The WB's "Hyperion Bay" and CBS's "L.A. Doctors" have quite a bit in common. They're both hourlong, ensemble drama series. They both air on Monday nights. They both debut Monday.
And they both will arrive under different titles than the ones announced in May when they were placed on their respective networks' fall schedules."Hyperion Bay" (Monday at 8 p.m. on Ch. 30) started out as "Hyperion." And the watery addition led some to wonder if it had anything to do with the success the WB has had with "Dawson's Creek."
"Oh, sure. I'm surprised they haven't told you about `Charmed Estuary,' " joked series creator and executive producer Joe Dougherty. "And `Felicity Reservoir.' If a thing works, you've got to go with it."
Actually, "Bay" was added to give the show "more of a sense of place," he said. The title is the name of the fictional California town where the series takes place.
This is a series that shows a good deal of promise - it's populated by interesting, believable characters and features a relatable premise. Dennis Sweeney (Mark-Paul Gosselaar of "Saved by the Bell") was a high-school nerd who left town to seek his fortune. And he succeeded - he's a computer whiz who's a top-ranking executive at huge firm.
Dennis comes back to the declining town of Hyperion Bay to head up the company's new software factory. And he's casting a big shadow on his older brother, Nick (Dylan Neal of "Dawson's Creek"), who was a big man on campus in high school who always overshadowed Dennis. But Nick's marriage and life in general are in about as much trouble as the town.
The brothers compete for the attention of their father (Raymond J. Barry) and both try to adjust to their new positions in life.
The supporting cast is good, including Sydney Penny as Dennis' girlfriend, Christina Moore as Nick's estranged wife, Cassidy Rae as the former high-school cheerleader Dennis had a crush on and Bart Johson - a longtime Utah resident - as the high school bully who's married to the former cheerleader.
Monday's episode is good, and the series demonstrates potential to be much better than that.
Oh, and there was also another reason for changing the show's title.
"Actually, `Bay' was added shortly after I heard a tour guide on the Warner Bros. studio lot refer to the show as `Hyper Ion.' No joke," Dougherty said. "I thought, `We need to put another word in there. It might help us a little bit.' "
As for the word `Hyperion,' that came from a street in Hollywood.
"If I'd turned the other way, the show might be called `Edgemont Bay,' " Daugherty said.
As for "L.A. Doctors," which debuts Monday at 9 p.m. on Ch. 2, it was originally announced at "L.A. Docs." But the title was changed to give it somewhat less of a sense of place for people who thought it was "L.A. Docks."
"We had a lot of people who thought it was set in in San Pedro, which was obviously confusing," said executive producer Michelle Ashford.
"They thought it was about stevedores," executive producer Mark Johnson added.
"L.A. Doctors" is another show with a good pilot that demonstrates potential - if it can avoid becoming too pompous and preachy.
The series revolves around four doctors. Three of them are middle-aged white guys who quit a corporate practice to open their own partnership, vowing that patients will come before business.
Robert Anthony (Ken Olin of "thirtysomething") is the promoter, a lifelong bachelor whose high ideals are oddly balanced with his craving for fame and fortune. Evan Newman (Rick Roberts) is another nice guy who's tortured by the breakup of his marriage, and by his desire to have patients be more than just numbers. And Tim Lonner (Matt Craven) is a husband and father whose family comes first.
Giving in to the realities of business, they hire a fourth doctor, Sarah Church (Sheryl Lee of "Twin Peaks"), to help bring in the bucks.
"L.A. Doctors" is the first television project from creator/execu-tive producer John Lee Hancock, whose filmwriting credits include "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," "The Peacemaker" and "A Perfect World." This project is earnest and likable, if not particularly original or compelling - at least not in Monday's pilot episode.
But it could develop into something worth watching - particularly for viewers who used to be accustomed to watching "Chicago Hope" in this time slot.