One of television's best series, and certainly one of its least appreciated, is ABC's "Homefront."
This wonderful continuing drama takes on a serious subject tonight (8 p.m., Ch. 4) - polio.It's a disease that's been largely forgotten since it became preventable in 1955. But in 1946 (when "Homefront" takes place), it was still a scourge.
In tonight's episode, titled "Life Is Short," middle-aged Anne Kahn (Wendy Phillips) is exhausted from caring for her new baby. But that exhaustion turns out to be something considerably more serious - polio.
Adding to the drama is the panic that her family and friends experience, worrying that they too may fall victim to the disease. (It was thought to be highly contagious.)
As has been the case with "Homefront," a good deal of research went into the writing. Bernie Lechowick, who wrote the episode, has Anne go through the treatments that were used at the time. The show also utilizes actual photographs and film footage of polio patients of that era.
And while the setting for "Homefront" is the fictional town of River Run, Ohio, River Run is a suburb of Cleveland, where there was an outbreak of polio in 1946.
Coincidentally, Dick Anthony Williams, who plays Abe Davis on the show, actually contracted polio as a child during that era, and went through many of the same treatments portrayed in this episode.
It's a fine episode of an excellent series.
AND NOW THE BAD NEWS: ABC has already announced it isn't going to add to the 18 episodes of "Homefront" it ordered for this season.
Now there's an unconfirmed report that it's yanking "Homefront" after tonight's episodes, and that the remaining installments won't be seen until next spring.
Reportedly, ABC will also pull "Delta" and "Room For Two" from their 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. time slots, replacing them with "Matlock." And last summer's "Jack's Place" would take over for "Homefront" at 8 p.m.
There's no question but that ABC has treated "Homefront" badly. It started the season by airing four episodes on consecutive weeks, with gradually increasing ratings against the "Cheers" juggernaut.
But "Homefront" hasn't aired two weeks in a row since Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. How can a show - particularly one that has continuing elements from week to week - survive with scheduling like that?
NEW ABC PRESIDENT: ABC stayed within the company when looking for a new chief of its entertainment division - outgoing president Robert Iger picked one of his chief deputies, Ted Harbert, as his successor.
The selection of Harbert is not unexpected. He's been executive vice president of prime time at ABC since April 1989.
(Iger is moving up to become president of the ABC Television Network Group. Both he and Har-bert will assume their new positions on Jan. 1.)
Harbert has held a wide variety of positions in his 15 years at ABC, mainly in the made-for-TV movie and scheduling departments. No radical changes are expected when he takes over - particularly because he'll still be reporting to his old boss, Iger.
But he does take over at a particularly good time for ABC. The network recently won the November sweeps and is in striking distance of CBS to win the 1992-93 ratings war - or at least stay a close second.
VULTURES CIRCLING: ABC is the second of the four broadcast networks to name a new entertainment division president in the past few weeks. (Sandy Grushow took over at Fox recently.)
And there are rumors that Fox and ABC will soon be joined by NBC.
But unlike the other two, where both Fox's Peter Chernin and ABC's Iger were promoted, NBC's change may come much more involuntarily.
Warren Littlefield is reported to be under increasing fire as NBC sinks deeper and deeper into third place in the ratings.
He wasn't helped by the announcement last week that "Cheers" is going off the air at the end of the season. Littlefield is said to have had a deal with the production company, Paramount, for a 12th season of the sitcom, but star Ted Danson pulled the plug on that by announcing he would not return.
And the impending loss of David Letterman - whose show adds a reported $50 million a year to NBC's coffers - isn't going to help Littlefield impress his bosses at General Electric, either.
Now, Littlefield can't be entirely blamed for the decline in NBC's fortunes. When he succeeded Brandon Tartikoff in mid-1990, the Peacock was already in big trouble. NBC was still No. 1, but it was loaded with aging series past their prime.
But Littlefield has failed to produce a single big hit since he took over as president of the entertainment division. And, although he won't admit it, letting "Matlock" go to ABC and "In the Heat of the Night" and the "Golden Girls" successor, "Golden Palace," go to CBS was not a great decision.
Don't be surprised if someone other than Littlefield is calling the shots at NBC before long.
HANDLING IT WELL: Ray Richmond of the Los Angeles Daily News proved that he's one of the smarter television critics out there last week.
Richmond, one of three critics to receive profanity-filled attack letter from Roseanne Arnold after panning her husband's sitcom, "The Jackie Thomas Show," found himself instantly famous - the subject of countless newspaper and TV stories.
How did Richmond respond? By sending roses to Rosie, of course.
And on the note he enclosed, Richmond wrote, "Thanks for putting me on the map. I owe you."
REN OR STIMPY: According to "Sassy" magazine, teenagers who were asked "Who do you identify with more, Ren or Stimpy" most often responded Ren.
Personally, I still have trouble identifying which is Ren and which is Stimpy.