Sitcoms

Roseanne was created by the same producers who pitched The Cosby Show to networks. The new sitcom is also helmed by a standup comedian. But instead of an upper class black family, Roseanne Barr's show features a working class white family. TV critic David Bianculli says Barr's jokes hit home, bolstered by costar John Goodman, who plays Roseanne's husband.

TV critic David Bianculli is burnt out on the Olympics' packed, frantic broadcast schedule. Now that the games are over, he tries to squeeze in reviews of two new sitcoms. Dear John is about a divorcé; Empty Nest is a Golden Girls spinoff.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews the return of "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd," the short-lived but highly praised NBC series that ran for 13 weeks in the Spring of 1987. The series stars Blair Brown as Molly Dodd, the eccentric New Yorker who lurches from one mid-life crisis to the next.

Actress Annie Potts. She's becoming familiar to audiences for her role in TV's "Designing Women." But before that, she was cast often as quirky, off-the-wall characters in films like "Ghostbusters" and "Pretty in Pink."

Television Critic David Bianculli reviews "The Wonder Years," a new ABC series. The show is an extended flashback to 1968 and the junior high school days of Daniel Stern ("Diner" and "Breaking Away"), the show's narrator, and Fred Savage ("The Princess Bride"), who plays Stern as he was in 1968.

Hugh Wilson created the television show WKRP. His much-anticpated, new program, Frank's Place, centers on a restaurant in New Orleans, and features many roles for African American actors.

Guest critic David Marc looks at the growing popularity of 1950s TV sitcoms. He thinks the trend reveals a troubling desire for an idealized suburban culture where whiteness and paternal authority ruled.

David Bianculli is in Los Angeles along with other television critics to preview the fall season. He says he's most excited about two ABC comedies and a new version of Star Trek currently in production.

Jay Tarses cut his teeth writing television programs like the Carol Burnett Show and Buffalo Bill. His latest creation is The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.

Best known for his role as Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes, Werner Klemperer plays Herr Schulz in the revival of Cabaret. Klemperer grew up in Berlin during the time the musical is set.

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd dispenses with laugh tracks and multi-camera shots, which allows the show to explore new territories in television comedy.