Video: And Mister Ed Begat Mr. Smith

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Hardcastle and McCormick (ABC, Sundays, 8 p.m. E.S.T.). Under his robes, Judge Milton C. Hardcastle wears Hawaiian shirts, jogging shorts and filthy sneakers. But if you think his haberdashery is reprehensible, wait till you hear his judicial philosophy: "Hunt 'em, hear 'em and hang 'em!" The A.C.L.U. may run for help, but "Hardcase" (Brian Keith) figures the law is too soft on criminals. So he hires one (Daniel Hugh-Kelly) to help him catch the bad guys. With a face of aged granite and a voice that sounds like Duke Wayne over ground glass, Keith has a certain mastodon appeal. He can keep appealing until his show is canceled—or until Hardcase is appointed to the Reagan Supreme Court.

Scarecrow and Mrs. King (CBS, Mondays, 8 p.m.). Or: Mary Richards Meets James Bond. She (Kate Jackson) is recently divorced, a Cub Scout den mother of two. He (Bruce Boxleitner) is brave, suave, handsome; a spy. He leads her through a cheerfully baroque maze of international intrigue; she alternates between frying and saving his bacon, not to mention the Free World. In Jackson, who has acquired a crinkly allure, and Boxleitner, who looks like Robert Redford just before puberty, this series has two stars worth catching on cold Monday nights. Like just about every other new show, Scarecrow speaks to the conservative national mood: the villains work for the KGB. After a decade of Le Carré naturalism, cold war chic rides again.

Boone (NBC, Mondays, 8 p.m.). Boone Sawyer (Tom Byrd), the pride of Trinity, Term., wants to be a country singing star. Created by Earl Hamner (The Waltons), Boone argues that you can pursue an artistic dream and still love your folks. It dispenses much sugar-coated wisdom, and bathes John-Boone's homestead in the sunlight of reverie. Byrd is almost convincing when he proclaims that "it's my heart's craving—it's my passion—to sing." Alas, he sings with neither pitch nor power. Alovin' and afightin' and asingin' off key? Paging Marni Nixon.

Just Our Luck (ABC, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.). Executive Producer Chuck Gordon calls this "a 'relationship' show, sort of I Dream of the Odd Couple. "How odd? Keith Barrow (Richard Gilliland) is a nebbishy TV weatherman who spiffs up his act with help from a 3,000-year-old black genie (T.K. Carter). Not much promise here, but it is the delivery that counts. Like Bosom Buddies of a few seasons backs, Just Our Luck scores as hip, underplayed farce. The chemistry must keep working to please adults, while special effects keep the kids happy. (Example: Shabu metamorphoses into a soul quartet called the Shabettes, in which Carter parodies Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Rick James and Lionel Richie, all at the same time.)

Oh Madeline (ABC, Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m.). Madeline Kahn is often a sexy, dizzy comedian. In this domestic sitcom, Kahn still gets laughs trilling coloratura inanities, or scrunching up her mouth like a Seňor Wences hand puppet. But her show leans too heavily on mistaken identities and enervated gags; to keep the show upright, she pushes too hard. Oh Madeline.

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