'BIG TIME' DOESN'T DO TV JUSTICE.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

LET'S SAY you're an executive at the cable network TNT, which, after axing two full seasons of produced dramas - Wall Street series ``Bull'' never aired anywhere; ``Breaking News'' eventually bombed on Bravo - and canceling its nominal hit ``Witchblade,'' could use a high-profile program to lure viewers.

Let's say you have a pilot for a potential series boasting John Wells (``ER'') as an executive producer, Paris Barclay (``NYPD Blue,'' ``City of Angels'') as a director and Molly Ringwald and Christopher Lloyd as stars. What would it take for you to reject it?

For an answer, check out ``The Big Time,'' a telefilm debuting tonight. Frankly, were I a TNT executive, I might try to dump this one on Bravo as well.

``The Big Time'' is set in the late '40s, at the dawn of television. Christina Hendricks stars as Audrey, your standard-issue small-town gal who gets an all-purpose job at a small-time network owned by a company that makes more money selling TV sets than advertising time. Since no one understands the power of this new medium, lowly Audrey manages to be present for every major decision made at the network.

Dylan Baker (``Road to Perdition,'' ``Happiness'') plays The Colonel - his mother named him ``The''? - the fellow who runs the fledgling network and whose most colorful character trait is a taste for alcohol. Lloyd essentially drains his role as a befuddled genius from the ``Back to the Future'' films of all its humor to essay the role of Doc, whose technological vision could transform the struggling network into a major industry player. Ringwald portrays Doc's wife, Marion, whose moxie grabs her an on-camera role.

Essentially, the film offers uninspired behind-the-scenes glimpses at sundry wacky mishaps that occur on live TV as the new network stages productions of plays like ``Hedda Gabler'' and ``Our Town.'' It also casts a politically correct face on the pervasive racism of the era, trivializing the woes confronting black performers.

``The Big Time'' is a big bore. Outside of Hendricks' freshly scrubbed appeal, there's little for viewers to grab onto. The film ``My Favorite Year'' and the play ``Laughter on the 23rd Floor'' covered this territory in a much more accomplished fashion. Were the early days of TV really like this, we might be enjoying ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' on the radio.

THE BIG TIME - Two stars

What: TV's early days are evoked.

Where: TNT.

When: 8 and 10 tonight.

In a nutshell: An era much better captured by others.

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Photo:

Christopher Lloyd and Molly Ringwald are a couple who find themselves in the thick of television's birth in ``The Big Time.''