It isn't hard for television critics to say snotty things about the increasingly stupid Fox prime-time soap "Melrose Place."
As a matter of fact, it's not even necessary. Not when the stars of the show will do it for you.Just ask Grant Show, who has played resident hunk Jake since "Melrose" began. He'll tell you without hesitation that the show is hardly a challenge for any actor.
"I don't think it's stretched me at all as an actor," Show said. "I don't mean that as a slight at all. I just don't think it did. It's not challenging material. At least the material I've gotten has not been."
Show said that when "Melrose" began, his character, Jake, was "kind of non-funny Fonzie character."
"That wasn't really successful. And the character has sort of evolved into a normal guy," he said. "He's kind of the only person left on the show that's looking for normalcy in this kind of crazy world."
And that world has become more and more crazy as the show - which never had much in common with reality - has become increasingly bizarre.
"The show was getting more and more outrageous, so a character like Jake is going to be limited on that palette," Show said. "The character, Jake, is not an outrageous character."
As a result, Jake didn't have a whole lot to do last season. Which didn't prompt Show to ask for changes.
"Well, my only choice was to push the character into the same direction that everyone else was going, into that crazy, frenetic world," he said. "And that's not what I like to do."
If Show isn't challenged by what he's called on to do on "Melrose Place," he isn't necessarily complaining, either.
"I don't know if I could possibly have a challenging role for four years. . . . I might have gotten beat up," he said. "It might have been fun. I'm sure it would have been fun for a while.
Basically, Show sounds like he's coasting through the role that made him famous. This despite the fact that the series produces 34 episodes a season.
"I think, eventually, on a television series - especially a series like `Melrose Place' - you can't do a challenging role every week," Show said. "You have to come up with tricks. You just don't have time to work on it. The writers don't have time to write something interesting. It's just not really possible to do something like that."
Which pretty much explains why "Melrose" is the way it is - silly, redundant and schizophrenic.
"MELROSE" MUSINGS: What a difference a few months - and a lot of money - can make.
In April, "Melrose" star Heather Locklear did interviews in which she criticized the increasingly bizarre turns her show's plotlines were taking. She added that, if things didn't improve, this coming season would be her last.
This month Locklear signed for the 1997-98 season, and changed her tune about the show.
"There probably were certain times (when the show was too strange), but I think that's something that makes `Melrose Place' fun," she said.
She didn't say exactly how much more money she'll be getting.
- According to Locklear, the writers of "Melrose" are indeed going to tone down the insanity a bit this season.
"Actually, they are trying to concentrate more on relationships, and not go off into sanitariums as much," she said.
- One question Locklear is frequently asked is - why is she listed as a "special guest star" in the "Melrose" credits when she's been on the show since the middle of the first season?
Originally, she was signed to appear in just a handful of episodes. But the ratings took off as she became the show's most popular character. And don't expect those credits to change.
"I think (it won't change) until all the original people are off the show except for me, and then it could say, `starring Heather Locklear,' " Locklear said with a laugh.
Actually, it's a matter of her agents insisting that she not appear alphabetically in the middle of the credits.
"They've continued to say, `No, it's good to be at the end. It's good to say special guest star,' " Locklear said.