Cbs Charges Up Bionic Couple For Rerun

Whatever happened to prime time’s superheroes?

No super powers can turn back the diabolical Dr. Nielsen. When the ratings drop, there’s no one to save the day.

Just ask Superman, who was grounded the other day by ABC.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. In CBS’ “Bionic Ever After?” at 9, Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner reprise their roles as Steve Austin (“The Six Million Dollar Man”) and Dr. Jaime Sommers (“The Bionic Woman”).

The 1994 TV movie rekindles the spirit of the old series rather nicely. Austin and Sommers are about to tie the knot when Sommers’ bionics go haywire.

She cancels the wedding, fearing Austin doesn’t want a short-circuit bride. A stunned Austin elects to bide his time until Sommers realizes he loves her even if she remains a shadow of her bionic self.

Meanwhile, he comes out of retirement to battle terrorists who have taken over an embassy in the Bahamas.

“The Bionic Man” debuted in 1974. “The Bionic Woman” was a spinoff series launched in the middle of the 1975 season.

Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks reprise their roles as spy chief Oscar Goldman and bionics whiz Dr. Rudy Wells.

These characters are drawn with a comic-book mentality, and the plots are entertaining nonsense, at best. But for old fans, it’s great to see the duo revived, although you’ll find the years haven’t been totally kind to Majors.

Highlights

“Oops! The World’s Funniest Outtakes No. 6.”

FOX at 8: Harry Anderson hosts the firstrun hour featuring the usual assortment of goof-ups that occur in the making of television and feature films. Some of the funniest moments come at the expense of game-show contestants.

“The New Explorers,” KSPS at 7: “Taming the Wild Horses” features a pair of “whispering” horse trainers who use their words instead of physical coercion to break horses.

“NewsRadio,” NBC at 10: Bill (Phil Hartman) joins a tony health club but is ripped when he’s assigned to an undistinguished personal trainer (guest-star Ben Stiller). Also, Beth (Vicki Lewis) and Matthew (Andy Dick) are shocked by something they come across in Dave’s (Dave Foley) birth certificate. Repeat.

“The Nanny,” CBS at 8: Fran (Fran Drescher) almost settles for second-best when Maxwell’s brother Nigel (Harry Van Gorkum) asks her to marry him. Shirley Jones (“The Partridge Family”) guest-stars. Repeat.

“Basketball,” NBC at 6: The Bulls and Jazz tangle in Game 5 of the NBA Championship series.

“Pacific Palisades,” FOX at 9: The series, which isn’t on FOX’s fall schedule, returns to the lineup with a first-run episode.

Maybe it’s goofy plots like this that kept the series from taking off. Rachel (Natalia Cigluti) discovers that her sister (Michelle Stafford) is really her mother. Sure, it could happen.

“Ellen,” ABC at 9:30: Florence Henderson (“The Brady Bunch”) guest-stars as Joe’s (David Anthony Higgins) rich girlfriend. Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) gets caught in the middle after she accepts a favor from the older woman. Repeat.

Talk Time

“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Actor Chris O’Donnell and singer Anita Baker.

“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Congresswoman-turned-CBS News co-anchor Susan Molinari and music group Seven Mary Three.

“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:35 a.m.: David Brenner, prosecutor Linda Fairstein, GOP official Celeste Greig and Darius Rucker of music group Hootie and the Blowfish.

“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Writer Hunter Thompson and comedian Louis Black.