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A guide to notable programs by BRUCE FRETTS. (Times are Eastern standard and are subject to change.) SERIES
Have BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 (Fox, Dec. 20, 8-9 p.m.) and PARTY OF FIVE (Fox, Dec. 20, 9-10 p.m.) switched personalities? The once-salacious 90210 suddenly turns into a downbeat drama about parental concerns, as Cindy Walsh (Carol Potter) makes a surprise visit from Hong Kong, and her son, Brandon (Jason Priestley), finds out his folks' marriage has hit the rocks. Meanwhile, Steve (Ian Ziering) tracks down his real father. The once-somber Party, on the other hand, has suddenly heated up. Charlie (Matthew Fox) and his little sister Claudia (Lacey Chabert) both get lucky during a Mexican vacation, while Julia (Neve Campbell) and her on-again boyfriend, Justin (Michael Goorjian), explore their emerging sexuality. Which Fox shows will swap identities next -- Melrose Place and The X-Files? Nah, they're already too similar.
More depressing family matters can be found on ELLEN (ABC, Dec. 20, 8-8:30 p.m.), BLESS THIS HOUSE (CBS, Dec. 20, 8:30-9 p.m.), and GRACE UNDER FIRE (ABC, Dec. 20, 9-9:30 p.m.). Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) gets the holiday blues when her parents (Alice Hirson and Steven Gilborn) give her a burial plot as a Christmas present. House mother Alice (Cathy Moriarty) hits the ceiling when her mom (Elaine Stritch) criticizes her parenting skills -- and Burt (Andrew Clay) gets in the middle of their ugly dispute. And the season isn't any fun for Grace (Brett Butler) after her ex-father-in-law dies a few days before Christmas. A little Prozac with your eggnog, people?
Workplace snafus sour the yuletide spirit on THE DREW CAREY SHOW (ABC, Dec. 20, 8:30-9 p.m.) and THE NAKED TRUTH (ABC, Dec. 20, 9:30-10 p.m.). A strike at the store forces assistant personnel manager Drew to work the sales counter in the midst of the shopping blitz, while his coworker pal Kate (Christa Miller) walks the picket line. On Truth, the Comet's new owner, Sir Rudolph Hailey (Tim Curry), axes editor Camilla (Holland Taylor). Nora (Tea Leoni) persuades the Scrooge to hire Camilla back as a reporter, and the two women spend Christmas night chasing a story in the L.A. sewers. It may sound bad, but tabloid journalists are used to hanging out with rats.
ALTERNA-TV
Not your typical stuffy Masterpiece Theatre entry, THE POLITICIAN'S WIFE (PBS, check local listings) is a high-gloss soap opera with a mean Machiavellian edge. Juliet Stevenson (Truly, Madly, Deeply) stars as the dutiful spouse of a British Parliament member (Trevor Eve) whose affair with an ex-hooker (Circle of Friends' Minnie Driver) gets exposed by the tabloids. Paula Milne's witty script examines how a private family crisis mutates into a public-relations nightmare (''Who knows? Maybe there will be another royal toe-sucking episode to eclipse us,'' the wife's father consoles her). As the Conservative caught with his fly down, Eve creates a portrait of craven vanity (''Not on my face!'' he pleads when his wife pummels him). Infidelities are nothing new for British politicos, but when Stevenson's woman scorned uses her hubby's indiscretions to increase her own legislative power, there are hints of Hillary Clinton as well.
