Old stars hope to shine in new shows

If you think you've heard these names, it's because you have.
By DUSTY SAUNDERS
SCRIPPS HOWARD
What do past TV-series performers Tom Cavanagh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jenna Elfman, Lara Flynn Boyle and Fred Savage have in common?
They are among the numerous actors involved in network "pilot" projects that could evolve into regular weekly series next fall.
Add to this mix actors known mostly for movie roles -- Anne Heche, Melanie Griffith and Aidan Quinn.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, more than 120 pilots (filmed episodes of projected series) are being examined by network programmers before the schedules are put together.
As in the past, only about 35 pilots will go into full-time production.
The rest will crash and burn.
Cavanagh ("Ed") stars in a CBS comedy-romance project called "Love Monkey," about a record-company executive who gets dumped by his girlfriend.
After failing with NBC's "Watching Ellie," "Seinfeld" alum Dreyfus is trying again with another comedy, "Old Christine," also on CBS.
Elfman, the limber, Lucille Ball-type comedian who found fame in ABC's "Dharma & amp; Greg" (1997-2002), also may show up in CBS' comedy lineup in "Everything I Know About Men."
Boyle, the thin and feisty DA on "The Practice," is playing a psychiatrist on a UPN drama project titled "Crazy."
And ABC may answer a whatever-happened-to question if it brings back Savage ("The Wonder Years") in "Crumbs," an adult comedy.
A good thing?
If he returns, Savage could be battling a "Seinfeld"-type curse. Numerous viewers still savor his performance as youngster-teenager Kevin Arnold in "The Wonder Years," a quality series of the late '80s and early '90s, yet forget about his role in 1997's "Working."
Both Heche and Oscar nominee Griffith are working at Warner Bros.
The former stars in "True," portraying a young woman who moves back home with parents after her boyfriend breaks up with her while she's in labor. While billed as a comedy, that sounds like dreary drama.
Griffith would star in a comedy about twins.
Quinn has one of the most unusual roles. NBC is high on a drama project, "The Book Of Daniel," featuring Quinn as a priest addicted to prescription drugs who is visited regularly by a modern Jesus.
Other projects that could end up on network schedules:
U"Soccer Moms" (ABC), dealing with suburban housewives who become private investigators.
U"Night Stalker" (ABC), an updated version of the '70s cult favorite that starred Darren McGavin as a reporter who researched bizarre, spooky occurrences.
U"Reunion" (Fox), a time-jumping drama about a group of high-school friends. Episodes follow their lives for 20 years.
U"E-Ring" (CBS), another Jerry Bruckheimer ("CSI") project, this one about subterfuge in the Pentagon.
U"Early Bird" and "My Name is Earl" (NBC), comedies set at a retirement community and a trailer park.
U"Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN), a comedy produced by Chris Rock about his upbringing.
U"Halley's Comet" (the WB), a drama following a young woman making her way through medical school, created by David E. Kelley ("The Practice," "Boston Legal").
Meanwhile, "Prison Break" has the honor of being the first pilot to be picked up as a fall series.