The Week

Want proof that Darren Star is the center of the showbiz universe? Three new talk shows debuting Sept. 11 are within three degrees of separation from him. One of the stars of his new Central Park West hosts her own late-night one-on-one, LAUREN HUTTON AND ... (syndicated, check local listings). Having split the Star-created Beverly Hills, 90210, Gabrielle Carteris takes on Ricki Lake with a daytime chatter, GABRIELLE (syndicated, check local listings). And in the Regis & Kathie Lee mode, THE GEORGE & ALANA SHOW (syndicated, check local listings) reteams ex-spouses George Hamilton and Alana Stewart, who are the parents of Ashley Hamilton, who was once married to Shannen Doherty, who once starred on Star's 90210. Case closed.

Movies

Wearing cowboy boots, cutoff jeans, and way too much eye shadow, Laura Leighton is a hoot and a half in the semitrue crime drama IN THE NAME OF LOVE: A TEXAS TRAGEDY (Fox, Sept. 12, 8- 10 p.m.). The Melrose firebrand plays a tramp who helps a hobbled ranch heir (Michael Hayden, soon to be seen on Murder One) get back on the horse, so to speak. This raises the ire of the stud's grandpa (the ever-canny Richard Crenna), who thinks he smells a gold digger. The first Fox TV movie to mix high-quality production values with low-level values, A Texas Tragedy benefits from tangy dialogue by Danielle Hill ("You run through all the guys with legs in this county?" meows Leighton's floozy pal). Though Heather Locklear trod similar territory with Texas Justice, A Texas Tragedy proves that Leigh ton is Melrose's best actress. Which is kind of like being Kansas' best surfer, but ...

It's fun to watch Gary Sinise turn himself into TRUMAN (HBO, Sept. 9, 8-10 p.m.). The actor best known for Forrest Gump and Apollo 13 uses his stage experience to inhabit Harry S.'s soul, going beyond the makeup to have us experience Truman's Midwestern stubbornness and pride. But Truman fails as drama. Screenwriter Tom Rickman, working from David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the 33rd President, takes Sinise on a slow, methodical slog through the great events of Truman's day, with pauses for lighter moments with Harry's wife, Bess (Diana Scarwid, as skilled as Sinise). Truman, directed by Frank Pierson, is an old-fashioned movie biopic, building up its central figure at the expense of others around him. Truman was famous for giving 'em hell; Truman, mild and mannerly, gives us heck.

Choice Reruns

It seems fitting that HOME IMPROVEMENT (syndicated, check local listings) and SEINFELD (syndicated, check local listings) launch in syndication the same day. Ever since Tim Allen's sitcom nailed Jerry Seinfeld's show on Wednesdays a few seasons back, these two have been locked in competition. Home Improvement took the ratings crown; Seinfeld won an Emmy for best comedy series. Both stand-ups penned best-sellers, but only Allen leaped to movie stardom. Now, Seinfeld rolls out its old episodes on a record number of stations. But Home Improvement one-ups Seinfeld with the unprecedented airing of a new episode, in which Tim visits a Marine base and mans a tank. Maybe these guys should just get a ruler and settle it once and for all.