No Coattails

By James Poniewozik

IT IS THE WINTER AFTER THE ELECTION, and the President's numbers are dropping. We're talking, of course, about President Josiah Bartlet, whose show, The West Wing, down in the ratings this season, probably seemed like a better candidate for cloning when Mister Sterling was conceived. Sterling (NBC, Fridays, 8 p.m. E.T.), from ex--West Wing producer Lawrence O'Donnell, stars Josh Brolin as a political naif appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat. Populated with more straw men than an Iowa cornfield--sleazy lobbyists, nosy reporters, cynical legislators--Sterling plays safely down the political middle, making its stiff title character an independent. Like a timid primary hopeful, it has few convictions beyond pandering to viewers' feelings of superiority to all those bad people in Washington.

The wishy-washiness might be excusable if Sterling did not commit the first sin of politics and TV: it's dull, with all of West Wing's sanctimony and none of its humor and character. On the other hand, CBS's Queens Supreme (Fridays, 10 p.m. E.T.), starring former West Wing regular Oliver Platt as a colorful, politically embattled judge, has humor and character to a fault. No lack of excitement here: in the three episodes sent to critics, Platt has a gun pointed at him three times and sings show tunes twice. All this action and some snappy dialogue bring the dry legal issues to life, but between the relentlessly quirky plots and Platt's hammy performance, you'll soon wish somebody would kill them again. Looking for a legacy, President Bartlet? Better focus on your legislative agenda. --J.P