JONAH McMICHAEL
is a is a senior studying telecommunications.

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NBC continues to set the standard for prime-time television. New shows "Veronica's Closet" and "Just Shoot Me" are living up to the hype, while "Friends" survived the media overkill and is better than ever. "Frasier," "NewsRadio" and "Mad About You" are all going strong. "ER" shows no signs of flatlining anytime soon, and even "Saturday Night Live" is back after a slump, thanks to a couple of exuberant cheerleaders and a little Catholic spaz named Mary Catherine Gallagher.

Yet, in its desperate efforts to find successors to sure-things such as "Seinfeld" (which they'd better do soon), NBC has hastily settled for mediocrity, as in "Jenny," "Men Behaving Badly," "The Tony Danza Show" and the four female-centered sitcoms of Monday night. The one possible contender for the crown, "3rd Rock from the Sun," is languishing in ratings hell on Wednesday nights.
Grade: A-

CBS is making a quiet little comeback after a disastrous attempt a few seasons back to hone in on the youth market. Its renewed interest in shows aimed at older audiences has cultivated gems such as "Chicago Hope" and "Cybill." The network has also scored again with the organized crime-centered miniseries "Bella Mafia," following in the footsteps of last year's "The Last Don."

Unfortunately, the sitcoms on CBS are still getting spanked by the competition. "Murphy Brown" is washed-up and tired, and the one-joke premise of "The Nanny" (not to mention that laugh) stopped being cute years ago. The network wasted energy swiping Urkel from ABC.
Grade: B-

Wednesday nights, ABC has finally managed to group together four truly excellent sitcoms. Michael J. Fox's "Spin City" and "The Drew Carey Show" showcase two of television's best leading men. "Dharma and Greg," the first decent comedy about two folks in love since "Mad About You," is the best new sitcom of the season, hands down. And now that Ellen DeGeneres can finally be herself, her history-making show is one of TV's best written programs.

Too bad for ABC that one night of programming is just about all it has going for it. Though "NYPD Blue" continues to be one of the grittiest and most honest shows going, another quality legal drama, "The Practice," cannot possibly acquire an audience in its horrible Saturday-night time slot. Moreover, ABC's promotional campaign, which attempts to be humorous by pointing out the evils of TV, is one of the worst in recent memory. It might as well just suggest that viewers read a book instead of tuning in. And enough with treating "Ellen" like the black sheep of the family. She's here, she's queer, shut up, enjoy the good ratings and get used to it!
Grade: C-

With each new season, the little network that could, better known as Fox, becomes a more formidable competitor in prime time. "The Simpsons" is as fresh now as it was nine years ago. "The X-Files," "King of the Hill" and "Party of Five" are all certifiable hits. Freshman phenom "Ally McBeal" is poignant and brilliant. Even "Mad TV" gives "SNL" a run for its money.

On the other hand, "Melrose Place" is sinking fast, and most of the original cast members have jumped ship. Once a giddily sleazy TV marvel, this clunker is now just plain insulting. David Charvet's attempts at acting make even Andrew Shue look like a master thespian. The same goes for that other Aaron Spelling sudser that has outstayed its welcome, "Beverly Hills, 90210."
Grade: BÊ

That leaves UPN and the WB, two fledgling networks trying to follow in Fox's footsteps. UPN has "Star Trek Voyager" and "Moesha," while the WB has cult hit "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Other than that, both have lots of work to do. They shouldn't lose hope, though; it took Fox nearly a decade to compete with the big boys. It's too early to tell if these two upstarts are in it for the long haul.
Grade for both: DÊ