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By Kristen Baldwin
Kristen Baldwin
Kristen Baldwin
Kristen Baldwin is an assistant managing editor for EW

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL CBS, 8-9 PM

It's not going to be Ozzie and Harriet,'' says coexec producer Jon Andersen. ''We're not avoiding issues that are delicate and troublesome.'' A few topics on the agenda: mental illness (in an episode guest-starring Margot Kidder and Chad Lowe), autism, spousal abuse, and AIDS. Star Roma Downey has a pet cause she'd like to address: ''I'm trying to convince them that if we can take on civil rights in China [in last season's finale], we could deal with political unrest in Northern Ireland.'' Would that mean a free trip to her native land? ''I fear CBS execs will say, 'If they re-created Beijing in Salt Lake City, they can re-create Ireland.' So I have a feeling I'll be buying me own ticket home.'' (Sept. 20)

THE SIMPSONS FOX, 8-8:30 PM

Guest voices include Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Ron Howard, George Carlin, Martin Mull, Fred Willard, Mark Hamill, and Cyndi Lauper. Yet the biggest coup will come in the Super Bowl episode: a cartoon cameo from Fox overlord Rupert Murdoch. ''He auditioned along with several other billionaires,'' quips executive producer Mike Scully. ''It came down to him, Bill Gates, and the Olsen twins.'' The annual Halloween episode will feature Homer getting a hair transplant from a serial killer, Bart and Lisa being sucked into their TV, and the revelation that Homer isn't Maggie's father. Perhaps scariest of all: ''We'll be airing an episode called 'Simpsons Bible Stories,' because I felt we weren't getting quite enough mail,'' says Scully, who, nevertheless, quickly adds that ''Homer won't be playing Jesus.'' (Sept. 20)

THE X-FILES FOX, 9-10 PM

The season-six premiere picks up plot threads from this summer's movie -- including the near kiss between Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). ''No one is pretending it didn't happen,'' says exec producer Frank Spotnitz. ''There's a new awareness of how they feel about each other.'' No one is pretending the show's not shooting in a new location, either (the production moved from Vancouver to L.A. so Duchovny could be near wife Tea Leoni). ''We're trying to take advantage of stories you can tell in a warmer-weather climate,'' says Spotnitz. ''Our first comedy two-parter is set in Area 51 in Nevada, which is something we never could have done in Vancouver.'' Mimi Rogers reprises her role from last season's finale as a mysterious FBI agent, and James Pickens Jr. joins the recurring cast as new assistant director Kersh. Don't panic, rabid Mitch Pileggi fans: You have not seen the last of Skinner. (Nov. 8)

THE PRACTICE ABC, 10-11 PM - STARTS SEPT. 27

Validation, anyone? David E. Kelley's once-beleaguered law series received it in spades this summer: First, ABC rewarded The Practice with a plum Sunday-at-10 time slot, making it the sole drama option in a TV-movie wasteland. Next, Emmy blew four big kisses (one nomination for Outstanding Drama Series) the cast's way. ''It feels like we're finally poised to break through,'' says Jeffrey Kramer, president of David E. Kelley Productions. The time slot ''is long overdue and fabulous for the show. Fox's X-Files is a great lead-in.''


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