Getting ready for fall of shows

Inevitably, inexorably, it comes. Fall, that is. And with it come the World Series, pro football, school buses, rakes and the new TV season.

Let's take a peek at what lies ahead in September, beginning with ABC and CBS, where lawyers abound and one show looks like another-except, of course, for the one about the brain transplant.

ABC's new series include:

"Odd Man Out," from the writers of the film "There's Something About Mary," concerns a teenage boy surrounded by women - his mother, aunt and three sisters. He's struggling to become a man while hemmed in by females.

"Oh Grow Up" builds on the "Friends" concept by having three men become roommates, one of whom is gay. Ding-dong! At the door is one roomie's 18-year-old daughter, who hasn't seen dad since birth.

"Once and Again" focuses on a divorced man and divorced woman who begin dating to the delight or consternation of their children. Don't expect "The Brady Bunch."

"Snoops," from the creator of "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal," is about (to quote ABC press material) "a sexy ensemble of unconventional private investigators." Don't expect "Charlie's Angels."

"Then Came You" takes a 34-year-old newly divorced woman and gives her a 24-year-old boyfriend. She's a book editor; he's a waiter. Do expect complications.

"Wasteland" is not about the ABC schedule; it's about six people in their 20s who are starting post-college careers in New York City. It's one more attempt to mimic the success of "Friends" and "Seinfeld." Some people need higher goals.

ABC also has TV mini-series planned about the Beach Boys, the Supremes, Audrey Hepburn, Muhammad Ali and the Three Stooges. Talk about a mixed bag! It's "Moon River" with a poke in the eye.

Meanwhile, CBS has these new shows ready to go, some of which are easily confused with programs on other networks (or vice versa) as well as with shows on CBS itself:

"Family Law" is about a woman who starts her own legal firm after her attorney husband leaves her and takes their clients with him. She has to rebuild both her life and her career.

"Judging Amy" is a rather blatant reworking of NBC's popular "Providence." That show is about a female doctor who returns to Rhode Island to live with her father and sister. "Judging Amy" is about a female judge who returns to Hartford, Conn., to live with - get this switch - her mother and brother.

"Ladies Man" uses a lathe to find a grain of comedy in a story about a carpenter who works at home, surrounded by women: his wife, ex-wife, mother, mother-in-law, and two daughters (see "Odd Man Out" above).

"Love & Money" mixes a wealthy heiress with a building super (see "Then Came You" above) who falls for her. But in between his basement apartment and her penthouse are scads of loopy tenants.

"Now and Again" (not to be confused with ABC's "Once and Again") has the weirdest plot of the new season: A middle-aged man's brain is implanted in a body that is 20 years younger and he becomes a government spy. But he still has feelings for the family and friends he left behind. I don't think you'll find the equivalent of this one on another network.

"Work With Me" is about married law partners, not to be confused with "Family Law" (see above). They are an odd couple: She's the messy one; he's the fussy one.

(Next column: What's coming in the fall on NBC and PBS.)

(08-19-99)