TV: Reviwing the New Season : It’s a Very Scary Business : ‘Mad’ finds some fun with horror themes; ‘Third Watch’ arrives in critical condition.

“Stark Raving Mad” is not only funny at times. It’s a new sitcom whose title may describe your condition after watching “Third Watch,” the other premiere it precedes tonight on NBC.

Occupying the coveted time slot following “Frasier” are Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris of “Stark Raving Mad” as prime time’s latest odd couple. The versatile Shalhoub (“Wings” and the theatrical film “Big Night”) is best-selling horror novelist Ian Stark, and Harris (“Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is Henry McNeely, the meek, fidgety, straight-arrow book editor of many phobias who is continually frightened out of his argyles by the author’s gruesome practical jokes and macabre research.

Stark lives on the edge that young McNeely won’t even approach because he suffers from both timidity and vertigo. McNeely also has a thing about health and cleanliness, and carries with him at all times a multitude of sanitizing antibacterial sprays and lotions.

Although the comedy is broad (including Stark’s dog getting amorous with McNeely), the clash of personalities produces some jolts of wild humor, thanks in part to James Burrows’ direction and perfect comic timing by Harris, who may set a modern sitcom record for both spritzing and crying out: “Oh, my God!”

Yet just as McNeely at one point accuses Stark of being a one-book writer, you have to wonder if “Stark Raving Mad” won’t turn out to be a one-note series, selling the same gimmick week after week.

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The formulaic “Third Watch” is selling something that only viewers with a yen for stale TV and generic ensemble casts will be buying.

Stop reading if this seems familiar, but some really great-looking cops, firefighters and paramedics are out there working for you, and doing it from 3 to 11 p.m., accompanied by driving, frantic, big-beat music.

This series is from the producers of NBC’s “ER.” And the only one here who isn’t a stock character is out-of-control, walking time bomb, dangerous hothead Bosco Boscorelli (Jason Wiles), whose seemingly severe emotional problems are tossed off facetiously in the premiere, apparently because he’s brave and plucks a kid from a fire. Next time, he may killone.

The action is as nonstop as the music, with a veteran cop (Skipp Sudduth) having a snit over his green partner (Coby Bell), one paramedic (Kim Raver) delivering a baby and another getting shot in the chest and then rushed to the hospital as the episode ends. Unless he was inadvertently omitted from the cast picture, he won’t survive long.

Nor will this series, you’d like to think. Next stop for “Third Watch” will be its regular Sunday night time slot, where--the good news is--it has God (“Touched by an Angel” on CBS) going against it.

* “Stark Raving Mad” airs tonight at 9:30 on NBC. The network has rated it TV-PG (maybe unsuitable for young children).

* “Third Watch” premieres tonight at 10 on NBC, before moving to its Sunday at 8 p.m. time slot. The network has rated it TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14).