TELEVISION NOTEBOOK CRITICS SEE NO HITS, ERRORS FROM NBC.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

PASADENA - It's an understatement to say the honeymoon is over for NBC and the Television Critics Association.

Judging from the critics' response to the network's executives and some of their fall series, the situation seems to have advanced to the two sides calling their respective lawyers.

For several seasons in the '90s, critics scattered rose petals in the path of NBC's ``Must See TV'' series such as ``Seinfeld'' and ``Friends,'' but there was absolutely no applause at the summer press tour Friday for presentations of two freshman comedies: ``Inside Schwartz'' and ``Emeril.''

``Inside Schwartz'' has a hook, a gimmick that is either refreshingly different or overused, depending on one's point of view.

Breckin Meyer stars as Adam Schwartz, a minor-league baseball sportscaster who lives and breathes sports, even working through his internal conflicts with imagined conversations with famous athletes or referees. A sample: As Adam beats himself up over a mistake, notorious Boston Red Sox infielder Bill Buckner, whose error on a grounder in the 1986 World Series cost his team Game Six, pops up and says, ``Get over it!''

It was created by Stephen Engel, a writer for four seasons on HBO's somewhat similar ``Dream On.'' Engel said he sees the sports analogies as ``seasoning'' on a comedy about Schwartz's relationships with family, friends and girlfriends.

``That's the touchstone of this - will the audience get it or not?'' Engel said. ``My wife knows nothing about sports. She doesn't know who (football legend) Dick Butkus was, but she knows there's a gruff guy coaching (Schwartz) to kiss the girl.

``I wish when I was dating there was a coach there,'' he added.

Meyer confessed that until he got into basketball three years ago, he didn't know much about sports. ``Bill Buckner had to be explained to me,'' he said. ``And I knew of Dick Butkus more from his acting than his playing.''

OPEN SEASON ON NBC: In NBC's executive session, Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Entertainment, came prepared to field tough questions and comments about his summer fare, which includes the high-rated but critically reviled reality shows ``Fear Factor'' and ``Spy TV.'' Before he opened the floor, he took off his coat to reveal a peacock-emblazoned bulletproof vest.

Zucker, who moved into the job last winter after producing the ``Today'' show, disputed one critic's claim that NBC has become known as ``the network of sleazy summer programming.'' He said NBC continues to be perceived as the home of ``Friends,'' ``The West Wing,'' ``Law & Order'' and ``Will & Grace.''

``But at the same time, we have to remember that we're a network and we have to appeal to the widest audience possible with many diverse tastes,'' Zucker said.

He very politely accused television writers of not understanding what the wider public wants. ``I think that this room, filled with fine journalists, is not necessarily representative of all the demographics of America.''

Scott Sassa, president of NBC West Coast, defended NBC's programming choices (it has ordered 13 more episodes of both of those reality series).

``When CBS was the Tiffany network in the early '60s, it ran 'Petticoat Junction,' 'Green Acres' and 'The Beverly Hillbillies,' '' Sassa said.

``Jeff and I together spend a considerable time talking about things that we will and won't do,'' Sassa added, running down a list of proposals they rejected, including a contest based on adultery and another reality show that made fun of overweight people.

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NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker wore a bulletproof vest to greet critics Thursday.