Commentary : ON-LINE AT HOME: ONE MORE WAY TO KEEP A LOYAL FAN HOOKED

You’ve just finished watching “Melrose Place” and would love to dish the dirt about Amanda’s hairdo, wardrobe or skillful abuse of men.

But office cooler chat is a long, bleak nighttime away. So you sidle up to a source of instant gratification: the computer that will carry you into cyberspace to meet fellow “Place” junkies.

Or fans of “The Nanny.” Or Mike Judge, creator of “Beavis and Butt-head.” Or Peter Jennings, who answered Election Day questions via computer. Or talk-show host Greg Kinnear.

Increasingly, on-line services such as Prodigy, CompuServe, America Online and Delphi are helping TV networks open up a brave new world of marketing and promotion--ummm, we mean communication.

The Internet, a worldwide amalgam of computer networks that is free to the public, is also abuzz with TV chatter.

“This gives a network an opportunity to build loyalty, to have a closer personal relationship with viewers,” says Prodigy executive Barbara Bellafiore Sanden, who oversees on-line services for about 40 cable and broadcast networks.

And possibly attract more viewers? The recent success of the science-fiction film “Stargate” has been credited in part to an aggressive on-line campaign.

“It’s a little early to tell, but that’s part of what we’re all betting on: This is another promotional tool to cut through all the clutter out there,” Sanden says.

It’s also, she notes, a way for networks to dip their toes into much-discussed interactivity, using computers for now instead of TV sets.

So-called “bulletin boards” that let computer users talk amongst themselves are a longtime on-line staple. In the past year, a growing number of actors, producers and network executives have begun sitting down for keyboard chats as well.

Entertainment, as much as information, is the goal. Asked by one fan if he’d ever had a paranormal experience, producer Chris Carter of Fox’s “The X-Files” replied: “I was audited by the IRS once. Beyond that, I’d have to say no.”

Fran Drescher, star of the CBS sitcom “The Nanny,” offered this advice on breaking into show business during a recent on-line Q&A;: “Start young, get into a play ... or have a relative with the last name Sheen or a brother with the last name Baldwin.”

A producer or network may browse through bulletin board comments to sample viewer comment. And it can be widespread: One “X-Files” fan logs in to Delphi from the North Pole; others come aboard from Australia.

“What I get from it is a certain, immediate feedback from people who are watching the show, a visceral reaction to what we’re doing,” says Carter, a regular reader of computer chat. “It’s like going to a good party and having a spirited debate,” he says.

“There’s a lot of fun, frivolous stuff out there, like the ‘David Duchovny Estrogen Brigade’ and the ‘Gillian Anderson Testosterone Brigade,”’ Carter says, naming on-line fan clubs for his series’ stars.

Networks are beginning to use information gleaned from the computer in decision-making; Fox compiles a memo for department heads based on on-line comments, says network executive Charles Kennedy.

Networks also are pumping a stream of goodies and enticements out to cement the bond between viewers and programs and, in some cases, to turn computer flow into cash flow.

CBS, in conjunction with automaker Ford, created a Prodigy promotion for the miniseries “Scarlett” that included giving away a free car.

At this point, the on-line universe is small compared to the 98% of U.S. homes with television. Prodigy, one of the leading on-line services, has about 2 million members, who pay $9.95 for five hours on-line and $2.95 an hour thereafter.

But it’s a potent group of consumers, claims Sanden: Members tend to be affluent and better-educated. And when they’re sitting in front of their computers, not watching television, is that a network cause for concern?

“I think this probably makes people more interested in television,” says Matt Jacobson, a Fox executive responsible for network Delphi activities.

Perhaps the apogee of the Computer Age has come.