Matt Frewer

Doctor, Doctor (Ch. 10, 10:30 tonight) is the last thing you expect at the start of the summer: a reasonably funny new sitcom. Those new summer shows are supposed to be stupid and dull, aren't they? How did this six-episode limited engagement ever get on the air? Doctor, Doctor stars Matt Frewer as Michael Stratford, a partner in a Rhode Island medical practice. Frewer came to prominence as the computerized wiseguy Max Headroom, and caused a fleeting media sensation. Whenever I saw Headroom - whether on a soft-drink commercial or in his own TV show - I always wished that Frewer, who seemed like a clever fellow, would be liberated from his make-up and allowed to do some real acting.

Several TV shows on DVD hit stores Tuesday, but none was more creative than a short-lived series from the late '80s. Max Headroom: The Complete Series: Matt Frewer turns in the best performance of his career as a former reporter whose mind is copied into a computer after an accident. He becomes the sarcastic on-screen Max Headroom. The late-'80s series is set in a world with 4,000 TV channels where the networks rule. Only Max can help keep a check on them, with help from a handful of supporters.

One of the toughest assignments in journalism is how to treat grieving relatives. A reporter must decide when asking questions becomes an invasion of privacy. The dilemma came up again last week when TV reporters were assigned to cover the aftermath of the death of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Gleason. Representatives of Channels 3, 6, 10 and 29 all agreed that an interview with the Gleason family was a sensitive issue - one they approached with caution. "We made a conscious decision not to go after the family, or dwell on that aspect of the story," said Roger LaMay, news director at Channel 29. "We decided to focus on the neighborhood, and direct our attention towards the perpetrator in order to find out what happened and why. " After Gleason was fatally shot Thursday morning, one of Gleason's daughters (one of six children)

Everything on network TV tonight is a repeat, and most of the shows being repeated weren't worth watching the first time. If you want something new, turn to cable. If you want something good, rent a cassette. EVENING HIGHLIGHTS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (8 p.m., Ch. 10) - Part 1 of 2. This 1985 mini-series, like a frightened mole, is really boring. Gabriel Byrne plays Columbus, Oliver Reed shouts his way through a supporting role, and Faye Dunaway earns a hefty paycheck for a very lightweight role.

Prime time is rather empty tonight, but late-night TV offers two back-to- back treats. EVENING HIGHLIGHT THE ALAMO (8 p.m., Ch. 17) - John Wayne both directed and starred in this 1960 epic exercise in cinematic jingoism. It's an unapologetic, all-American romp of a movie, and does for the Alamo what 1968's The Green Berets tried to do for Vietnam. The difference is that The Alamo is a much better movie, with infinitely better battle scenes. LATE HIGHLIGHT MARTY (2 a.m., Ch. 29)

Though the muh-muh-muh-muh-memory of the grand and glorious American debut of "Max Headroom" two weeks ago is fading, you have the option of probing into the true, British-made origin of the world's favorite talking head. When or if you decide to rent or to buy the 1985 tape (cost is $39.95), you will be struck not so much by the few big similarities, but by the many small differences. Differences that help fix the vision of the show's creators as a particularly British manifestation of noir science fiction.

"Max Headroom" should be part of 60 minutes in your future, starting at 8 tonight on Channel 6. That decidedly un-lovable videotron whom most of America switched off last fall is back for two weeks (and maybe longer) - at least in part because of the television writers' strike. And the wonder, indeed, is why bad ol' Max never succeeded. For those who don't know - and that may be most of you, based on the ratings disaster that canceled the show in October ("Max" never rated higher than 57th of 69 prime-time shows in the weekly Nielsens)

Big changes are in the works for ABC's Max Headroom - the futuristic series about a computer-generated, stuttering wiseacre and his human news-hound counterpart - when it returns to the network this fall. "A lot of people found the show hard to understand, but most of that's been cleared up for the new season," reports Amanda Pays, the British actress who stars in the series as desk-bound editor Theora Jones. Pays says there will be "more intimate scenes, less unintelligible action and more dialogue.

The category is Famous Athletes. The answer is: "Owwwwwwwwwww!" "It finally gave out - my knee, that is - when I was stealing home last year at a charity softball game," said Alex Trebek, the man who has all the questions as host of "Jeopardy!" "What pain!" recalled Trebek, with a grimace you could see through the long-distance lines. "I found out I had a couple of cartilages torn up and my ligament was detached. It was finally time for that operation. " Still, Trebek plans to be at the Spectrum tomorrow night, new knee brace and all, for a Hollywood-vs.

In real life, Chris Young is a bright 15-year-old television actor from Malvern. On ABC's Max Headroom show, which takes place "20 minutes into the future," he is 16-year-old Bryce Lynch, computer genius, gadget junkie and the precocious head of Research and Development for the mythical Network XXIII. Lynch's home is a hardware-clogged laboratory on the 13th floor of the Network XXIII skyscraper. And this, Young hopes, will be his professional home for the next year or two. He likes the show, he likes the part, and he likes the cast of characters - television programmers and reporters covering a bizarre world 20 minutes into the future, where TVs can't be turned off. Max is in its third week and airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC-TV (Channel 6)

Several TV shows on DVD hit stores Tuesday, but none was more creative than a short-lived series from the late '80s. Max Headroom: The Complete Series: Matt Frewer turns in the best performance of his career as a former reporter whose mind is copied into a computer after an accident. He becomes the sarcastic on-screen Max Headroom. The late-'80s series is set in a world with 4,000 TV channels where the networks rule. Only Max can help keep a check on them, with help from a handful of supporters.

Doctor, Doctor (Ch. 10, 10:30 tonight) is the last thing you expect at the start of the summer: a reasonably funny new sitcom. Those new summer shows are supposed to be stupid and dull, aren't they? How did this six-episode limited engagement ever get on the air? Doctor, Doctor stars Matt Frewer as Michael Stratford, a partner in a Rhode Island medical practice. Frewer came to prominence as the computerized wiseguy Max Headroom, and caused a fleeting media sensation. Whenever I saw Headroom - whether on a soft-drink commercial or in his own TV show - I always wished that Frewer, who seemed like a clever fellow, would be liberated from his make-up and allowed to do some real acting.

"Max Headroom" should be part of 60 minutes in your future, starting at 8 tonight on Channel 6. That decidedly un-lovable videotron whom most of America switched off last fall is back for two weeks (and maybe longer) - at least in part because of the television writers' strike. And the wonder, indeed, is why bad ol' Max never succeeded. For those who don't know - and that may be most of you, based on the ratings disaster that canceled the show in October ("Max" never rated higher than 57th of 69 prime-time shows in the weekly Nielsens)

The category is Famous Athletes. The answer is: "Owwwwwwwwwww!" "It finally gave out - my knee, that is - when I was stealing home last year at a charity softball game," said Alex Trebek, the man who has all the questions as host of "Jeopardy!" "What pain!" recalled Trebek, with a grimace you could see through the long-distance lines. "I found out I had a couple of cartilages torn up and my ligament was detached. It was finally time for that operation. " Still, Trebek plans to be at the Spectrum tomorrow night, new knee brace and all, for a Hollywood-vs.

Big changes are in the works for ABC's Max Headroom - the futuristic series about a computer-generated, stuttering wiseacre and his human news-hound counterpart - when it returns to the network this fall. "A lot of people found the show hard to understand, but most of that's been cleared up for the new season," reports Amanda Pays, the British actress who stars in the series as desk-bound editor Theora Jones. Pays says there will be "more intimate scenes, less unintelligible action and more dialogue.

Though the muh-muh-muh-muh-memory of the grand and glorious American debut of "Max Headroom" two weeks ago is fading, you have the option of probing into the true, British-made origin of the world's favorite talking head. When or if you decide to rent or to buy the 1985 tape (cost is $39.95), you will be struck not so much by the few big similarities, but by the many small differences. Differences that help fix the vision of the show's creators as a particularly British manifestation of noir science fiction.

In real life, Chris Young is a bright 15-year-old television actor from Malvern. On ABC's Max Headroom show, which takes place "20 minutes into the future," he is 16-year-old Bryce Lynch, computer genius, gadget junkie and the precocious head of Research and Development for the mythical Network XXIII. Lynch's home is a hardware-clogged laboratory on the 13th floor of the Network XXIII skyscraper. And this, Young hopes, will be his professional home for the next year or two. He likes the show, he likes the part, and he likes the cast of characters - television programmers and reporters covering a bizarre world 20 minutes into the future, where TVs can't be turned off. Max is in its third week and airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC-TV (Channel 6)

Everything on network TV tonight is a repeat, and most of the shows being repeated weren't worth watching the first time. If you want something new, turn to cable. If you want something good, rent a cassette. EVENING HIGHLIGHTS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (8 p.m., Ch. 10) - Part 1 of 2. This 1985 mini-series, like a frightened mole, is really boring. Gabriel Byrne plays Columbus, Oliver Reed shouts his way through a supporting role, and Faye Dunaway earns a hefty paycheck for a very lightweight role.

Prime time is rather empty tonight, but late-night TV offers two back-to- back treats. EVENING HIGHLIGHT THE ALAMO (8 p.m., Ch. 17) - John Wayne both directed and starred in this 1960 epic exercise in cinematic jingoism. It's an unapologetic, all-American romp of a movie, and does for the Alamo what 1968's The Green Berets tried to do for Vietnam. The difference is that The Alamo is a much better movie, with infinitely better battle scenes. LATE HIGHLIGHT MARTY (2 a.m., Ch. 29)

One of the toughest assignments in journalism is how to treat grieving relatives. A reporter must decide when asking questions becomes an invasion of privacy. The dilemma came up again last week when TV reporters were assigned to cover the aftermath of the death of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Gleason. Representatives of Channels 3, 6, 10 and 29 all agreed that an interview with the Gleason family was a sensitive issue - one they approached with caution. "We made a conscious decision not to go after the family, or dwell on that aspect of the story," said Roger LaMay, news director at Channel 29. "We decided to focus on the neighborhood, and direct our attention towards the perpetrator in order to find out what happened and why. " After Gleason was fatally shot Thursday morning, one of Gleason's daughters (one of six children)