist Eleanor (Jackie Brown's Pam Grier) to friendly hooker Eartha (Reid's wife, Daphne Maxwell Reid). When the patrons take a break from debating racial and political issues, they gossip about Line: Will he pursue unhappily married Eleanor? Can he handle the news that his daughter Rosalee (Tisha Campbell), an Army lieutenant, may be a lesbian? We want to spend more time with the Line's crowd, if they'll ease up on the sarcastic jousting and just talk to one another now and then.
Bottom Line: Could develop into a capital comedy
ABC (Wednesdays, 9:30 p.m. ET)
We laughed hard at the Aug. 5 opener of this summer comedy series—almost as hard as host Drew Carey. But after viewing a couple more half-hours, we're a bit less enthused. Based on a long-running British show (seen on cable's Comedy Central from 1991 until early '98), "Whose Line is comedy pure and simple: Take a panel of crazy guys, give them the premise for a skit or guessing game, and let them ad-lib. Ryan Stiles (who plays Lewis on The Drew Carey Show) and Canadian actor Colin Mochrie are the key members of this team. Both are veterans of the British version, and both are amazingly energetic, focused and uninhibited. (One wild sketch in the premiere finds Mochrie tackling the role of an accident-prone circus performer, while Stiles plays a foal being born.) But Whose Line overworks a limited number of ideas (enough with those takeoffs on The Dating Game), and the quality slips when Carey joins in the improv fun at the end of each show. He's a winner at stand-up and sitcom, but lacks the quickness to excel at this sport.
Bottom Line: Wings it daringly, but doesn't always soar
MTV (Mondays-Thursdays, 11 p.m. ET)
This month-old show allows super-fans to interview their favorite stars. You write to MTV (or a supporter petitions on your behalf) pleading for the chance to meet Bruce Willis, say, or the Backstreet Boys. A friend or relative of yours brings the news that you've been chosen, and you're both whisked away to share a dream come true. Viewers who still have idols may find this entertaining, even inspiring. Curmudgeons will note the fine line between devotion and obsession. They'll be disturbed by the fans' need to unburden themselves to their idols concerning lost loves and low self-esteem. And they'll urge therapy for that woman who genuflected to Eddie Van Halen and said, "I want to be your guitar."
Bottom Line: Of interest to groupies—and psychologists
VH1 (Saturdays, 8 p.m. ET)
"I will take Grunge Groups for 400, please." Now, there's a line not often heard on Jeopardy! But this is the new rock and roll spinoff (premiering Aug. 8) of that venerable game show. Among the categories are "Story Songs of the '70s" and "Name That Stones Song." None of that boring stuff you were supposed to learn in school. But don't think for one minute that host Jeff Probst (a correspondent on Access Hollywood) will tolerate imprecise language. On a future episode, Probst asks the contestants for the title of Sir Mix-A-Lot's immortal 1992 rap on the subject of the female posterior: One of them tries to skate by with "Baby's Got Back." Nice try, pal. The one acceptable, if ungrammatical, answer is "Baby Got Back" (or rather, "What is 'Baby Got Back'?"). Although we'd rather see Alex Trebek play master of ceremonies in a grunge guise, the casually neat Probst does a more than adequate job. He wins us over in an upcoming episode by modestly admitting that he, like the contestants, has no recollection of "I Don't Ever Want to See You Again" by Uncle Sam. If you can answer in the form of a question and still keep the beat, this show will have you playing along.
Bottom Line: Title says it all—the concept is foolproof
ABC (Mon., Aug. 10, 10 p.m. ET)
We were worried that this special—highlighting memorable romances on All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital and Port Charles—would be sticky-sweet. And our concern seemed justified when we saw the clip of One Life to Live's Bo (Robert S. Woods) constructing a chocolate sundae on the tummy of his fun-loving wife, Nora (Hillary B. Smith). But if you're the type whose gag reflex is stimulated by an All My Children flashback of Cliff (Peter Bergman) reading Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116" to his beloved Nina (Taylor Miller), you'll be encouraged to know that this diverting hour also contains scenes of vintage soap opera discord. AMC's Hayley (Kelly Ripa), after listing the lesser sins of a no-good former husband", hits him with her best shot: "And exactly when did you start sleeping with my mother?"
The show includes interviews with past and present soap actors, most of whom analyze their characters' emotions quite seriously. To hear OLTL's James DePaiva define "passion" and "obsession," you'd think he was advertising Calvin Klein fragrances. But the ice cream scene isn't the only light moment. We were amused, and impressed, by Susan Lucci's ability to rattle off the married names of her much-wed AMC character, Erica Kane. At the end, you'll learn which love story was picked as the all-time favorite in a viewers' poll. It's all blatantly promotional—as if soap fans will care.
Bottom Line: Ah, there's nothing like suds on a summer night
>Sunday, Aug. 9 JERRY SEINFELD: I'M TELLING YOU FOR THE LAST TIME HBO (9 p.m. ET) Don't stop him if you've heard these before. Live on Broadway, the comic "retires" old stand-up jokes.
Monday, Aug. 10 EVENING AT POPS PBS (8 p.m. ET) Call it classical folk. Arlo Guthrie and violinist Gil Shaham perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Tuesday, Aug. 11 AN ELEMENT OF TRUTH CBS (9 p.m. ET) Donna Mills, up to her usual scheming and seducing, ensnares Peter Riegert in a 1995 TV movie.
Wednesday, Aug. 12 STRESSED ERIC NBC (9:30 p.m. ET) British animated sitcom about a divorced dad starts a U.S. summer run.
Thursday, Aug. 13 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TBS (2:05 p.m. ET) Golf greats putter around as the tourney opens.
Friday, Aug. 14 THE USUAL SUSPECTS USA (9 p.m. ET) The twisty 1996 mystery features Oscar-winning work by Kevin Spacey.
Saturday, Aug. 15 THE AVENGERS: THE JOURNEY BACK A&E (9 p.m. ET) Break out the bowler hat and boots for a look back at the TV series that spawned the new movie.
>Beau Bridges
Mad Max
"Even though he tries to stage a hit on his wife with a crocodile, he really down-deep loves her," says Beau Bridges, offering an insight into "Maximum" Bob Gibbs, the hangin' judge he plays on ABC's new series, Maximum Bob (premieres Tues., Aug. 4, at 10 p.m. ET). Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, Bob follows Gibbs's shenanigans in the courtroom and with his psychic wife (Kiersten Warren) deep in Florida's swampland. "He's very politically incorrect; it makes you squirm," Bridges says of the bullying Bob. "At first you say, 'I've never seen such a character.' Then you start to see yourself in it."
But it's hard to find much of Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys), 56, a soft-spoken family man married to wife Wendy, with five children, in the nutty jurist. In real life, the actor remains close to his movie star brother Jeff (The Big Lebow-ski), 48, and is still guided by the memory of his famous father, Lloyd, who died in March of natural causes. "I feel his presence," Beau says. "[His] spirit will always be with me." And unlike many of his Hollywood compatriots, Bridges has had little courtroom drama of his own—except for the time he was taken to court for fire damages when his rented house burned down. "It can make you quake," he says of his sole untelevised court appearance. "Fortunately [my judge] wasn't Maximum Bob."
- Contributors:
- Champ Clark.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
