LAX, 10 p.m. (debuts Sept. 13 on NBC) Heather Locklear is the tomboyish hottie who runs the runways at Los Angeles International Airport. Blair Underwood is the slick, clean-cut terminal manager. For some reason, both these type-A achievers are competing for the airport's top job after the head guy walks in front of a landing jet on purpose. Buzz factor: Can NBC really build a series on lost luggage, bomb scares and snarky repartee? If it features ever-popular bombshell Locklear, maybe so. Will it survive? Though it plays like a lame, upside-down take on The Terminal, never count out Locklear and Underwood, two of TV's most appealing actors.
THE REST
Listen Up, 8:30 p.m. (premieres Sept. 20 on CBS) Seinfeld alum Jason Alexander tries once again to drive a stake in George Costanza by playing sports columnist and TV commentator Tony Kleinman, a thinly veiled take on the Washington Post's Tony Kornheiser. Like Costanza, Kleinman likes to scream a lot and avoid work, but this time he's got a contemptuous teen daughter, put-upon wife and cool-dude TV sidekick, Cosby vet Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Buzz factor: Middling. Alexander's Kleinman is likable and funny in that mediocre way TV sitcoms have pioneered. Will it survive? Scheduled on CBS's bulletproof comedy night, it could feature a test pattern and still draw a crowd.
Second Time Around, 9:30 p.m. (premieres Sept. 20 on UPN) Real-life lovebirds and Soul Food alums Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker top another in UPN's string of uninspired, black-centered romantic comedies. This time, Kodjoe and Parker are a divorced buppie couple who decide to try marriage to each other - you guessed it - a second time. Buzz factor: Low. Developed by the minds behind Moesha and The Parkers, the show offers a thin framework for awful lines like "Marrying the same guy twice is like reheating leftovers. You can't put meatloaf in the microwave and expect it to come out a steak." Ummm, exactly. Will it survive? Parked comfortably in UPN's megasuccessful black-oriented Monday lineup, success is assured.
THE UNKNOWN (no advance episodes seen by press time)
The Benefactor, 8 p.m. (premieres Sept. 13 on ABC) Outspoken billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, rips off Donald Trump by making average folks jump through hoops to win $1-million. Isn't this like watching a well-fed gourmet wave steaks in front of starving people?
Renovate My Family, 9 p.m. (two-hour preview Wednesday, premieres Sept. 6 on Fox) Proving that annoying bluster may be hereditary, Dr. Phil offspring Jay McGraw heads a crew of experts that help families overcome obstacles in a "life improvement program" that seems cribbed directly from one of his dad's "Dr. Phil Family" segments. Developed by the fine minds that brought us Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance.
