Late Nite Tv Listings

Can't get enough tube? Now you can get even more on your computer. The trickle of TV-related Web sites has turned into a torrent, with the networks finally going whole hog to keep their viewers loyal, with cable channels providing program details that listings guides don't have room for, with fans elaborately celebrating their faves and with oddball pages devoted to all kinds of off-the-wall tube targets.

Here are some of the spots:

Character crossovers: NBC Interactive is ratcheting up the cross-currents between the TV tube and the PC screen. They've got six on-line shows that let you interact with characters from series like "Homicide" and "The Pretender." The "Homicide" pages actually contain a second set of Baltimore detective characters you don't see on TV. In an arc titled "Second Shift," they investigate their own cases and lead their own lives, with either real-time audio dialogue (links help you download the sound utility if you don't have it) or script pages printed on the screen. "Homicide" TV actor Reed Diamond is part of this week's on-line "episode." The "Pretender" pages are even more active, actually making you an operative of the center that's trying to recapture its escaped prodigy, Jarod. You follow clues that just happen to lead you to search Jarod's abandoned Oldsmobile Intrigue clever use of a sponsor's product as you try to alert dastardly Miss Parker to Jarod's next destination city. (If you guess wrong, her ice-cold voice scolds you.) NBC even intends to introduce a new character for the TV series' second season to on-line audiences first. You'll need Netscape Navigator 3.0 or above to play, but again, the NBC screens link you to the download site. Vintage playground: The Nick at Nite "classic TV" channel was a latecomer on-line. The wait was worth it, though it's a colorful bounty of episode guides, star bios, behind-the-scenes trivia, sounds and pictures even those Retromercials they show on TV Land (73 of 'em, for products like Bosco, the '68 Mustang, Ginsu Knives and Sergio Valente designer jeans). In fact, the TV Land site might be the most fun for those of us deprived of the channel, letting us see what we're missing ("Sonny & Cher" with '70s guests Jimmy Durante, Kate Smith and Olympic swimmer-poster dude Mark Spitz!). The screens are very active signs spin and TV screens change channels but they can take forever for your computer to draw. And if you're into downloading, you'll be on-line awhile: The "How 'bout a nice Hawaiian Punch" Retromercial needs 30 seconds for audio alone and 10-plus minutes for its 1.5 megabyte Quick Time movie version (on a 28.8 modem). All things TV: Start at UltimateTV. This is the ultimate guide to tubeland. This index contains 8,838 links for 1,180 shows new, old and international including 1,366 Web pages. It's also got program listings for all time zones; links to sites maintained by networks, cable channels, local stations and production studios; Nielsen ratings; job info for industry types; and much more. The facts you can find here are endless. You'll learn that 14.1 million people actually watched the July 24 episode of "Men Behaving Badly." (Explanation: It aired in NBC's Thursday lineup.) The show list pairs MTV's new "Daria" next to the '60s soap "Dark Shadows." Ultimate TV's series pages offer links to episode guides, frequently asked questions, newsgroups and mailing lists in addition to Web sites. And some of those Web sites are surprising. Check out Songs of the Blue Bird devoted to the late CBS fave "Beauty and the Beast." With its news of conventions, fan fiction and other sites, it's a warm, tasteful, up-to-date fan publication that's typical of the amazing energies viewers invest in these on-line labors of love. Commercial cool: Speaking of labors of love, there's a site devoted to Mr. K, the smiling Japanese man in the cap carrying the dog in those Nissan ads. This unofficial fan club offers info (the actor's name is Dale Ishimoto, and he's playing former Nissan President Yutaka Katayama), emotion ("Bliss had arrived," host Mark Tuer writes of his first encounter with the calming Mr. K) and advice ("Always remember that life is a journey," of course. "Enjoy the ride"). NBC Interactive: www.nbc.com Nick at Nite: www.nick-at-nite.com Tube guide: www.ultimatetv.com "Beauty and the Beast": members.iquest.net/jeneric/ songs.html Nissan's Mr. K: www.tiac.net/users/carp29/nissan.htm

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