Better Get Batteries For The Remote: The Fall Lineup Is Coming

That humongous heap of eye candy on the horizon is the 1995 fall television season, which will be one for the history books. A record 43 new programs - up from 29 in 1994 - will hit the airwaves in one brainfrazzling autumnal blitz, courtesy of the four networks and the fledgling WB and UPN mini-network operations.

Can you say “cosmic glut”?

It’s going to be one of those fall seasons where even the most well-conditioned remote control commando might quickly suffer clicker finger burnout. And where many of the rookie shows are lost in the numbing prime time shuffle before they ever have the opportunity to find an audience.

Nervous network programmers, you may have noticed, have this nasty habit of giving new series the hook unless they generate immediate ratings sizzle.

And to no one’s surprise, most of this fall’s 43 newcomers will lack the requisite sizzle. So far, the advertising gurus on Madison Avenue have expressed unanimous can’t-miss enthusiasm for only one new series: “Caroline in the City,” an NBC sitcom. There’s a reason it has been pegged as the sole sure thing of the new fall season. This romantic comedy about a young cartoonist (Lea Thompson, “Back to the Future”) in New York has been given the golden perch between “Seinfeld” and “ER” on NBC’s powerful Thursday night lineup. With a heavenly time slot like that, instant success for “Caroline” is virtually guaranteed.

Of course, those ace advertising wonks said the same thing about Dabney Coleman’s “Madman of the People” last year. Hoo, boy.

The one slice of undeniable brilliance that cuts through the new season’s cookie-cutter glut is ABC’s “Murder One,” a riveting and ambitious criminal drama that will focus on a single murder investigation and trial for the entire season.

The series is produced by Emmy Award-winning drama hotshot Steven Bochco (“NYPD Blue,” “LA Law”). So expect “NYPD Blue”-style intensity and intelligence, filtered through America’s contemporary, O.J.-fueled cultural fascination with courtroom crucibles.

And write down this name: Daniel Benzali. This compelling, craggy-faced chrome dome is the fascinating point man of an excellent “Murder One” ensemble cast. Benzali’s legal eagle alter ego, Teddy Huffman, just might become America’s coolest lawyer since Perry Mason first strode into a courtroom.

The bad news for “Murder One”? It’s scheduled at 10 p.m. Thursdays directly opposite “ER,” the phenomenal NBC sawbones juggernaut. No matter. “Murder One” is too good to flop, though it may have to switch nights to find true success.