Surprisingly enough, there will be other things on television this fall besides navy blue dresses, cigars as sex toys and exact definitions of "sexual relations." And if you happen to have cable ...
Accusations of perjury in the White House scandal have certainly turned television sets on, but will Americans leave them on after the evening news to see what is or is not ready for prime-time?
Those who have been interested in the more steamy details released in the past few weeks might be inclined to start their tube watching Wednesday's lineup which is packed with attractive casts and passion-filled nights ahead.
The most talked-about young drama on TV last season, WB's "Dawson Creek" returns for its second season, this time pitted directly against the original young drama, "Beverly Hills, 90210" which features the return of Luke Perry.
"Party of Five" returns in its normal 9:00 time slot taking on 90210 grad Shannen Doherty and her new WB show "Charmed." Doherty and Alyssa Milano are two of three sisters who realize they have magical powers in what will attempt to be a sexier version of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch."
The October 7 showdown between Fox and WB promises to force teenagers to pull out their hair or at the very least pull out their VCRs.
Wednesday will also see "NewsRadio" attempt to recover from the death of Phil Hartman as "Saturday Night Live" buddy Jon Lovitz steps in to play a more romantically involved Max Lewis, WNYX's new anchor. Hartman's Bill McNeal will have suffered a heart attack when the season begins tonight at 9:30 on NBC.
NBC will benefit from a weak Thursday night lineup on the other networks and should be able to rebound from the loss of "Seinfeld."
"Friends" returns with all six cast members intact as this season should take viewers on a roller coaster ride including a possible reconciliation for Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). In addition, the secret relationship between Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) continues to blossom as the sextet head toward their 100th episode.
The highly-acclaimed "Frasier" returns as Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) looks for a new job; while there is talk of fellow "Cheers" alum Woody Harrelson making an appearance this season.
"Cheers" was only part of the reason why Thursday nights became the night that families sat down together in front of the television, but slowly that night is becoming Monday as some of the nation's most-loved shows appear at the beginning of the week.
ABC adds Boomer Esiasion to its Monday Night football lineup which moves up to 8:00 this year.
Meanwhile on CBS, "Cosby" returns with more character-driven plots and less slapstick while Ken Olin debuts in the drama "L. A. Doctors" at 10 p.m. which will attempt to examine the difficulties of doctors and patients today -- and will probably fail.
Perhaps the most encouraging new shows of the fall will run on Monday nights as "The King of Queens" debuts on CBS at 8:30 p.m. while "Will & Grace" opens its season in the 9:30 p.m. time slot on NBC. "The King of Queens" sits in between "Cosby" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" and should serve as a more than able bridge. Jerry Stiller from "Seinfeld" is a father-in-law who moves in above a young family making for wholesome laughs in an every-day sort of way.
Meanwhile, "Will & Grace" places a straight woman (the stunning Debra Messing) into an apartment with a gay man (Eric McCormack) ,obtaining sharp comedy and lots of laughs.
"Ally McBeal" returned last Monday to the delight of its fans with the show's same quirky touch and the addition of Portia de Rossi of "Scream 2" as another drop-dead gorgeous attorney.
Tuesday figures to be a big night for ABC with "Home Improvement" finishing up what will likely be its last season and "Spin City" poised to come into its own behind strong writing and the always-lovable Michael J. Fox.
As for the weekend, this fall's lineup looks terribly weak, even more so then usual. The only shows worth considering a grab of the remote are the charmingly witty "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (Friday, ABC, 9:00 p.m.) and the Sunday lineup on Fox including "The Simpsons" and "The X-Files."
No worries, though, rumor has it that the Clinton testimony will be available on videotape soon enough.
