Sleazy `2000 Malibu Road': It Was Fun While It Lasted

Nothing succeeds like excess - and that's the key to CBS' "2000 Malibu Road," an outrageously trashy, hugely entertaining new series the network intended only as a summer replacement.

But the series has proven more popular than many of CBS' long-time hits - the two-hour premiere zoomed straight to the top of the Nielsens the week it aired. Since the series was destined only for a limited run, CBS is putting the best face possible on its demise and ending its run with a two-hour segment at 9 p.m. Wednesday on KIRO-TV.

Theoretically, this will wrap up the story - but there have been so many possibilities introduced in the first four hours don't be surprised if "2000 Malibu Road" doesn't turn up as a quick replacement as the season progresses.

A cross between a miniseries and a terrific movie, "2000 Malibu Road" was created by Terry Louise Fisher, co-creator of "L.A. Law," along with Joel Schumacher, the film director ("Dying Young," "Flatliners"), who has directed all the episodes thus far.

Its star is Lisa Hartman Black, familiar from her suffering on "Knots Landing" - in fact, this series could well be called "Malibu Landing."

Fisher knows how to construct a soap and the importance of interesting characters. So while the premise isn't believable - Hartman plays a hooker who decides to give up her career so must rent portions of her expensive Malibu digs in order to pay her rent and takes in a struggling young lawyer (Jennifer Beals) and a would-be actress (Drew Barrymore) and her ambitious sister (Tuesday Knight) - the characters get and hold your interest.

But the fun lies in the way Fisher (and Schumacher) have surrounded them with a Dickensian collection of less than upstanding supporting characters. Very little milk of human kindness must run through Fisher's veins, for she doesn't hesitate a second at showing us the least flattering sides of these folks, saving her choicest barbs for the showbiz types she's undoubtedly run into in her career - a sleazy network VP, a dopey young filmmaker who babbles about art, an aging movie star (played to perfection by Sally Kellerman).

But Fisher is just as willing to expose her leading characters. At first Drew Barrymore's ingenue is supposed to win our sympathy but she soon turns out to be exasperatingly dreamy, dense and naive. The young lawyer Beals plays turns out to be as dopey in the romance department as the ingenue.

But her best invention is the role of Joy, who plays Barrymore's sister. As a scheming, conniving, amoral showbiz wannabe who will stop at nothing, Knight's portrayal of Joy is fabulous, her cheery "Honey Bunny" greeting soon coming to mean she's marked another victim. Watching Knight at work is just about as much fun as the soaps ever get - and if the series comes back, look for Knight to become the break-out personality.

Hartman's character is portrayed as the toughest, most realistic of the lot but she's in way over her head when she gets charged, early on, for a murder we know she didn't commit, then gets tangled up with her wealthy family she's been trying to avoid for years. Constance Towers as her ogre of a mother is wonderful - she makes Joan Collins' Crystal look like Mother Teresa.

Actually, "2000 Malibu Road" is a prime candidate to be the "Dynasty" of the '90s - if CBS can figure out how to bring the series back.

Youthquake: Forget the baby boomers. One of the best things about "2000 Malibu Road" is that it isn't exclusively about twentysomethings. They're so prevalent in the new series, it's tough to differentiate between CBS' "Freshman Dorm," Fox's "The Heights" and "Melrose Place" and ABC's "Going to Extremes."

Despite the fact all four are well-acted, they all seem to be formula cast: one hunk, one sex symbol, one minority character, lots of flirting, beach scenes and volleyball. It isn't that any of them are so terrible, in and of themselves; it's just that it becomes difficult to distinguish one from the other. Enough, already.

ABC is counting on "Going to Extremes" because it comes from Joshua Brand and John Falsey, who created "I'll Fly Away" and "Northern Exposure." But, mon, "Going to Extremes" fails to meet those high standards.

Video notes: Seattle Mayor Norm Rice is scheduled for Mike Siegel's "One on One" program at 10:30 tonight on KTZZ-TV. . . . Jane Pauley is scheduled to interview Hillary Clinton on NBC's "Dateline NBC" at 10 p.m. tomorrow on KING-TV. . . . Education and voting get the showbiz treatment in specials aimed at young people this week - CBS has "Back to School '92" at 8 p.m. tomorrow on KIRO-TV and PBS has "Why Bother Voting?" at 8 p.m. Wednesday on KCTS-TV.