They're Back! Robin And Maynard, Crow And West

In this year of upheaval in Seattle radio, the competition is about to get very intense during morning drive with imminent changes at two stations:

-- One of the most creative teams in town, Robin Erickson and John Maynard, will resurface Oct. 31 during morning drive on classic-rock KZOK-FM (102.5). Robin and Maynard, as they are known, did afternoons and, in the end, mornings at extinct album-rocker KXRX, which became "Young Country" KYCW-FM (96.5) in June.

-- Another one of the most creative teams in town, Gary Crow and Mike West, will resurface Monday during morning drive on adult-alternative KMTT-FM-AM (103.7, 850). Crow and West did mornings and, in the end, afternoons at - altogether now - extinct album-rocker KXRX.

At KZOK, morning guy and longtime Seattle DJ Gary Lockwood was let go this week. His ratings were fine, but the new ownership of the station saw an opportunity with Robin and Maynard available.

Lockwood was rumored to be headed for '70s-hits KJR-FM (95.7) - in the '70s he was with then-Top 40 KJR-AM (950), which is now sports-talk - but KJR-FM program director Norm Gregory said he had not talked with "Lockjock."

At KMTT, morning personality John Fisher will move to afternoons and cohort Peyton Mays, who is married to program director Chris Mays, is leaving the station.

Crow has been doing afternoons solo at "The Mountain" and will switch to mornings, to be joined by West.

The changes at KZOK and KMTT suddenly turn up the volume in an already-rowdy radio market where ownership consolidations, talent defections, format changes and expensive publicity campaigns have people here and elsewhere buzzing.

Order in the court: Our O.J. Simpson countdown continues, with just 17 days until the hearing about whether cameras should be allowed in the courtroom for his trial.

Joann Byrd, the former editor of The Herald in Everett who is now the ombudswoman at The Washington Post, isn't all that concerned about O.J. mania. From her D.C. column last weekend:

"If the news media want to lose their heads over the O.J. Simpson trial and spend every nickel they've got covering the story and fill the airwaves and the cables and the printed pages with enough speculation and boffo tidbits and fiction to gag a supermarket tabloid, well, so what?"

Bach-to-Bach honors: KING-FM (98.1) was voted Classical Music Station of the Year, one of 22 Marconi Awards given at the annual Radio Show sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters in Los Angeles last weekend.

KING-FM has won the honor twice.

TV on-line (update): ABC has joined America Online, the computer information service that has come to be the biggest magnet in cyberspace for television outlets.

In setting up shop to allow viewers to interact with the network and get a wealth of information about all its programming, ABC joins NBC, CNN, C-SPAN, MTV, Court TV, the Sci-Fi Channel, Lifetime, Achievement TV and a handful of individual shows - "The Geraldo Show," "The Ricki Lake Show," "Extra" and "The McLaughlin Group." CBS is on Prodigy.

Of them all, the ABC effort is the most ambitious. Its graphical design is impressive; you can download photos, famous sound bites and video; and, of course, you can take jabs at your favorite stars.

For example, it wasn't long before someone started a discussion "folder" about Ted Koppel's hair. Someone finally took participants to task:

Subj: Ted's Ears & Sam's Toupe From: Gee Boggs

Leave Ted alone!

I believe Mr. Koppel sports his particular hairstyle to camouflage the fact that his ears are somewhat uneven. Ted Koppel is a brilliant journalist, regardless of HOW he wears his hair. Besides, why is it always television personalities' hair that we viewers so closely scrutinize?

If we ARE going to talk about hair, however, NO one on the ABC News staff can outdo the ridiculous-looking rug Sam Donaldson has worn for the past 10 (or so) years.

TV-Radio Beat appears every Friday. Seattle Times electronic-media reporter Chuck Taylor can be reached at 464-8524 or on the Internet at ctay-new@seatimes.com.