SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : Dr. Will’s cure for TV ills: Find the good stuff, watch closely

He may wear Orville Redenbacher’s trademark bow tie and spectacles, but all Dr. Will Miller advocates is closer scrutiny of shows aimed at youngsters.

“I encourage the audience, and parents, to look at the messages of programs,” says Nick at Nite’s resident commentator at large.

A comedian and psychotherapist with master’s degrees in clinical social work, education and divinity, Dr. Will does for Nick at Nite what Russell Baker and Alistair Cooke before him did for PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre”--puts shows in perspective.

And sometimes with unexpected observations. “ ‘Gilligan’s Island’ is about rage,” he proclaims. “Here is a young man who through his ineptitude . . . “

Well, what about “The Dick Van Dyke Show”? “Who put the ottoman in Rob’s path on ‘Dick Van Dyke’? Was it perhaps Laura or Richie, angry that Rob is more bound to work than he is at home? Or did Rob set it there himself, out of guilt?”

Dr. Will may lace his views with humor, but he’s quite serious: “I want people to look at the meaning of television shows,” he says from a Los Angeles hotel, where he’s at work on his new NBC talk show.

Parents who want quality shows for their kids should find those that avoid “gratuitous violence. You look for good messages congruent with what you want to infiltrate into your family.”

And while precocious on-screen kids may be proliferating, he doesn’t see that as any kind of step forward: “The very unhelpful trend seems to be for children to be smarter than their parents. It’s annoying and not helpful to portray parents as dumb. The basic problem is, it’s not true.”

Television, he believes, should teach kids the core values: “authority, kindness and safety issues, such as not talking to strangers and inappropriate contact.”

Those safety concerns have led some shows, he says, to “overplay the ‘be careful of authority’ message.” This good-hearted but misguided message, he adds, makes kids feel unsafe. “Kids should be taught to be careful, but they should believe that isn’t the norm.”

What everyone should avoid, he points out, are any kind of extremes. “Good programming,” says Dr. Will, “is somewhere in the middle.” And where do parents find some of that?

“Shining Time Station” (PBS): “They’ve got great characters. There are also wonderful lessons, like don’t make problems worse by bickering, don’t take short cuts to winning. What impresses me most are the wonderfully told stories.”

“The Adventures of Pete & Pete” (Nickelodeon): “Here’s an example of a show that’s wonderfully produced and entertaining. What’s positive is, despite the tendency to make the parents dumb, in the end, Mom and Dad do know best. The show does what kids do naturally. It’s multicultural and not self-consciously so.”

“Steven Spielberg’s Animaniacs” (Fox): “This show has a lot of crossover and adult references and wonderful animation. It’s got a great fast pace kids can really get into. I just wish that they were more accurate in their historical portrayals.”

“Sesame Street” (PBS): “Always a great show. I think they do a really good job of mixing fantasy with reality, which is where kids are at that age.”

For older kids, being glued to MTV, he says, is normal. “At 12 and 13, they want to watch adult programming--and will.”

But parents, he emphasizes, must “increasingly control the volume of viewing that kids do. Television doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be a baby-sitter by default. Parents need to watch programming very intentionally--and intervene more.”

Dr. Will’s last word: “There’s really very little on TV aimed at kids that’s doing damage, and if there is, it’s because parents refuse to become involved in their kids’ lives and in their viewing. That’s the bottom line.”

Dr. Will can be seen between programming on “Nick at Nite” on Nickelodeon. His talk show, “The Other Side With Dr. Will Miller” will premiere in mid-October on NBC.