TV REVIEW : An Unpromising Debut for ‘In Concert’ : ABC brings back ‘live’ rock music on Friday nights but Poison and Slaughter fail to excite.

ABC’s restoration of “live” rock music to the airwaves isn’t likely to cut short very many Friday night dates, at least if the debut of “ABC’s In Concert ‘91” on Friday was a measure of its ambition and quality.

For the cable disenfranchised and those who’ve been away from civilization, the sight of a couple of mediocre metal bands strutting around might hold some interest. But with MTV rolling along, with MTV-style video shows on network schedules, with racks of concert videos available at the corner strip-mall, an hour of Poison and Slaughter doesn’t exactly jump out at you.

The 14-week series, airing at midnight on Fridays, is trumpeted as the return of live rock to network TV, as if the liveness is reason to tune in. But the Poison concert wasn’t as live on the tube Friday as it was two weeks ago when it took place at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. Plenty of time to bleep the coarser words uttered by Poison’s Bret Michaels.

Anyway, you’re not likely to get much spontaneity from bands with the wind-up mentality of these scampering hams. Poison came off amiably enough as it ripped off the New York Dolls, and singer Mark Slaughter’s imitation of an air-raid siren was a curious novelty. Actually, the third-billed BulletBoys had the show’s most creative moment, with their semi-metal version of a Tom Waits song, “Hang on St. Christopher.”

Hot rock-video hand Marty Callner directed without much inspiration, offering the usual arbitrary cuts from short to long, front to side, band to fans, and back again.

“In Concert’s” upcoming schedule promises more musical substance, if no coherent direction. Sting, George Michael and Roxette are scheduled this week, and future shows will feature David Bowie, the Grateful Dead, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Cher and Bonnie Raitt.