You'll See A Multitalented Jaleel White In Saturday Special

When networks give their hot series stars a special, it's often little more than a bone to keep them happy - but "The Jaleel White Special" ABC airs at 8 p.m. Saturday on KOMO-TV is a pleasant surprise - a charming, low-key, easy-to-take variety special.

It's mostly due to the collaboration between White and writer Buz Kohan. Jaleel is best-known as the super nerd, Steve Urkel, on ABC's sleeper hit, "Family Matters." But White shows he's got a lot of talent and charm that hasn't been tapped by this character.

In this special, White plays himself - acting, writing and directing his own movie - which also includes a role for Urkel. It's a high-school fantasy about the shy boy dating the high-school prom queen but White and Kohan treat it so lightly and gently the results are entirely winning.

White gets good help from Nell Carter, Flip Wilson, the gorgeous Shari Belafonte and especially Vanessa Williams as White's older sister, singing "Pure Imagination," a song that serves nicely as the theme for this special.

Bummmer: Cable's Showtime seems to be in a race with cable's USA Channel to see who can make the worst made-for-TV movie - and with evidence such as "Fatal Charm," premiering at 9 p.m. Saturday, it appears Showtime is winning.

Most bad TV movies fall into the woman-in-jeopardy category which allows actresses to be photographed in various stages of undress, at the mercy of unprincipled sadists. Never mind that the

plots never make much sense; never mind that in the finale, as the heroine is pursued by the sadist gone berserk, they tend to lock themselves in closets, rather than fleeing their houses.

"Fatal Charm" begins from the flawed point of view that Christopher Atkins is enough of an actor to convince us he's a crazed killer who is so charming that women simply do not believe he has done the things he's being sent to prison for. Certainly Amanda Peterson doesn't believe - she writes him mushy letters and when there's the inevitable prison break he tries to look up Amanda, leading to a predictably violent finale. If there were a Worst Movie of the Week Award, "Fatal Charm" would win, hands down.

Short takes: The episode of PBS' provocative "That Delicate Balance II: Our Bill of Rights" at 11 a.m. Saturday on KCTS-TV could scarcely be more topical: It's titled "Two Accused: Chronicle of a Rape Trial" and deals with the subject of date rape. It will be moderated by Kathleen Sullivan, and the panel mulling over the topic, as outlined in a fictional case, include Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes," columnist Anna Quindlen of The New York Times, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and New York Post editor Jerry Nachman.

Cable's TBS is launching a series of "Save the Earth" environmental specials, beginning with "One Child - One Voice" Sunday at 5, 8:30, and midnight. Although featuring children and designed for children, it also sounds imaginative enough to appeal to adults. Seven youngsters represent seven nations, with Erika Flores, seen in NBC's "Switched at Birth" and ABC's recent "She Woke Up," representing the U.S. Much of the film was shot at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, site of a number of films, music videos and commercials.

NBC has a special at 8 p.m. Sunday on KING-TV with the catchy title of "I Witness Video." (Don't laugh: It could have been called "America's Scariest Home Videos.") The gimmick is that it features such events as police chases, a fire in a multistory building and a tornado shot by individuals who just happened to be present with video cameras. If "I Witness Video" gets good ratings, don't be surprised if it turns into a series.

Video notes: The period of 1963-68 is the focus of A&E's outstanding "Class of the 20th Century" series tonight at 6 and 10 on cable. . . . Jimmy Smits returns for a guest shot on NBC's "L.A. Law" at 10 tonight on KING-TV. . . . A field-full of baseball stars, including Darryl Strawberry and Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr., are guest voices on the episode of Fox's "The Simpsons" at 8 tonight on KCPQ-TV. . . . CBS continues its coverage of the Winter Olympics, at 8 tonight on KIRO-TV. . . . Jason Priestley, who hosted last Saturday's "Saturday Night Live" on NBC, turns up as a guest star on Fox's "Drexell's Class" at 8:30 tonight on KCPQ-TV, his only "new" appearance this week, since the two episodes of "Beverly Hills 90210" Fox airs tonight and tomorrow night are both repeats. . . . Actor Eric Roberts is interviewed on NBC's "Later with Bob Costas" at 1:35 a.m. tomorrow on KING-TV. . . . Roseanne and Tom Arnold host NBC's "Saturday Night Live" at midnight Saturday on KING-TV.