Returning Shows

STAR TREK: VOYAGER UPN, 9-10 PM

Says exec producer Brannon Braga, ''Seven of Nine's nanoprobes from her bloodstream infect the doctor's mobile emitter, and a 29th-century Borg drone is born.'' Huh? Here's the stuff non-Trekkies might get: Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) gets drunk, Next Generation vet LeVar Burton directs the 100th episode, and Veronica's Closet's Wallace Langham guests as (in Braga's words) ''a kind of Winnie the Pooh of the future.'' Oh, bother! (Oct. 14)

NEWSRADIO NBC, 9:30-10 PM

Jon Lovitz steps in for late SNL pal Phil Hartman as WNYX's new anchor, Max Lewis (Hartman's Bill McNeal will have suffered a fatal heart attack when the season opens). Unlike bombastic Bill, ''Max wears his insecurities on his sleeve,'' says executive producer Josh Lieb. Still, he adds, ''there's going to be romantic intrigue with this new stud--it could be a real Betty and Veronica situation with Beth [Vicki Lewis] and Lisa [Maura Tierney].'' In other News, Ben Stiller will guest as a security consultant hired by station owner Jimmy James (Stephen Root). Even though creator Paul Simms is only consulting this season, don't look for a new NewsRadio. Says Lieb, ''If I say we're changing the show, I'll get hate mail from our three fans.'' (Sept. 23)

LAW & ORDER NBC, 10-11 PM

As usual, L&O's plotlines will be difficult to distinguish from New York Post headlines. Says exec producer Dick Wolf, ''We're doing one about a man who's killed while being dragged by a car, one about a mother-son murder team, and one about cops who get free use of prostitutes in midtown.'' And, as usual, there's a new cast member: Angie Harmon (C-16) as ADA Abbie Carmichael, a no-BS Texas transplant. ''The last thing I want to do is play her as the angry woman in power,'' says the native Texan. ''She's witty, she's quick, and she's got a great sense of humor. All of that comes from Texas, of course.'' (Sept. 23)