THREE NEW SHOWS: 2 UP AND 1 DOWN

If you’ve got fond memories of “Police Story,” NBC’s Emmy Award-winning mainstay from the ‘70s, stay away from “Police Story: The Freeway Killings,” a three-hour TV movie Sunday (8-11 p.m., Channels 4, 36 and 39).

Even though the network has crammed the show with lots of stellar acting talent (most notably Richard Crenna, Ben Gazzara and Frances Lee McCain), this drama is long on the intricacies of police procedure and short on savvy storytelling, which makes for a dull, plodding video stakeout.

Even the tale itself is pretty cobwebby, revolving around the pursuit of a crazed pair of serial killers. Writer Mark Rodgers and director William Graham supply plenty of gritty authenticity, but the film makers never figure out a way to bring any fresh insight to the investigative process.

The strongest parts of the show are its subplots, especially the one that focuses on deputy chief Robert Devers (Crenna), who’s involved in an uneasy struggle for control of the department.

Much of the story has an upstairs-downstairs structure, which allows us to cruise the mean streets with a pair of scruffy detectives (Don Meredith and Tony LoBianco) as well as to see the ferocious infighting among the top brass.

Unfortunately, the movie is padded with huge chunks of teary domestic drama, most of it involving Capt. Wright (Gazzara), who’s embroiled in a torrid affair with a leggy police woman (Angie Dickinson). Even though Dickinson is top-billed, she has a flimsy role--she spends much more time smooching with her boss than working on the case.

It’s refreshing to see Crenna shine in such a meaty part--he plays the brooding deputy chief with an appealing, quiet authority. His most affecting scene comes when he’s reunited with his old partner (Sam Vlahos), who’s still working the seamy Chinatown beat while Crenna patrols the shark-infested waters around City Hall.

Watching these two aging vets ponder their fates, you sense there are plenty of intriguing police stories yet to be told--ones with far more punch than this dreary cop-flop.