RETURNING SHOWS THUNDER ALLEY (ABC, 8-8:30 p.m.) Edward Asner's race-car sitcom got off to a fast start following reruns of Home Improvement last season, but it's being retooled for its new, unprotected time slot. Diane Venora is out and Get A Life's Robin Riker is in as Asner's daughter. "Diane's a wonderful actress, but the chemistry just wasn't there," Asner says. He'll also have a hunky new mechanic in the auto shop played by Jim Beaver ("the young sex interest," Asner explains). Incoming coexecutive producer Dan Guntzelman (Growing Pains) promises one more adjustment: "My reaction to the first eight (episodes) was, 'Gee, I think this could be funnier.'"

BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 (Fox, 8-9 p.m.) "I hate to say it, but a lot of people have said, 'Oh, good,'" Tori Spelling admits of "friend" Shannen Doherty's ouster. Four new cast members should help ease the loss. Saved by the Bell grad Tiffani-Amber Thiessen moves into the Walshes' home as the daughter of their best friends from Minnesota, a goody-two-shoes with a dark side who brings out the beast in Dylan (Luke Perry). Mark D. Espinoza (on-screen husband of Gabrielle Carteris' Andrea) and Kathleen Robertson (stalker of Jason Priestley's Brandon) have been promoted to regular status. Finally, The Heights' Jamie Walters joins the show as a troubled blue-collar musician who tries to defrost Donna (Spelling), the eternal virgin.

ROSEANNE (ABC, 9-9:30 p.m.) In all the now-irrelevant furor over Roseanne versus Frasier, some people seemed to forget about Roseanne versus Tom. But not the cast members. "I'm hoping after this thing with Tom, she'll be able to come back and be fine," says Michael Fishman, 12, who plays her son, D.J. Fishman and executive producer Rob Ulin deny reports that D.J. will realize he's gay and come out of the closet this season, although Ulin says, "(He'll evolve from) a strange boy into a strange young man." Sis Darlene (Yale sophomore Sara Gilbert, who'll appear in about half the season's episodes) may dump her sometime boyfriend, David (Johnny Galecki), for a new guy. Roseanne will get pregnant this season and, in the art-imitating-life department, will experience turbulence in her television marriage to John Goodman. That may be a bad sign-he's in the last year of his contract. At least we know Tom won't replace him. Probably.

LAW & ORDER (NBC, 10-11 p.m.) The series' revolving door keeps spinning ("it keeps us fresh," jokes executive producer Dick Wolf): Michael Moriarty has resigned, claiming NBC censored his attacks on Janet Reno's anti-TV-violence ! campaign. I'll Fly Away's Sam Waterston comes on board as the new assistant DA, a master legal showman. And while Order's stories are often inspired by tabloid headlines, Wolf swears there won't be an O.J.-themed episode.

ABC 8:00 THUNDER ALLEY 8:30 ALL-AMERICAN GIRL 9:00 ROSEANNE 9:30 ELLEN 10:00 TURNING POINT

CBS 8:00 THE BOYS ARE BACK 8:30 DADDY'S GIRLS 9:00 TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL 10:00 48 HOURS

NBC 8:00 THE COSBY MYSTERIES 9:00 DATELINE NBC 10:00 LAW & ORDER

FOX 8:00 BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 9:00 MODELS INC. 10:00 LOCAL PROGRAMMING

Originally posted Sep 16, 1994 Published in issue #240 Sep 16, 1994 Order article reprints
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