‘Saturday Night’ Lifts Networks Out of Saturday Doldrums

TV or not TV. . . .

SURVIVOR: “Saturday Night Live” has suddenly taken on a new and important role for network television.

With Saturday’s prime-time lineups the dullest and least-watched of the week, “SNL” has become a needed oasis for network viewers.

Perhaps more than ever, “SNL,” now in its 18th season, is one of the few network reasons not to switch over to cable or VCRs--or to switch back.

Last weekend’s outing, with comedian Sinbad outstanding as guest host and performer, was an example of how the NBC series simply elevates the network out of the doldrums.

Luckily, NBC has one of the few Saturday prime-time series that fares well--the drama “Sisters,” which actually seems to be thriving in what looks like a death slot from 10 to 11 p.m.

“Sisters” may keep some viewers in there waiting for “Saturday Night Live” a half-hour later, but the comedy series really has a life of its own despite its years of ups and downs.

And let’s have more of Sinbad.

SURREAL: Whoever thought up the idea of scheduling HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show” against the late-night, celebrity talk programs that it spoofs deserves a bonus.

The Garry Shandling series will air Monday through Friday at 11 p.m. for two weeks starting Dec. 7, and zapping back and forth between this fictional half-hour takeoff and the real thing should be hysterical.

Shandling’s show is a deliciously incisive and knowledgeable entry, sometimes spiced with properly vicious insights into the world of real-life TV.

With Shandling as the host, the series also uses real stars as guests in the talk-show mold, which should heighten the send-up even more.

When all is said and done, “The Larry Sanders Show” is probably more truthful TV than the series it satirizes.

EXTRA POINT: The last quarter of UCLA’s 38-37 victory over USC was one of the best TV shows of this season--or any other.

AWAKENING: First came Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X.” And now, in the wake of the widely praised film, CBS has scheduled an hour news special about the late black leader for Dec. 3. It will be anchored by Dan Rather, and the network is calling it “Malcolm X: The Real Story.”

BENCH STRENGTH: ABC has a habit of picking off plum journalists from other TV organizations--from NBC’s David Brinkley to CBS’ Diane Sawyer to notable producers.

So it’s only in character that ABC landed CNN anchor Catherine Crier, a former Texas judge, as a soon-to-be correspondent for “20/20.” She’s clearly a long-term investment, and if Barbara Walters decides at some point to retire from the series, Crier would surely seem a contender if she delivers well in her new job.

CENTRAL CASTING: If HBO’s idea is to use an impressive cast to lure audiences to the AIDS drama “And the Band Played On,” it certainly seems to be taking effective steps.

In addition to the previously announced Richard Gere, Whoopi Goldberg and Matthew Modine, the pay channel now has added Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, Phil Collins and Ian McKellen.

The much-anticipated TV production is based on Randy Shilts’ classic, best-selling study of the early years of the epidemic. The book has traveled a long road in finally making it to the home screen.

Alda plays a medical researcher, Huston a doctor, Collins a bathhouse owner and McKellen a gay activist who urges the closing of bathhouses.

Filming began Nov. 12. No air date yet.

TOUGH GUY: ABC’s moderately successful Saturday series “The Commish,” about a top cop, features Telly Savalas (“Kojak”) Dec. 19 in the first of three episodes as a mobster. Some guys just look natural in heavy overcoats and hats.

LEGEND: Jimmy Durante is one of the half-dozen greatest entertainers I ever saw, so it was a kick to see him in one of those newly syndicated Ed Sullivan clip shows on KCBS-TV Channel 2. But the shows are really lousy because of the brutal cutting that allows barely more than a glimpse of most acts.

THE LAST LAUGH: NBC scored big in prime time with “Saturday Night Live’s Presidential Bash” at the start of the November ratings sweeps. And now it’s revving up a two-hour special marking the 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking “Laugh-In” series for the February sweeps.

FATE: OK, so the 1950s-set “Brooklyn Bridge” is on “hiatus,” with CBS promising to bring back what could be its final seven episodes later this season. Well, as it happens, the 13th and last episode in production has a subplot dealing with a CBS show of the 1950s--”The Buccaneers”--that was canceled to make way for . . . “Perry Mason.”

All right, couch potatoes, what was “The Buccaneers”? Well, it was an adventure series set in the West Indies in the early 1700s, with Robert Shaw as a reformed pirate. Actually, we’re told, the subplot has been planned for a while and would have been done whether or not “Brooklyn Bridge” is canceled.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW: Some of the nation’s top young female comedians get a major network showcase Saturday when Bob Hope’s NBC special features stand-up performers Margaret Cho, Anita Wise, Carol Siskind, Wendy Liebman and Kathleen Madigan.

IMPORTANT STUFF: Since you’re probably not watching network prime time on Saturdays anyway, you’ll be able to catch the Nobel Prize ceremonies on superstation TBS on Dec. 12--a Saturday--beginning at approximately 7:50 p.m. The time is approximate because the Nobel Prizes have to wait for an Atlanta Hawks basketball game to end. This is known as great audience flow.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: “Major Dad” ranked eighth among all series last season as part of CBS’ cushy Monday night lineup. This season, it was switched to Fridays--and in the ratings announced last week, it finished 48th.

BEING THERE: “Why can’t a guy just be a happy slob?”--Bud Anderson (Billy Gray) in “Father Knows Best.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .