King Live

You know it's summer on television when even the TV movies are pretty stale. But Fox has a new youth-oriented special on romance, and the Prez is doing an hour with "Larry King Live."* "The Nanny" (8 p.m.-8:30 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Fran gets an unexpected escort to her Camp Kindervelt reunion in this repeat: actor Erik Estrada ("CHiPS"), playing himself. Morgan Brittany ("Dallas") also makes a guest appearance, as Fran's childhood rival Judy. CBS.* "Sex & Romance: A Test for the '90s" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45)

After more than 6,500 episodes of The Price Is Right, it was Bob Barker's turn to "Come on down." Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and Barry Bennett, a former radio broadcaster who now works for Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, couldn't resist repeating the line. Only this time, Barker descended the stairs of the Missouri Capitol Rotunda as he was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians. Barker, 83, is the 30th inductee, joining luminaries such as Mark Twain, Walt Disney and Walter Cronkite.

DALLAS -- Ross Perot said just two weeks ago that he was as likely to become an active presidential candidate again as he was to leap a tall building in a single bound. Now it appears all but certain that he'll leap with both feet into the countdown days of election year '92.If voters are having a hard time getting a handle on the mercurial Texas billionaire, who's expected to announce his reborn candidacy here at a 4 p.m. press conference today, it may be because his words don't always match his actions or, in some cases, his previous words.

The red carpet - it's got a casualty rate worse than a Dick Cheney hunting trip. The Rivers women, Joan and Melissa, have been busted to the TV Guide Channel, where they have to do their snarky shtick squashed into a horizontally split screen while listings for Japanese anime and celebrity poker shows roll queasily below them. Comic Kathy Griffin got sent back down to the minors for joking about a 10-year-old actress going into rehab. And Isaac Mizrahi, the gay fashion designer, was unrepentant after committing what sure looked to me like misdemeanor battery on live TV at the Golden Globes, squeezing one actress' breasts and asking another about her nether hair.

Monday night Larry King did Dallas and got lots of publicity.In fact, every time Larry King hooks up with on-again-off-again presidential candidate Ross Perot, he generates lots of publicity and water-cooler buzz.But a question seldom asked when discussing what an important force in American politics CNN's "Larry King Live" show seems to have become is just how many people actually watch the show on a regular basis. There are other questions, too, such as why Perot and King keep getting together and what happens in terms of ratings and politics when they do.On a regular basis, more people watch nightly reruns of Jessica Fletcher in "Murder She Wrote" on cable channel USA than watch Larry King.

It's Patrick Ewing vs. Puccini tonight, as the season's first installment of the NBA finals goes head-to-head against the season's last installment of "Great Performances."* "NBA Finals" (9 p.m.-conclusion, WMAR, Channel 2) -- This has the makings of a really good series: The New York Knicks, led by Mr. Ewing, against the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon. The Knicks haven't been in the finals for 21 years, and the Rockets last reached that esteemed orbit in 1986 -- where Mr. Olajuwon and company lost to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in six. Tonight's first game gives Houston the home-court advantage -- and ask the Knicks if that isn't important.

Take the night off. For the most part, TV has.* "Fall From Grace" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Part 2 of 2. Plans for the Normandy invasion are developed, hidden and eagerly sought in the conclusion of this imported miniseries, which makes the plans for D-Day seem almost as important as whether an Allied agent (Tara Fitzgerald) will be faithful to a fellow agent (Gary Cole), and whether he, in turn, will fall for the advances of another fellow agent (Patsy Kensit). In the end, the Allies conquer the Germans, and love conquers all. Michael York plays a sinister Nazi with more subtlety than expected.

After more than 6,500 episodes of The Price Is Right, it was Bob Barker's turn to "Come on down." Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and Barry Bennett, a former radio broadcaster who now works for Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, couldn't resist repeating the line. Only this time, Barker descended the stairs of the Missouri Capitol Rotunda as he was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians. Barker, 83, is the 30th inductee, joining luminaries such as Mark Twain, Walt Disney and Walter Cronkite.

WASHINGTON -- Getting away from such political unpleasantries as his controversial new policy on gays in the military and the sacking of the FBI director, President Clinton turned his attention yesterday to the issue his advisers believe will define the Clinton presidency -- his economic legislation now before the Congress."

Larry King's account of the 1992 presidential campaign has the flavor of his television talk show -- it's upbeat, occasionally funny, and hardly ever tells you anything you didn't already know.It's one of a widely growing category of books that retell what you just saw on TV, with a few personal anecdotes thrown in. Amy Fisher observers and H. Norman Schwarzkopf and grandmotherly sex experts write them. You can probably buy them on the shopping channel.Mr. King's thesis is that TV and radio call-in shows changed the way American politicians campaigned in 1992 -- and Larry King was at the center of it. Candidates from H. Ross Perot to George Bush came by "Larry King Live" at CNN to chat with Larry and his several million viewers before the November election.

The Rev. Benjamin L. Hooks, a senior statesman of the civil rights movement who worked in concert with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during King's last days in 1968, told a dinner assembly honoring King last night that "they killed the dreamer but not the dream" of racial equality. In advance of the King holiday Monday, Hooks, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1977 to 1993, told the crowd of about 1,000 in Glen Burnie that he was disappointed that the day seemed to have lost some meaning, and the movement as a whole a measure of urgency.

SEATTLE -- Researchers have located the general area of a gene believed to cause an inherited form of prostate cancer and which may be implicated in brain cancer.Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and the University of Washington have mapped the gene to a specific area of chromosome 1 but have not pinpointed the precise location.It is the fourth mapping of a prostate cancer gene. The findings could lead to new treatments and diagnostic tests for inherited prostate cancer, which accounts for about 10 percent of all cases of the disease.

The two candidates for governor traded charges yesterday over which side had ducked debates, as Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey canceled -- and then abruptly agreed to -- an appearance with Gov. Parris N. Glendening on a national cable television talk show.Both candidates had been scheduled to appear on "Larry King Live" last night, but Sauerbrey pulled out yesterday morning, noting a scheduling conflict. She said she wanted to honor a previously scheduled visit to Yeshivat Rambam, an Orthodox Jewish school in Baltimore.

The oddest of odd couples sits down for a chat with Larry King tonight."Mad About You" (6: 30 p.m.-7 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Paul invests in a virtual reality system after trying it out and getting a back rub from Christie Brinkley. Hard to believe, but this doesn't sit real well with Jamie. A classic."State Circle" (7: 30 p.m.-8 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- Just as the swallows return to San Capistrano every year, so, too, do the Maryland legislators return to Annapolis which means it's time for the return of this weekly round-up of things political.

It's not often that television viewers flip their remotes and see an accountant, an engineer, a mayor and a lawyer -- all African-American men -- casually chatting about history, religion, hobbies and their dreams."

A locally produced special for children and the return of a PBS series featuring independent films make Maryland Public Television an original place to turn tonight. Plus Barbra Streisand talks to Larry King on cable.* "Vid Kid Field Trip: National Aquarium in Baltimore" (7:30 p.m.-8 p.m., MPT, channels 22, 67) -- Bob Heck, host of MPT's daily children's programming, stars in an exploration special. He plays two parts: his usual persona as Bob the VidTech and also Momma VidTech, as he seeks her missing pet, "Sid the Vid Fish," in the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

The red carpet - it's got a casualty rate worse than a Dick Cheney hunting trip. The Rivers women, Joan and Melissa, have been busted to the TV Guide Channel, where they have to do their snarky shtick squashed into a horizontally split screen while listings for Japanese anime and celebrity poker shows roll queasily below them. Comic Kathy Griffin got sent back down to the minors for joking about a 10-year-old actress going into rehab. And Isaac Mizrahi, the gay fashion designer, was unrepentant after committing what sure looked to me like misdemeanor battery on live TV at the Golden Globes, squeezing one actress' breasts and asking another about her nether hair.

A locally produced special for children and the return of a PBS series featuring independent films make Maryland Public Television an original place to turn tonight. Plus Barbra Streisand talks to Larry King on cable.* "Vid Kid Field Trip: National Aquarium in Baltimore" (7:30 p.m.-8 p.m., MPT, channels 22, 67) -- Bob Heck, host of MPT's daily children's programming, stars in an exploration special. He plays two parts: his usual persona as Bob the VidTech and also Momma VidTech, as he seeks her missing pet, "Sid the Vid Fish," in the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

You know it's summer on television when even the TV movies are pretty stale. But Fox has a new youth-oriented special on romance, and the Prez is doing an hour with "Larry King Live."* "The Nanny" (8 p.m.-8:30 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Fran gets an unexpected escort to her Camp Kindervelt reunion in this repeat: actor Erik Estrada ("CHiPS"), playing himself. Morgan Brittany ("Dallas") also makes a guest appearance, as Fran's childhood rival Judy. CBS.* "Sex & Romance: A Test for the '90s" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45)

No complaints today: There's plenty to watch, from good documentaries and scads of sports to funny comedies and the premiere of the summer's big-buzz soap opera, "Models Inc."* "Models Inc." (8-9:30 p.m WBFF, Channel 45, and WTTG, Channel 5) -- With "Beverly Hills, 90210," Aaron Spelling learned the value of summertime exposure, with fresh episodes feeding a frenzy among college kids and other eager and available viewers. With "Melrose Place," he learned the value of jettisoning realism and going straight for the outrageous, high-speed plot lines.