TUESDAY NIGHT COMEDY CLUB

THE 'SNL' BAILOUT When Phil Hartman left SNL last spring, he had a deal for a prime-time series for NBC. It wasn't NewsRadio. He first sold the network on a sitcom based on his character Chick Hazard, a Greenwich Village private eye who battles aliens. "Then (NBC) thought it was a little too different and precious," says Hartman, so the network suggested a variety show. That idea was scrapped when NBC's Martin Short Show imploded last fall. The experience "created a lot of anxiety for me," Hartman concedes, but he now views it as "a blessing." And he says he's relieved to have a supporting role on NewsRadio: "I don't feel like it has as much risk as a show with my name on it. If it tanks, they usually put the blame on the label." Though he admits that SNL's shift toward more juvenile humor helped lead to his departure, Hartman, 46, claims to feel no generation gap with such youthful NewsRadio colleagues as Foley, 32, and Simms, 29. "That isn't a problem here because Paul's so damn smart," he says. "His ability to turn a phrase and to come up with the clever reference and to somehow create a story with a beginning, middle, and end-that's sophisticated territory." Both Simms and Hartman say they were determined not to make NewsRadio anchor Bill McNeal yet another Ted Baxter clone. "Ted Baxter was tacky and shabby," says Simms. "I wanted Bill to be smart, manipulative, and smooth." Hartman agrees: "He's not stupid, he's just self-absorbed and out of touch. Bill McNeal is fertile ground for exploration because he's rife with inadequacies."

GETTING SMARTER For most actors, it's a dream: to be on two prime-time series at the same time. For Andy Dick, it turned out to be a nightmare. Dick starred in Fox's Get Smart revival as the pratfall-prone son of agents 86 (Don Adams) and 99 (Barbara Feldon). One day after Smart's January premiere, Dick appeared before a group of TV critics to plug NewsRadio, for which he had already done the pilot. "The worst thing I said was that I prefer NewsRadio," says Dick, 29. "Any viewer would. I wasn't saying anything I - hadn't heard from Fox people." Dick's frank comments were widely published, and he reports that he "got in gigantic trouble" with HBO, Smart's producer. Luckily, Fox quickly axed the low-rated show, and Dick was freed to join the cast of NewsRadio full-time. "I had a lot of fun doing Get Smart, but fun isn't a good measure if a show is going to look good or not," he says. "The producers were nice people, but it wasn't like working with Paul Simms and (director) James Burrows. We're all on the same wavelength, comedywise."

THE ODD COUPLE "I'm two generations ahead of him," says Burrows, 54, of Simms. "So there are a lot of differences in our comedy." Adds Simms: "Burrows and I fight like an old married couple, but ultimately we get something good." Burrows is generally acknowledged to be the premier sitcom director; he guided The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, and Cheers, and continued to work on Frasier and Friends while shooting the first four episodes of NewsRadio. Says executive producer Brad Grey: "The minute I read Paul's script, I wanted to take it to Jim Burrows." Burrows' penchant for snappy pacing and sharp punchlines may seem a strange match for Simms' darkly cynical writing, but the combination works. "He thinks I'm afraid to be funny," Simms says. Burrows explains, "Paul thinks he doesn't write jokes, and I think he writes really interesting, character-driven jokes." Back at the studio, the audience is released, and NewsRadio quickly turns into SchmoozeRadio. Fellow SNLers Hartman, Lovitz, and Cleghorne talk amongst themselves; Foley signs autographs for female fans; and agents swim circles around the stars. Burrows tries to clear the room so he can pick up a few shots he still needs. "Scene A!" a crew member yells. "A? We're not doing A!" Burrows bellows. "Yes, we are," Simms corrects him. "Okay, let's do A!" Burrows barks. "See?" Simms says. "An old f---in' married couple."