It's a slow Monday, but with fresh episodes of all of the night's dramatic series -- "Melrose Place," "Party of Five" and "Northern Exposure" -- there's at least one decent alternative per hour of prime time.
"Melrose Place." (8-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- This show is hitting its stride again, primarily by having the biggest number of wackos running around this side of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Last week, Amanda pulled an office coup that had a hostile former supervisor all hung up; Sydney endured the torture of being "kidnapped" by a free-spending admirer at a plush suite at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas; Jo got carted away by police because she hysterically insisted Kimberly's baby actually was her own (she was telling the truth, by the way); Jane bedded Michael, Kimberly's husband, in a casual one-night stand; and Alison checked into rehab. The women run the show on "Melrose Place" these days, and that's what's making the show so much fun to watch. Fox.
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* "Moment of Truth: Murder or Memory?" (9-11 p.m., WMAR,
Channel 2) -- How much clout does an Emmy add to a career? In the case of Leigh Taylor-Young, a lot. She had been written out of "Picket Fences" at the end of last season, but garnered a nomination as best supporting actress anyway. When she won, not only did she land the lead in this NBC docudrama, but she's been invited back to the cast of "Picket Fences." NBC.
* "Party of Five." (9-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Keep an eye on Megan Ward, who joins the cast in a guest-starring role as Bailey's new, and very enthusiastic, love interest. Scott Wolf stars as Bailey -- and this new arrival has the potential to make the recent shady ladies of "Beverly Hills, 90210" look like Girl Scouts. Fox.
* "Northern Exposure." (10-11 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- In a way, there's a prime-time mayoral race going on tonight, because Leigh Taylor-Young, the former mayor of Rome, Wis., on "Picket Fences," competes directly with Janine Turner's Maggie, the newly appointed mayor of Cicely, Alaska. CBS.
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* "Dead Women in Lingerie." (8-9:30 p.m., MAX) -- And you thought the Victoria's Secret catalog was pushing the envelope. This 1994 movie is a comedy, but that's a description, not a review.