CBS's strategy this fall is two-fold - more familiar faces and ripping off ABC on Friday nights.
The familiar faces in new shows include Bob Newhart, Judd Hirsch, David Caruso, Danny Aiello, Bryant Gumbel, Bronson Pinchot and Gregory Hines. The only new show without a really reconizable star in the cast ("Brooklyn South") has a big-name producer - Steven Bochco.And CBS is going after ABC's family audience on Friday nights in a big way. Not only has the network appropriated two former T.G.I.F. shows - "Family Matters" and "Step by Step" - but it has tried to clone their success with a pair of new family-oriented comedies.
Here's what's new from CBS, which is seen locally on KUTV-Ch. 2:
GEORGE & LEO (Mondays, 8:30 p.m.) is, quite simply, the best new comedy of the year. Bob Newhart is at his deadpan best as George, the rather staid owner of a Martha's Vineyard bookstore. His son (Justin Bateman) is about to get married, and it turns out his future father-in-law, Leo (Judd Hirsch), is a small-time hoodlum. Newhart and Hirsch make a great team in this witty, intelligent and darn funny half hour.
Forecast: This show could help revitalize CBS's Monday lineup. It should be at least a moderate hit.
Debut date: Sept. 15
BROOKLYN SOUTH (Mondays, 9 p.m.) is to uniformed police officers what "NYPD Blue" is to detectives. It's also an updating of "Hill Street Blues" (and it's from the producers and writers of both those other shows). The ensemble cast includes Jon Tenney, Dylan Walsh and James B. Sikking. The pilot opens with a shockingly violent sequence but is tremendously engaging.
Forecast: Another show that could help revitalize CBS's Monday lineup - if viewers aren't already overloaded on cop shows. Executive producer Steven Bochco should have another hit on his hands.
Debut date: Sept. 22
MICHAEL HAYES (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.) operates under the assumption that the American public has really missed David Caruso since he left "NYPD Blue." It's an erroneous assumption. Here, he stars as a former cop turned U.S. attorney. The pilot has pretensions of quality, but it's predictable and derivative. It's not bad, but it isn't particularly good, either.
Forecast: This show's big hope is that people who don't want to watch sitcoms on ABC, NBC and UPN will tune here. But don't be surprised if there aren't enough of those people to keep "Michael Hayes" alive.
Debut date: Previews on Monday, Sept. 15, at 9 p.m. before moving to its regular time slot on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
DELLAVENTURA (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) brings Danny Aiello to weekly television in an updated version of "The Equalizer." Aiello plays Anthony Dellaventura, a former New York police detective who now owns his own agency full of specialists who help him help people the police can't. CBS compares it to "Walker, Texas Ranger," but it seems even worse than that.
Forecast: The pilot is downright terrible, but Aiello promised critics mistakes will be corrected and the show will improve. It will have to improve a lot if it wants to stick around for more than a few weeks.
Debut date: Sept. 23
PUBLIC EYE WITH BRYANT GUMBEL (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.): Well, we know that this will be a news magazine hosted by the former "Today Show" anchor. We know it has a dumb name. We know that Gumbel insists it will be "different" from the other nine news magazines on the networks - but we don't know how.
Forecast: We'll have to reserve judgment on quality until it debuts, but a news magazine could well survive in this time period.
Debut date: Oct. 1
MEEGO (Fridays, 7 p.m.) is sort of an amalgamation of "My Favorite Martian," "Mork & Mindy" and "The Nanny." Bronson Pinchot ("Perfect Strangers") plays an alien who crash lands on Earth and becomes the nanny to three young children (including Jonathan Lipnicki of "Jerry Maguire") of a single father/surgeon (Ed Begley Jr.). Lipnicki is cute, but Pinchot is as annoying as ever. It's difficult to imagine anyone over the age of 10 being able to stomach this show.
Forecast: It pains me to say it, but this show stands a decent chance of succeeding.
Debut date: Sept. 19
THE GREGORY HINES SHOW (Fridays, 8 p.m.) features Hines as the widowed father of a 12-year-old boy who is just getting back into the dating scene 18 months after the death of his wife. The cast includes his father (Bill Cobbs), brother, co-worker and co-worker's ex-wife (Robin Riker) - and possibilities seem endless. It's warm, witty and very likeable. The problem may be that it's too intelligent for the "Family Matters"-"Meego"-"Step by Step" crowd - and the pilot is a bit risque for young kids.
Forecast: It could work on Fridays. And, if not, CBS may move it elsewhere.
Debut date: Previews on Monday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. before moving to its regular time slot on Friday, Sept. 19.