Pam Dawber, who used to play the...

Pam Dawber, who used to play the fresh-faced young woman in “Mork & Mindy,” will have a different look for “Geisha,” a TV movie that’s being filmed in Japan for CBS. She stars in a story that is based in part on the experiences of an American anthropology student who became a geisha as part of a research project. Also in the cast are Dorothy McGuire and Stephanie Faracy.

Production is due to begin this week on “Mafia Princess,” a TV movie for NBC starring Tony Curtis and Susan Lucci of “All My Children.” Lucci portrays Antionette Giancana, author of the book on which the movie is based, and Curtis will play her father, organized crime boss Sam Giancana.

Bobby Ewing will finally be buried when “Dallas” resumes on CBS Sept. 27. The eighth year of the adventures of the Ewings and Barnes families kicks off with a two-hour opener, in which J.R. is asked to execute the terms of his slain brother’s will.

“Charley Hannah” will be a family affair for the Conrads. Robert Conrad is starring in the TV movie for ABC as a policeman who takes a 13-year-old boy under his wing after the teen-ager accidentally kills his best friend. Conrad’s daughter, Joan, is the executive producer of the movie and his son, Shane, will play the boy.

Briefly noted: Alex (Michael J. Fox) will have a steady girlfriend on “Family Ties” this season, played by Tracy Pollan. . . . Florence Halop, who played Mrs. Hufnagel on “St. Elsewhere” last season, has been set to replace the late Selma Diamond as the female bailiff on “Night Court”. . . . “The A-Team” is taking to the high seas for one of its adventures this season. A two-hour episode was filmed in part aboard the cruise ship Tropicale en route from San Pedro to Mexico.

On the road: “Magnum, P.I.” opens its sixth season Sept. 26 with a two-hour episode filmed in London. Among the guest stars is Francesca Annis, who starred in “Lillie” on “Masterpiece Theatre”. . . . “Murder, She Wrote” is filming an episode in Hawaii for the coming season. Both series air on CBS.

Public television station WNET is looking for $2 million to help underwrite “The Struggles for Poland,” a projected nine-part series about the history of the Polish people and their fight to preserve their culture and identity amid persistent interference from other countries. The series, which is being targeted for a 1987 telecast on the Public Broadcasting Service, is overseen by Martin Smith, a producer on “The World at War” and “Vietnam: A Television History.”

CBS has set Sept. 29 for the telecast of “Amos,” a TV movie in which Kirk Douglas plays a 78-year-old former minor-league baseball player who is confined to a nursing home because of an automobile accident. There he comes into conflict with a nurse portrayed by Elizabeth Montgomery. Other patients are played by Dorothy McGuire, Pat Morita and Ray Walston.

Ballet is the background setting of “Mirrors,” a TV movie that NBC plans to broadcast Sept. 16. Marguerite Hickey stars as a young woman who moves to New York to pursue a dancing career, only to have romance get in the way. The men in her life are played by Antony Hamilton, formerly of “Cover Up,” and Timothy Daly.