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Monday

Capsule reviews of new shows on Monday night.

THE BEST

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.

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 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.