Flipping through your cable channels, much of what you'll come across will look familiar.
Old, off-network sitcoms. Old, off-network dramas. Old movies.But sprinkled among this rerun bonanza are a few original series and movies. And a few old series that haven't been seen in reruns lately turn up again.
Here's a quick look at what's new this fall on cable:
AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS
In keeping with its classic movies theme, AMC will present the retrospective Stars and Stripes: Hollywood and World War II on Veterans Day (Nov. 11) - along with a restored version of Irving Berlin's This Is the Army.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
For the first time, A&E will have a premiere week (beginning Sept. 22) and four shows will debut: former astronaut Neil Armstrong host First Flights, which looks at breakthroughs in aviation; Investigative Reports With Bill Kurtis looks behind the headlines; Lovejoy is a BBC-produced entertainment series that stars Ian McShane as an antiques dealer/detective; and Time Machine With Jack Perkins is a series of documentaries about historical events. Also, beginning Sunday, Walter Cronkite hosts the four-part series Dinosaur!, which investigates and recreates how those reptiles lived and died. A&E will also begin airing reruns of Late Night With David Letterman on Sept. 30.
THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL
New series include: America Coast to Coast, a travelogue; Choppers, which traces the history of helicopters; Earth Guide, an environmental how-to show; James Coburn hosts Hollywood Stuntmakers; and Tom Jarriel hosts Moments of Courage, which are updates of "20/20" stories. TDC's first feature-length film, People of the Forest: The Chimps, debuts Sunday. Another special is In Celebration of Trees, a look at the Adirondacks. And The Second Russian Revolution, a look at the recent events in the USSR, begins a six-episode run on Sept. 23.
THE DISNEY CHANNEL
In addition to its continuing series, Disney has the made-for-cable movie Mark Twain and Me, which stars Jason Robards; The American Teacher Awards; and Going Home, a behind-the scenes look at Paul McCartney's 1990 tour.
THE FAMILY CHANNEL
Five new series debut on Family this fall: Hometown Hero profiles ordinary people who've done extraordinary things; Robby Benson provides the voice of the hero in the animated The Legend of Prince Valiant; Survival tells the tales of people who have survived tragedy and misfortune; That's My Dog is a comical game show in which two family pets compete; and You Asked for It Again is a repackaging of the '50s series.
HOME BOX OFFICE
In addition to theatrical films, HBO plans four made-for-cable movies: Fred Ward stars in the mystery/horror Cast a Deadly Spell, which debuts Saturday; Jack Lemmon stars in the comedy Getting There; Richard Dreyfuss stars in Prisoner of Honor, coincidentally about the turn-of-the-century Dreyfus incident; Robert Duvall stars in the multipart Stalin. One new series is on the slate - Billy Crystal wrote and produced (but does not star in) the very adult Sessions, which features Michael McKean as a man in mid-life crisis and Elliott Gould as his shrink.
LIFETIME
No new series, but several made-for cable movies are on tap: Sonia Braga stars in the coming-of-age film The Last Prostitute and Ed Asner, Mike Farrell and Patricia Wettig star in the mystery thriller Silent Motive; and Roseanna Arquette, Susan Blakely and Beau Bridges star in Wildflower, based on the Sara Flanigan novel.
THE NASHVILLE NETWORK
One new series on TNN - the Statler Brothers headline the appropriately titled The Statler Bros. Show, a country variety hour set for Saturday nights. Specials include Emmylou Harris at the Ryman, Loretta Lynn: The Seasons of My Life and comedians Bruce Williams and Terry Ree star in Williams & Ree Comedy Central, a pilot for a potential series.
NICKELODEON
Last month, Nick debuted three excellent animated series - RugRats, Doug and The Ren and Stimpy. Linda Ellerbee will produce a kid's news series. And the network that lives on reruns will add Dick Van Dyke, F Troop and Superman to its lineup.
SHOWTIME
Showtime has a number of made-for-cable movies coming our way: Jodie Foster stars as an artist on the run after she witnesses a murder in Catchfire; Chains of Gold features John Travolta and Marilu Henner in a tale of rescuing a child from the drug trade; Deadly Surveillance is a cop adventure; Dean R. Koontz's Servants of Twighlight is based on Koontz's novel about a church leader who believes she has found the Antichrist; and Intimate Strangers features real rocker Deborah Harry as a struggling rock 'n' roller. Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is an excellent behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of "Apocalypse Now." TNT
In addition to old movies and sports, TNT is adding more than 500 episodes of Ewing adventures - reruns of Dallas and Knots Landing will begin airing in the morning later this month. Several made-for-cable movies are on the schedule, including Charlton Heston as Sherlock Holmes in Crucifer of Blood, Treat Williams as defense attorney Earl Rogers in Final Verdict; Iran: Days of Crisis, the tale of the hostage crisis; and Kris Kristofferson and Kim Cattrall as pioneers in Miracle in the Wilderness. And, because Turner owns the MGM library, early next year TNT will air a retrospective titled MGM: When the Lion Roars.
USA
A pair of, well, sort of ghost busters investigate paranormal experiences on Beyond Reality; and Endurance, based on a bizarre Japanese show, is a game show featuring odd physical events. USA continues its tradition of vaguely sleazy made-for-TV thrillers with Blackmail, with Susan Blakely as a housewife taken in by a con man; White Lie, with Gregory Hines as a man trying to clear his father's name after 30 years; and Writer's Block, starring Morgan Fairchild as a writer whose character - a serial killer - comes to life.