OPPOSITES: Northridge’s A.J. Langer, 20, plays Rayanne,...

OPPOSITES: Northridge’s A.J. Langer, 20, plays Rayanne, the brash party girl on the new ABC teen drama, “My So-Called Life,” which premieres tonight. But in real life, A.J. was the total opposite. She was even student body president in ninth grade at Nobel Junior High. . . . “Rayanne would have liked me because I would have been the perfect target for her,” she says.

NEW FORMAT: The Valley is getting a new country radio station. . . . Starting Sept. 10, the adult contemporary KGMX-FM (94.3) in Mission Hills will simulcast KIK-FM, a country station in Orange. That presents a challenge to KZLA-FM, which has had the field to itself (F2) in L.A. . . . Some of KMGX’s dozen employees may get jobs with KIK, said its president and general manager Art Astor.

QUALITY TIME: Torey Lovullo loves hanging out with his 9-month-old son, Nicky (above), in Northridge. Except Lovullo, a Montclair Prep standout, plays baseball for the Seattle Mariners and would prefer to be doing that now (C12). . . . There was no big news on the strike front Wednesday. Owners and players met in New York, but no real progress was reported (C3).

DEATH RECORD: It didn’t take long to surpass that grim record for Metrolink accidents, set in Glendale last week when three members of a family were killed by a commuter train at a popular shortcut site. Just nine days. A Metrolink train hit a car in Riverside Wednesday, killing the four occupants. . . . That brings the number of such deaths this year to 13 (A3).

PEPPERONI HIGHWAY? In Santa Cruz this week, computer users with a modem can dial up an illustrated Pizza Hut menu and order a meal from the screen (D1). . . . So how will Van Nuys-based Numero Uno respond? It already allows orders by fax, points out president Ron Gelet. Besides, he says, “there’s always the possibility of bogus hackers screwing up the system.”