Weekend Fall TV
BOSTON
SATURDAYS and Sundays usually offer a wide assortment of TV entertainment, and this season is no exception. Here is a rundown of prime-time weekend shows debuting on the networks. Weekday prime-time shows were reviewed in yesterday's Monitor. (All times are Eastern Daylight; please check local listings.)
* SATURDAY
The Jeff Foxworthy Show (ABC, 8-8:30 p.m.): Stand-up comic Jeff Foxworthy stars as a blue-collar Southerner living in and musing upon the Midwest. (Unable to view.)
Maybe This Time (ABC, previews Fri., Sept. 15, 9:30-10 p.m.; premieres Sept. 16, 8-8:30 p.m.): Three generations of women give each other help with their love lives. Unfortunately, Betty White, Marie Osmond, and Ashley Johnson don't have too many funny lines to enliven this gentle show.
JAG (NBC, premieres Sept. 23, 8-10 p.m). The flexible premise for this drama - that the JAG, or Judge Advocate General, will explore Navy legal matters - leaves the door open for a wide array of engaging, adventuresome subjects that have a Saturday-night-entertainment flavor. David James Elliott (''Melrose Place'') stars as Lt. Harmon Rabb Jr., US Navy lawyer assigned to JAG.
The Preston Episodes (FOX, 8:30-9 p.m.): David Alan Grier (''In Living Color'') stars as a former college professor determined to make it as a writer. The comedy is sometimes funny, sometimes annoying as this persistent guy lands a job at a celebrity tabloid.
The Home Court (NBC, premieres Sept. 30, 9:30-10 p.m.): Pamela Reed stars as Judge Sydney J. Solomon, who can be just as tough raising her four children as she can be in her family courtroom. Reed's performance is overbearing at times.
* SUNDAY
Brotherly Love (NBC, previews Sat., Sept. 16, 8-8:30 p.m.; premieres Sept. 17, 7-7:30 p.m.): Real-life Lawrence brothers Joey, Matthew, and Andrew play on-air half-siblings learning to become a family with mom and stepmom Claire (Melinda Culea). Andy, the youngest, tends to steal the show.
Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky & the Brain (WB, 7-7:30 p.m.): This animated series features two laboratory mice determined to take control of the world. Like ''The Simpsons,'' the story lines are written on several levels. It's a bit lacking, though, in the youthful energy that usually drives cartoons.
Space: Above and Beyond (FOX, premieres Sept. 24, 7-9 p.m.; begins regular show time Oct. 1, 7-8 p.m.): This disjointed drama jumps from intergalactic warfare to scenes across the United States. It revolves around the struggles of US marine cadets who must battle hostile unknown aliens.
Minor Adjustments (NBC, previews Sat., Sept. 16, 8:30-9 p.m.; premieres Sept. 17, 7:30-8 p.m.): Affable comedian Rondell Sheridan tends to dominate this comedy about his child-psychology practice and family. It's one of the few TV shows to focus on a traditional family unit - a married couple and their children.
Kirk (WB, 8-8:30 p.m.): Kirk Cameron learns about ''growing pains'' from the other side of the coin when he, at age 24, is suddenly faced with raising his three younger on-air siblings. Cameron carries this show that has some creative, funny moments.
Almost Perfect (CBS, premieres Sept. 17, 8:30-9 p.m.): A TV executive producer and an ambitious DA try to find time for a relationship. Nancy Travis and Kevin Kilner don't have many funny lines in this dragging story.
Too Something (FOX, premieres Oct. 1, 8:30-9 p.m.): Attention all slackers and fans of slackers: This out-of-the-ordinary comedy is for you. Donny and Eric are two laid-back guys who aspire to be a photographer and a writer, but for now they're passing the time as mail-room workers. Quirky and funny.
Simon (WB, 8:30-9 p.m.): Simon Himple (Harland Williams) is an oblivious idiot whose lethargic voice becomes really tiresome. His brother Carl (Jason Bateman) has more smarts, but it's simple Simon who lands a job as vice president of programming at a TV station. Cliched humor.
Cleghorne! (WB, 9-9:30 p.m.): This comedy misses the mark. Ellen Cleghorne (''Saturday Night Live'') is an independent single mother whose parents, eager to leave the projects, move to the apartment next to hers.
First Time Out (WB, 9:30-10 p.m.): Jackie (Jackie Guerra) is on the rebound after breaking up with her boyfriend - but now she won't settle for anything less than someone who accepts her, extra pounds included. Risque humor abounds as Jackie and her two roommates navigate the dating game.
Misery Loves Company (FOX, premieres Oct. 1, 9:30-10 p.m.): Four guys stick together through romance and break-up in the '90s. One is divorced; one is getting divorced; another is married; and the other is still single. (Unable to view.)