The Week - Television

A guide to notable programs by Bruce Fretts (Times ae Eastern standard and are subject to change.)

Series

Tied-And-True Formula: Smith transformed, with fellow Spy Ashby.

An agreeably goofy homage to '60s espionage shows, SPY GAME, (ABC, Mondays, 8-9 p.m.) revives the nifty gadgets and cool acronyms of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Avengers. E.C.H.O. (Emergency Counter Hostilities Organization) agents Lorne Cash (Linden Ashby) and Max London (Allison Smith) battle post-Cold War foes with kitschy karate high kicks set to "Secret Agent Man"-style music. Ashby's a bit of a stiff, but, Smith is nothing short of shocking: This curvy, leather-clad readhead bears no resemblance to the squeaky-clean blond teen Smith played on Kate & Allie. Fun cameos from Avenger Patrick Macnee and I Spy Robert Culp help stir the nostalgia spirit. Can Hercules and Xena cult king Sam Raimi's latest find a network audience? With young viewers hooked on Melrose Place and anyone old enough to remember I Spy watching Cosby, that may prove to be a Mission: Impossible.