Rick Schroder

SERIES Randy Quaid, now in theaters in "Quick Change" and "Days of Thunder," has been signed to play the title role in "The Principal," an ABC sitcom scheduled to air during the 1990-91 season. Quaid, whose father will be portrayed by veteran Jonathan Winters, will play an educator who brings unconventional methods and noble intentions to an unsuspecting junior high school.

It was the waning days of Rick Schroder's run on "NYPD Blue." The blond-haired, blue-eyed former child actor faced an uncertain future. The meaty acting roles he craved rarely seemed to come his way. Worse, he and his wife were still struggling with the bottomless grief of a late-term miscarriage. Drawing on this reservoir of anger and pain, Schroder picked up a pen and his journal and began writing a screenplay, in longhand.

A recent "Saturday Night Live" skit featured a talk show with some of young male stardom's "sassiest" men. "And here's Ricky Schroder," the host enthused. The Schroder figure, replete with a 'tude from hell, growled back, "It's Rick, dammit! Not Ricky! Rick !" Happily, this is a case of art not imitating life. Just a few minutes with the real Rick quickly dispels the notion that the young actor who got his start in the film "The Champ" at age 7 has turned into a surly egomaniac.

"Black Cloud" is a modest, straightforward but affecting coming-of-age story about a young Navajo with a real talent for boxing but who is also his own worst enemy. It marks a solid writing and directing debut for actor Rick Schroder, and it is above all a fine showcase for Eddie Spears, a handsome, well-muscled Lakota Sioux with a smoldering screen presence. Navajo Nation locales, including sequences set in Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly, provide the film's photogenic settings.

It was the waning days of Rick Schroder's run on "NYPD Blue." The blond-haired, blue-eyed former child actor faced an uncertain future. The meaty acting roles he craved rarely seemed to come his way. Worse, he and his wife were still struggling with the bottomless grief of a late-term miscarriage. Drawing on this reservoir of anger and pain, Schroder picked up a pen and his journal and began writing a screenplay, in longhand.

The producers of "NYPD Blue" are hoping the addition of former "Silver Spoons" star Rick Schroder to the cast will reinvigorate the police drama as the ABC series heads into its sixth season. Deeming Jimmy Smits "irreplaceable," co-creators Steven Bochco and David Milch opted to go in a different direction by introducing the 28-year-old Schroder as a young detective who will be paired with the gruff Andy Sipowicz, played by three-time Emmy winner Dennis Franz.

Re TV Times' article on Rick Schroder (April 25, "Call of the Wild"): Call him Rick. Call him Ricky. I don't care. Just call his agent and tell him not to send him out anymore. He can't act. Tom A. Zoerner, Torrance

Mother and Child Reunion: Burger King, which recently placed an ad in several hundred newspapers trumpeting its support of "traditional American values on television, especially the importance of family" and proclaimed it would support only programs that reflected those values, was among the commercial sponsors of CBS' "The Stranger Within," a violent television movie that aired Tuesday night.

Rick Schroder has been facing a lot of challenges since joining the cast of ABC's "NYPD Blue," in which he makes his first appearance Tuesday as Andy Sipowicz's new partner, Det. Danny Sorenson. Those challenges include being the new kid on the block on the Emmy Award-winning series and battling the ghost of Jimmy Smits, who last week departed the show after four seasons as Bobby Simone. "I do realize that Simone was a loved character and respected by the audience," he says.

"Black Cloud" is a modest, straightforward but affecting coming-of-age story about a young Navajo with a real talent for boxing but who is also his own worst enemy. It marks a solid writing and directing debut for actor Rick Schroder, and it is above all a fine showcase for Eddie Spears, a handsome, well-muscled Lakota Sioux with a smoldering screen presence. Navajo Nation locales, including sequences set in Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly, provide the film's photogenic settings.

Cable Top 10 Here are Nielsen's top 10 cable programs in prime time last week, also ranked by total viewers (in millions). *--* Program Network Viewers 1. Sunday Night Football ESPN 8.85 2. NFL Primetime ESPN 5.93 3. Wrestling (Mon., 10 p.m.) USA 5.91 4. Wrestling (Mon., 8 p.m.) TNT 5.57 5. Wrestling (Mon, 9 p.m.) USA 5.27 6. Pro Football (Thurs.) ESPN 4.51 7. Wrestling (Sun., 7 p.m.) USA 4.44 8. Wrestling (Mon., 10 p.m.) TNT 4.34 9. "Alien Resurrection" HBO 4.29 10. Wrestling (Thur., 9:05 p.m.

Rick Schroder has been facing a lot of challenges since joining the cast of ABC's "NYPD Blue," in which he makes his first appearance Tuesday as Andy Sipowicz's new partner, Det. Danny Sorenson. Those challenges include being the new kid on the block on the Emmy Award-winning series and battling the ghost of Jimmy Smits, who last week departed the show after four seasons as Bobby Simone. "I do realize that Simone was a loved character and respected by the audience," he says.

The producers of "NYPD Blue" are hoping the addition of former "Silver Spoons" star Rick Schroder to the cast will reinvigorate the police drama as the ABC series heads into its sixth season. Deeming Jimmy Smits "irreplaceable," co-creators Steven Bochco and David Milch opted to go in a different direction by introducing the 28-year-old Schroder as a young detective who will be paired with the gruff Andy Sipowicz, played by three-time Emmy winner Dennis Franz.

Re TV Times' article on Rick Schroder (April 25, "Call of the Wild"): Call him Rick. Call him Ricky. I don't care. Just call his agent and tell him not to send him out anymore. He can't act. Tom A. Zoerner, Torrance

A recent "Saturday Night Live" skit featured a talk show with some of young male stardom's "sassiest" men. "And here's Ricky Schroder," the host enthused. The Schroder figure, replete with a 'tude from hell, growled back, "It's Rick, dammit! Not Ricky! Rick !" Happily, this is a case of art not imitating life. Just a few minutes with the real Rick quickly dispels the notion that the young actor who got his start in the film "The Champ" at age 7 has turned into a surly egomaniac.

Mother and Child Reunion: Burger King, which recently placed an ad in several hundred newspapers trumpeting its support of "traditional American values on television, especially the importance of family" and proclaimed it would support only programs that reflected those values, was among the commercial sponsors of CBS' "The Stranger Within," a violent television movie that aired Tuesday night.

Cable Top 10 Here are Nielsen's top 10 cable programs in prime time last week, also ranked by total viewers (in millions). *--* Program Network Viewers 1. Sunday Night Football ESPN 8.85 2. NFL Primetime ESPN 5.93 3. Wrestling (Mon., 10 p.m.) USA 5.91 4. Wrestling (Mon., 8 p.m.) TNT 5.57 5. Wrestling (Mon, 9 p.m.) USA 5.27 6. Pro Football (Thurs.) ESPN 4.51 7. Wrestling (Sun., 7 p.m.) USA 4.44 8. Wrestling (Mon., 10 p.m.) TNT 4.34 9. "Alien Resurrection" HBO 4.29 10. Wrestling (Thur., 9:05 p.m.

Rick Schroder's performance in ABC's "A Son's Promise" was heartfelt and moving. I see a bright, long future for this young man. Lisa Watchempino, Hollywood

SERIES Randy Quaid, now in theaters in "Quick Change" and "Days of Thunder," has been signed to play the title role in "The Principal," an ABC sitcom scheduled to air during the 1990-91 season. Quaid, whose father will be portrayed by veteran Jonathan Winters, will play an educator who brings unconventional methods and noble intentions to an unsuspecting junior high school.