If you want to see how much difference good writing can make, watch NBC (Ch. 5) tonight between 8 and 9 p.m. And pay particular attention to the performance of David Hyde Pierce.
At 8 p.m., Pierce will be playing his regular role of Niles Crane, the fussy brother of "Frasier." Over the past three seasons, Pierce has all but stolen that show.He takes a wonderfully written role and - with his huge talent - makes it even better. Thus, Niles is a delight to watch.
At 8:30 p.m., Pierce guest stars in an episode of "Caroline in the City." He plays an IRS agent who is auditing Annie (Amy Pietz).
He also turns out to be a closet performer who promises Annie a favorable audit if she gets him an audition for the Broadway production of "Cats."
Pierce lifts the "Caroline" material above what it would otherwise have been without him. Unfortunately, what it would otherwise have been is pretty awful.
"Caroline in the City" is just not a particularly well-written show. The question of whether its star, Lea Thompson, is capable of carrying a sitcom remains open - it's hard to tell, what with the weak material she's been getting.
The contrast between the high quality of "Frasier" and the mediocrity of "Caroline" is glaring.
And it has never been quite as obvious as when Pierce appears in back-to-back episodes of the two shows.
"NYPD" BLUES: The popular-but-still-controversial "NYPD Blue" returns tonight, and there are no big surprises here.
It's still quality drama. It's still controversial.
But - as it enters its fourth season - perhaps the personal dramas are a bit too much. In tonight's episode (9 p.m., Ch. 4), the travails of Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone (Jimmy Smits) completely overpower the police story.
As a matter of fact, the police part of this drama is almost immaterial. It merely serves as backdrop to Sipowicz's concerns about the health of his infant son and Simone's marriage proposal to Russell (Kim Delaney).
The show spends almost as much time on Medavoy's (Gordon Clapp) battle with the bulge as it does with the cops' battle with crime.
As always, however, the show is unnecessarily crude in spots. The language is a bit rougher than necessary, and there's a gratuitous bit of nudity.
Big surprise there, huh? "NYPD Blue" has been doing that since it began - using titillation that is unnecessary to goose the ratings and sullying what would otherwise be a superior show.
Although ABC continues to run a warning to viewers, over the past three years "NYPD Blue" has become more mainstream. And it's not that "Blue" has changed - the rest of television has.
For example, the nudity in tonight's episode of "NYPD Blue" isn't much different from nudity that popped up unexpectedly - and unnecessarily - in the middle of a "60 Minutes" report on Sunday night.
And the language in tonight's "NYPD Blue" is actually less objectionable than language broadcast on a recent KTVX-Ch. 4 newscast, in which sportscaster Carl Arky shared with viewers tape of a profane sports talk-radio segment.
By comparison, "Blue" doesn't seem as blue - sadly enough.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: Your local television editor was answering a few questions over the the phone last week, and here's a brief recap:
Q: What happened to the Faith and Values Channel? My cable company suddenly dropped it and put on something called Odyssey.
A: Actually, you didn't lose or gain anything. Faith and Values has changed its name to Odyssey.
The thinking behind the switch is that perhaps the previous name led people to believe that the channel programmed nothing but religious programs - hurting viewer-ship. Odyssey does offer a variety of entertainment shows, from the fabulous "Brooklyn Bridge" to the nostalgic "Courtship of Eddie's Father."
Q: I really like those "Welcome home/Utah night" commercials on Ch. 2. Did they put those together themselves?
A: No. They're national CBS ads that have been adapted for various CBS stations across the country.
I saw exactly the same spots back in July - only they had been adapted for CBS's Miami station and were all about a great "Florida night."
Q: How come you listed Game 1 of the Yankees-Orioles series last Tuesday and NBC ended up airing a bunch of sitcoms?
A: Well, it was raining in New York, so the game was postponed.
I'm a TV critic, not a weathercaster.
BURNED OUT: David Letterman and CBS deserve a pat on a back for making a very nice gesture this week.
They invited Rosie O'Donnell to tape her daytime talk show at Letterman's TV home, the Ed Sullivan Theater.
Rosie was forced into reruns last Thursday and Friday by a fire at NBC's New York headquarters, the GE building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. (O'Donnell's show rents a studio there from NBC.)
With Letterman in reruns this week, the Ed Sullivan Theater doors were opened to Rosie and her staff.
"We're honored to be doing our show on David Letterman's set," said O'Donnell. "We will always be grateful to him for helping us out. He's a real classy guy."
(And Rosie was both profuse and very clever in expressing her thanks to Letterman and his staff on Monday's show.)
The down week for the "Late Show" had been planned as time for routine maintenance and upgrade work at the theater, but that schedule has been readjusted.
Conan O'Brien, who doesn't do much right, does rate a bit of applause for improvising. His Thursday show was taped outside 30 Rock, and his Friday show moved to the "Today Show" studios across the street.
(If only O'Brien's version of "Late Night" was actually worth watching.)