Television Coverage : A Few Basic Rules for Surviving This Onslaught

America, meet Bryant Gumbel --again.

Way back when, Gumbel was familiar to a generation of sports fans who watched him host NBC’s Sunday NFL pregame show. Then, not-as-way back when, Gumbel became familiar to a generation of early morning viewers as cohost of NBC’s “Today” show. Now, Gumbel will become familiar to the captive, prime-time audience that will sit back for the next 17 days and gaze at the Summer Olympics on NBC.

Gumbel, a well-prepared, confident on-air presence, already has a sense of what he will bring the viewer as prime-time host.

“If you are asking me what the job description is,” Gumbel said, “I would say it is not a far cry from what (ABC’s) Jim McKay has done over the years--it is to make an easy transition from one venue to the next. It is, where necessary, to be the person who fills the time in what we hope is an entertaining and informative fashion. It is, to a certain extent, to be a guide through 17 days of action and establish a measure of continuity.”

If it were only so easy for the viewer.

We will be faced with 179 1/2 hours of NBC Olympic coverage beaming into our living rooms. God created the world in less time. NBC will have all the technical gizmos of our time at its disposal-point-of-view cameras, computer graphics, split-screen coverage capabilities, et al. The key for the viewer is to know when to watch aggressively, when to watch passively and when not to watch. Hereinafter is our specially prepared Guide To The Summer Games For The Discriminating Viewer, or 12 Tips To Making It To The World Series Without Dying From Olympic Overexposure:

-- Make sure to set your dial for NBC -- that’s N-B-C -- rather than ABC, which has done every Summer Olympics since 1968 (except for the U.S.-boycotted ’80 Games in Moscow).

-- Prepare for baby boomer broadcasts. Of NBC’s seven studio hosts -- Jimmy Cefalo, Bob Costas, Gayle Gardner, Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley, Ahmad Rashad and Maria Shriver -- Gumbel, who will turn 40 Sept. 29, is the oldest. And NBC Sports’ executive producer, Michael Weisman, is 38.

-- Play-by-play announcers to avoid: Bob Trumpy (volleyball), Bucky Waters (rowing, canoeing and kayaking).

-- Analysts to avoid: Bart Conner (gymnastics), Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics), Candy Costie-Burke (synchronized swimming).

-- Go to the West Coast during the Games. This will put you 3,000 miles closer to the action -- or further away, depending on which direction you think Seoul is -- and the 17-hour time difference between L.A. and Seoul (rather than the 14-hour time difference between Washington and Seoul) will give you more time to do things during the day before sitting in to watch the action. Actually, it will give you less time -- because coverage will start earlier out there -- but you’ll feel like it’s more time because of the better weather, fresher produce and higher roadway speed limits.

-- Skip all synchronized swimming coverage.

-- On Thursday, Sept. 22 and Thursday, Sept. 29, for a change of pace, watch CBS’ prime-time schedule instead; no one else ever does. (Sure, you’ll miss the men’s basketball final on Sept. 29, but you’ll also miss the synchronized swimming solo final and four men’s canoeing finals.)

-- Pace yourself. Never watch more than 150 consecutive minutes in a sitting or more than eight hours in a day, and never watch both the 7 a.m.-to-9 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.-to-2:30 a.m. Olympic shows in the same day.

-- If you insist on watching most of the coverage, vary your viewing venues (Example: Living-room TV in the morning, den TV in the afternoon, bedroom TV in the evening, Sony Walkman TV on weekends while you go shopping). This will create the illusion of variety, making it seem like you’re watching several different programs.

-- Johnny Carson and David Letterman are pre-empted for the entirety of the Games, which means viewers seeking a late-night comedy break from the Olympics will have to depend on “Geraldo.”

Like the North Koreans, some of you may wish to boycott the Games entirely. In fact, it may be better to wait until the Summer Olympics are over before viewing any of the competition. In that case:

-- Wait for the Bud Greenspan version of the Games or ...