THE WEEK

TALK SHOWS

What is it--'80s flashback week on LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (CBS, weeknights, 11:35 p.m.- 12:35 a.m.)? Dave's scheduled to tangle with a nemesis from his NBC heyday, Bryant Gumbel (April 5), then welcome his most frequent retro-guest, King of Kvetching Richard Lewis (April 6). And on April 7, it's Duran Duran! Maybe it's time Dave's bookers freshen their Rolodexes. Especially when you consider that LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN (NBC, weeknights, 12:35-1:35 a.m.) is lining up such young talent as art-house heartthrob Eric Stoltz and alterna-popper Matthew Sweet (both April 7). Though Conan did recently stoop to putting David Brenner in a Friday-night lead spot--ahead of Laura Leighton! Finally, LATER WITH GREG KINNEAR (NBC, weeknights, 1:35-2:05 a.m.) offers Wayne Newton (April 4) and Mimi Rogers (April 6). Hey, it's hard to get guests at that hour.

DEF COMEDY

You can't keep a good Stan down. When MARTIN (Fox, April 6, 8-8:30 p.m.) invests in a local restaurant, his business partner turns out to be none other than his white-shoe-wearing former WZUP boss (Garrett Morris). Def Jam creator Russell Simmons was considering doing a cameo, but Hammer shows up instead. That the two are interchangeable seems a bit of a dis to Russell. However, Simmons does show up later on a special DEF COMEDY JAM: PRIME TIME (Fox, April 6, 8:30-9 p.m.) bringing racy comedy to the family hour of TV. Jam takes on a variety-show format with a nine-member troupe. Censors keep the sex jokes and cursing to a minimum, but even they can't control tastelessness. For example, there's just no need to hurl a white woman off the roof as is done in one sketch. The funniest bits come from the stand-up routines of Billy D. and Cedric the Entertainer, proving that when something works, you should stick with it. --Heather Keets

CHOICE RERUNS

Sure, Jay Leno's resurgence in the ratings has been helped by huge NBC lead-ins, especially on ER-powered Thursdays. But the guy's also been working sitcoms like crazy. Two recent guest shots get replays, as he appears as a mechanic on HOME IMPROVEMENT (ABC, April 4, 9-9:30 p.m.) and as himself, interviewing Murray the Dog on MAD ABOUT YOU (NBC, April 6, 8-8:30 p.m.). Of course David Letterman's prime-time Oscar gig will probably help raise his profile too.