CBS MAKING ROOM FOR FALL SHOWS

CBS-TV will eliminate two of its movie nights, the 4-year-old “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and a batch of first-year series to make room for eight hours of new prime-time programming for the fall season, the No. 2-rated network said Thursday.

The cancellation of two of its three two-hour movie blocks along with the weekly series means CBS will be replacing a whopping 36% of its schedule with new programming as it bids to end NBC’s two-year prime-time ratings reign.

Along with the Tuesday and Saturday movies, missing from CBS’ fall lineup will be “The Twilight Zone,” “The New Mike Hammer” and “Scarecrow & Mrs. King,” a romantic adventure series that debuted in 1983.

Another long-running series, “Simon & Simon,” which made its debut in the fall of 1981, also is missing from the 1987-88 schedule, but CBS said that it has ordered 13 new episodes to use as a midseason replacement.

Other first-year CBS shows that failed to win renewal included “The Wizard,” “The Cavanaughs,” “Hard Copy,” “Outlaws,” “Spies” and “The Popcorn Kid.”

At a news conference in New York Thursday, CBS Entertainment President B. Donald (Bud) Grant explained that the “extraordinary” decision to eliminate two movie nights from the schedule was spurred by the fact that CBS “has enjoyed the best program development season we’ve had for five or six years.”

Seven new one-hour dramas and two half-hour comedies will join 15 returning series on the schedule, which will continue to feature “Designing Women,” “Houston Knights” and “My Sister Sam,” newcomers this season, along with such long-running hits as “Dallas,” “Cagney & Lacey,” “Newhart” and “Magnum, P.I.”

CBS’ two news magazine shows were also renewed: the popular “60 Minutes” and, surprisingly, “West 57th,” which has received consistently abysmal ratings. CBS Broadcast Group President Gene Jankowski, however, qualified the latter’s renewal by saying that, even though it is listed as a Saturday-night regular for the fall, “West 57th” still might not return in the fall if its ratings do not improve during the summer.

“West 57th” does have the support of the top two CBS executives, Chairman William S. Paley and Chief Executive Laurence A. Tisch, who on Thursday called the series a “quality” offering and said that “we have to give it time to develop.”

The Nielsen returns may not be the only factor in determing the fate of “West 57th,” Paley added. “I don’t think that the final decision will be based on ratings alone. . . . In other words, I want to say this isn’t only a ratings race. This is a quality race as well.”

The new half-hour comedies joining the CBS lineup are “Everything’s Relative,” scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. Mondays, and “Frank’s Place,” to air at 8 p.m. Saturdays.

The first stars Jason Alexander and John Bolger as two bachelor brothers--one a shy, divorced workaholic, the other a fun-loving construction worker--who share a New York City apartment. “Frank’s Place” stars Tim Reid as a starchy college professor who inherits a New Orleans restaurant called Chez Louisianne in a predominantly black neighborhood.

The new one-hour dramas are “Jake and the Fatman,” “The Law and Harry McGraw,” “The Oldest Rookie,” “Tour of Duty,” “Wise Guy,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Leg Work.”

“Jake and Fatman,” slated for 9 p.m. Tuesdays, stars William Conrad, the former star of “Cannon,” as J.L. (Fatman) McCabe, a tough district attorney in a large Southern California city, and former “Riptide” star Joe Penny as Jake Styles, his undercover investigator who affects a mysteriously expensive life style.

“The Law and Harry McGraw,” which will follow in the Tuesday 10 p.m. slot, is the story of a streetwise Boston private eye (Jerry Orbach, a veteran of “Murder, She Wrote”) and his relationship with a patrician, recently widowed lawyer (Barbara Babcock) who occupies the office across the hall.

“The Oldest Rookie,” for 8 p.m. Wednesdays, stars Paul Sorvino as a former deputy chief of police who decides to return to the streets as a regular non-ranked cop.

“Tour of Duty,” which will be competing with NBC’s top-rated “The Cosby Show” and its spin-off, “A Different World,” from 8-9 p.m. Thursdays, is an ensemble drama about a platoon of U.S. soldiers during their one-year stint in Vietnam in the late 1960s.

CBS executives denied that “Tour of Duty” was inspired by the success of the Oliver Stone film “Platoon,” saying the series was in development before the movie was released. It will be the only Vietnam series on the air in the fall, although ABC has two Vietnam miniseries in the works and NBC is developing a movie about that war.

“Wise Guy,” which will follow on Thursdays at 9 p.m., is an action series about an undercover federal agent (Ken Wahl) who has infiltrated the ranks of organized crime.

“Beauty and the Beast,” slated for the 8 p.m. Friday slot, stars Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman in a “fantasy-action drama” about a powerful man/beast whose hideous exterior hides a heart of gold. The beast lives underground in New York City.

“Leg Work,” for 9 p.m. Saturdays, stars Margaret Colin as an assistant district attorney who decides to become a private detective.

Here is a night-by-night rundown on the CBS schedule (subject to change before the season begins in September):

Monday: “Kate & Allie,” “Everything’s Relative,” “Newhart,” “Designing Women,” “Cagney & Lacey.”

Tuesday: “Houston Knights,” “Jake and the Fatman,” “The Law and Harry McGraw.”

Wednesday: “The Oldest Rookie,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “The Equalizer.”

Thursday: “Tour of Duty,” “Wise Guy,” “Knots Landing.”

Friday: “Beauty and the Beast,” “Dallas,” “Falcon Crest.”

Saturday: “Frank’s Place,” “My Sister Sam,” “Leg Work,” “West 57th.”

Sunday: “60 Minutes,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “CBS Sunday Movie.”

Staff Writer Jay Sharbutt contributed to this article from New York.