FRIENDS NBC, 8-8:30 PM
When last we saw Ross (David Schwimmer), he had just accidentally blurted out the name of ex-girlfriend Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) during his wedding to Emily (Helen Baxendale). What lies ahead? ''A bumpy road,'' promises cocreator David Crane. ''Rachel knows she loves him, but he doesn't know what he wants. And Emily's not leaving the picture so fast.'' There'll also be a ''neurotic roller coaster'' for secret new couple Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry): ''Where it ends we don't know yet,'' says Crane. We do know that perennially struggling actor Joey (Matt LeBlanc) may stage a one-man show, Joey: A Life, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) will give birth to her brother's triplets in the third episode -- which just happens to be Friends' 100th episode. Gee, you think NBC will publicize that? (Sept. 24)
FRASIER NBC, 9-9:30 PM
Even as they move into Seinfeld's plush former digs, Frasier's characters seem to be experiencing downward mobility. Having lost his job at KACL by inadvertently persuading the station owner to switch to an all-Latino-music format, Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) seeks employment elsewhere, with little success. At the same time, the divorce between Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Maris turns ugly, which, says exec producer Christopher Lloyd, ''results in Niles having to move out of his beautiful, stately apartment building and into a shabby convenience bachelor apartment.'' Two rough-edged recurring characters, a waitress at Cafe Nervosa and Niles' disreputable divorce attorney, join the ensemble (the roles are not yet cast). And Bebe Neuwirth's Lilith may not be the only Cheers alum making a guest appearance: Producers have approached Woody Harrelson about paying a visit to his old time slot. (Sept. 24)
VERONICA'S CLOSET NBC, 9:30-10 PM
Kirstie Alley's lingerie magnate gets a new partner -- and potential love interest -- in Ron Silver (Chicago Hope). He'll play a hard-nosed businessman who buys a controlling interest in her company. Turns out he's the stepdad of the fake-Brit rich brat played by James Wilder (Alley's real-life beau, who'll thankfully appear in only four episodes) and the ex-husband of Holland Taylor's character, who expired last season while making love to Veronica's presumed-gay assistant, Josh (Wallace Langham). Don't expect Josh to figure out his sexuality. ''He's a man with even more questions,'' says cocreator David Crane. ''But with an actor as funny as Wally, the more confusion, the better.'' And with a show as uneven as Veronica, the more Wally, the better. (Sept. 24)
ER NBC, 10-11 PM STARTS SEPT. 24
This time last year, Kellie Martin was an art history major at Yale. She was also a major ER fan. ''At school, everything stops for ER and South Park,'' she reports. Then she got a call from ER exec producer John Wells, who remembered her from Life Goes On. ''He asked if I was interested in doing the show,'' marvels Martin, who was equally awed her first day as med student Lucy Knight: ''I was starstruck, but then I went, 'Okay, these are your coworkers -- you can't ask for autographs.' ''
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