FOR O.J. TRIAL, E! GETTING INTO THE ACT.

Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Staff Writer

Seated on a couch, munching bagels and sipping orange juice, Daniel Petrocelli and Robert Baker, attorneys on opposite sides of the O.J. Simpson civil trial, are chumming it up. Next door, Simpson and plaintiff's attorney John Q. Kelly share a chuckle as they talk about the defendant's upcoming testimony.

Welcome to a parallel universe created by E! Entertainment Television, where opposing sides involved in the Civil Trial of the Century act, well, civil toward each other.

These are not lawyers and an acquitted murder suspect. They just play them on television.

In real life, Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki banned cameras from the proceedings in Santa Monica Superior Court. So E!, not able to bring their cameras into the courtroom, decided to bring the courtroom to the cameras.

The result is ``The O.J. Simpson Civil Trial,'' airing every night at 5 p.m. and repeating at 10 p.m. The format is an hourlong show, about half of which is the day's crucial testimony performed by actors and the rest tending toward remarks by legal analysts. When Simpson takes the stand, the show may be lengthened to two hours or more to show actors mimicking his testimony. E! says viewership for the 5 p.m. time slot is double what it was a year ago, when ``The Gossip Show'' and ``Fashion File'' filled the hour, but the cable network declined to give the number of viewers for the O.J. re-enactments.

To produce the show, E! has scouts in the courtroom, show host Greg Agnew and trial analyst Charles Rosenberg, to report such vital data as what the principals are wearing and what everyone's mood seems to be. During trial breaks, Agnew can be found in the hallway comparing notes with reporters and calling in findings on his cellular phone. The show decided not to send actors to the courthouse.

``They told me not to go down there while this is on the air,'' said Stephen Wayne Eskridge, who plays Simpson. ``They didn't want to turn it into the circus. It would be too weird.''

``I was really concerned when they said they would be doing re-enactments,'' Agnew said. ``It's our reputation. The other reporters in the court will just rip us apart if it's bad.''

Once the information is gathered, it's an around-the-clock push to get the show together. Actors and actresses are hired on the fly when new witnesses are brought forward. For example, Karen Kawolics auditioned in the afternoon, was called around 8 p.m. and expected to perform the lines by 10:30 the next morning.She played attorney Yvette Molinaro reading previous testimony - so it was actually a re-enactment of a re-enactment.

E! plays the lines straight. They won't stray one word from what is printed on official court documents. The acted parts are limited to courtroom testimony, depositions or interviews for which there are official transcripts. For example, Simpson's clash with plaintiff Fred Goldman and the allegations that he sexually harassed a court intern would not be re-enacted.

That doesn't mean such instances might not be performed on the set, off-camera, where a gallows humor often takes over. Recently, Al D'Andrea was called in to portray photographer Michael Romano. After a couple of rehearsal takes, and before the cameras were ready, David Combs, playing Simpson attorney Robert Baker, performed some mock cross-examination of ``Romano.''

``Do you know Bob Guccione?''

``Have you ever taken pictures for him?''

``Want to sell them?''

Some say it relieves the pressure.

``I joke around whenever I get a chance,'' Eskridge said, ``because what is really happening is so sad. This is a tragedy.''

Some of the principals in the real trial have sampled the show.

``Actually, a lot of people have told me I have to watch it,'' the real John Q. Kelly said. ``I have watched about 10 minutes of it and I have to say, it is a pretty good match.''

The real Robert Baker says he has taken a pass so far, but Agnew reports that his son Phillip likes the job that Rick Williams is doing as him.

David Combs has the same combed-back gray hair and round glasses but could use a little time in the tanning hut to play Baker. Simpson's re-enactor is quite convincing: 6-foot-2, athletic build, receding hairline. The worst match is Calvin Jung, who (over)plays Judge Fujisaki, speaking loudly where the actual judge might work in a whisper.

``Some look more like the actual people than others,'' said executive producer Richard Camp. ``I was very surprised at how many people came in that looked like them, but they didn't talk like them or act like them.''

Trial, terror on E! show

The time line has been a key piece of evidence in O.J. Simpson's trials.

Well, the people at E! have a rigid schedule as well.

Below is a log of what producers, directors, actors and consultants have to do to get the daily re-enactment show, titled ``The O.J. Simpson Civil Trial'' (5 and 10 p.m. on E!), on the air.

You'll see there is hardly time to chip golf balls.

10 a.m. to noon: E! trial show host Greg Agnew phones in from the courtroom and describes what the main characters are wearing, their mannerisms and moods.

1:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Legal analyst Charles Rosenberg calls in the afternoon notes on the view from inside the courtroom.

2 to 3 p.m.: Casting time for any witnesses they discover are needed.

6 to 6:45 p.m.: Executive producer Richard Camp, producer Robert Bentley and director Scott Reiniger meet with Agnew and Rosenberg to choose which parts of the testimony to re-enact.

6:45 to 8 p.m.: Day actors audition for last-minute witness roles.

10 p.m. to 3 a.m.: Trial transcripts are received via computer. Bentley makes a script out of the predetermined highlights and faxes them to Camp's home in Studio City.

4:30 a.m.: Camp times and edits the lines to make sure they will fit into the 20 to 30 minutes of the show devoted to re-enactments.

6:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Actors show up, get scripts, do a table read, and sit through hair and makeup.

10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Footage taped for that evening's 5 p.m. broadcast.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1) Stephen Wayne Eskridge, right, as O.J. Simpson in the E

re-enactment of Simpson's civil trial, with Allan Katz as attorney Daniel Leonard, left, and David Combs as Robert Baker.

(2) Howard Miller as Daniel Petrocelli, left, Stanton Rutledge as John Q. Kelly, Katz as David Leonard, Combs as Robert Baker and Rick Williams as Phillip Baker confer with Calvin Jung as Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki during the re-enactment, airing at 5 and 10 p.m. daily on E!

Phil McCarten/Daily News

Box: Trial, terror on E! show (See Text)