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C-16 ABC, 8-9 p.m. Starts Sept. 27
CONCEPT: Super-aggressive FBI division headed up by a good-hearted hotdogger played by a bearded Eric Roberts.
THE SCOOP: Despite the presence of the often over-the-top Roberts, C-16 intends to be briskly realistic. ''It's kind of a look behind the curtain,'' says exec producer Michael Duggan. ''It's like you were riding around in someone's shirt pocket, being a voyeur; what would that be like? That's the overall goal of the show.'' Roberts says he spent ''a lot of time'' at an FBI bureau to research his role. What'd he learn? ''If you're a great detective, you are a completely open-minded sponge.''
BOTTOM LINE: A 10 p.m. show in an 8 p.m. time slot, starring an actor known for playing nutjobs as the stalwart hero? Hey, we liked the first episode -- crisp and involving. But we also think next-door network neighbor Dr. Quinn's Jane Seymour can start adding that new wing to her house right about now.
TOTAL SECURITY ABC, 9-10 p.m. Starts Sept. 27
CONCEPT: The inner workings of a Los Angeles private security firm, courtesy of Steven Bochco's production company. Haven't you always wanted to see an alarm system being installed?
THE SCOOP: James Remar (the villain in 48 HRS.) plays the straight-edge head of the business; James Belushi is one of his investigators, an outta-control wack job. Says the Beloosh: ''It's really good chemistry here. My job is to bust [his chops]and have fun, and [Remar's] job is to try to keep the story lines straight. I just try to confuse him.''
BOTTOM LINE: The pilot lurched awkwardly between broad comedy and quiet drama, giving credence to the rumor that Bochco is just burning off his ABC contract with this one. Certainly he'll have little time for quality-controlling Security while his higher-profile Brooklyn South is on CBS, Bochco's new base of operations.
SLEEPWALKERS NBC, 9-10 p.m. Starts Nov. 1
CONCEPT: The Morpheus Institute enters people's dreams and helps them out of unconscious danger. This show needs SCTV's Count Floyd to intro it: ''Oooh, scarrrrry, boys and girls!''
THE SCOOP: The new addition to NBC's ''Thrillogy'' stars Bruce Greenwood from the under-viewed Nowhere Man; a costar is Abraham Benrubi, burly admissions clerk Jerry from ER. Benrubi takes a rather Jungian approach to the show's appeal: ''People are going to recognize symbolism and images from their own dreams in the dreams we explore on the show.... In one of the plotlines, my character goes into the dreams of a famous writer and we encounter some of the monsters he's created in his fiction. I'm looking forward to that.'' Whatja say, Abraham? Sorry, we dozed off there for a second...
BOTTOM LINE: Hard to imagine people tuning in to this one-note X-Files rip-off. But then, we thought the same thing about The Pretender and Profiler.
