By MICHAEL GILTZ Networks have always played fast and loose with the rules of priI1H .. ·lil11c.</p><p> Aile lIin'd till' I-IUIII' "Peyton Placo" up to three times a week in the '60s nnd now it nirR the quiz show "Who Wanls to Be n Millionaire" three timcH U week.</p><p> The first, big miniseries -"Rich Man, Poor Mao" -wos treated like a regu- lar show when it aired one hour a week for half a sea son.</p><p> Now CBS is trealing its promising new drama "Fnlcone"like a miniseries - airing nine episodes over eight nights starting Tuesday.</p><p> It nervously delayed the show '~ launch lost full aficr the Columbine shooting mode network execs leery of violence. (1110Ugh "Falcone" isn't particularly violent.> But that delay may prove a blc!'liing.</p><p> Like Bugsy Siegel letting it 011 ride on his dream of Vf'f~II,:1 , CBS iN mlling the tiki' nil "1"1111'11111'." Thu Iwt· wUl'k puhlicity lIIill gut.'''' intI) high gl'lIr during the NCAA Final Four baskethull tournament -giving the show its best shot at renching young mnle . viewers and CUS the best shot at making the most of its expensive basket ball package. "This gamble like," says actor Jason Gedrick. who stars as undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone. "This gamble makes n lot of sense, Even going (against IERt) in this format is great because you're asking viewers to tunc out maybe one night of their lIsunl show.</p><p> Because * it's nn event, they can say. 'You know what? I'll give it a shot; I'll "'I'C wllllt il"N nil 1':"I't'lIlivl' 111'1111111'1'1' Unhurl Sillglll' -wll .. tllIl'l'llI II 111111.1" ...</p><p> III' IIH' "JIil-Hldl'H I1gn'I'H. "Ev('ryhocly hi cnllt if)tI~)y optimistic," says Singer. "Jt's ;) great way to get lIulin'cl.</p><p> It doesn't feel like jll!'~ II110lher show coming 1111 For ilil his confidencc that (hi!' p:"g'ramming gambit is a snlfllt way for "Falcone" to stilk oul from thc crowd. ~ill~ •• "r admitF: the "nine epi:";lI{jj':"; in eight days" rush ttl judgUient docs create a fctdinJ; uf"Lct it ride." Still. knowing the fnte of your show in one week does have its advantages. . "Finding oul nil at once-NEW YORK POST, SUNDAY, APRil 2, 2000 'The Sopranos' is the godfather of gangster shows, but this week CBS is muscling in with 'Falcone.' They hope a blow- you-away launch will make it ...</p><p> I IIlVI' 1I111t," HllyH Singl'l', whu's livf'd wilh Wf'f·k-t(J \\'eek ratings anxiety work· ing on show~ like "Midnight CnJler" on" "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superm an." Indeed, waiting every seven days for a IiUle piece of information con be ncrvcwrack ing .. "This way you'lI scc: Wt.'II, we had an impact -we did· n't have an impact.</p><p> They didn't come to the party - they came to the party in droves.</p><p> We'll know right awny and plnn for Ill'xt yt'ur or ,,,wt un with uur li"!'H.</p><p> Thnt pnrt'H gn'nt." At'curding to curly hu7.1..</p><p> Sf) is the show" Based on the memoirs thot inspired thc fcn ture film "Donnie Brasco," "Falconc" shows Joe Pistune, aka Joc Falconc, as he struggles to bnlan('c the Tl('l'ds of his wife find two kids with his joh. (FnJcnne is gonc fur days and \\"l'eks at a timf'. , Work is equally conflicted: Falcone finds himself torn more and more betw('cn the demands of the FBI nnd thc gangster!' hl' spt'ml!' most III' ,'I'" ,I.i", ",:, ' i hi", tillll' wilh.</p><p> Il'" hurd to hnt(' 11l0hslt'r !-iunny Napoli (Titus W~lJiver) when Falcone ~el'S him !'tru~gling to denl with a nephew that has Dutism" It's c"en harder to put his life on the line for the FBI wh~11 Fnlcol1e sees other agents hungle a case.</p><p> Gt'drick has his best role sinn' "'Murder One~ -in whi<:h he plnyed n ~f'lr· indulgt·nt, po~~ ibly murder ous I11m"if.' ~tar.</p><p> But "Fall'ol1e" also st<lI"S Am\" Carl~un of "Another Wo;'ld ~ in n scintillating. nn'I1III1!'('IlH' pprfOrl11:lllt'l' '/ !I -, /, ,I I~: I:; 11M hiH will'; Eric Hl/he'dH O~ 'I " Rlighlly mnd crimt' hURfli Dnd Pnlli LuPunc us an ambitious prosecutor who'd (.'redit for busting up the crime fomily before the FBi docs. " It evcn has a "Sopranos" connectiun: Lillo Broncato Jr., who plays the explosive ly violent Lucky on "Falcone'," also had a recur· ring role on the }-IBO drmna.</p><p> Not that "'Falcone" wants tu he linkcd with thal \'ery " different drama. . "We're not th3t show," says Sing-cr. "We dun't pretend to Falcone II caught lletween bls itrong-wIIIed wife, played Q Amr Carlson (left) and the pew of street thugs he Is sup posed 10 ... spying an. be that show and we don't want to be that show. "That show's great and they do what they do.</p><p> Ours iR n n~nlly ditTerent tuke - Falcone's family life i~ cer tainly a lot different than Tony Soprano's.</p><p> But. the attack of both shows is total ly ditTerenl." In some ways, the gnngst('r serieR hos token ov('r 011 TV from Westerns -n world where people make their ---. ----"N("'r'i'O~ln<:5S T: -SUNDAY, mil 2, 2000 --- ----- own rules and live and die by the consequences. "This is what the Weslern hos become,'" agrees Singer. "Guys with gUllfl, .~ So the next week ond n half is like hn\'ing "Fnkonc" stride down the main street of town to face otT with the Nielsen gang.</p><p> Only one of thrm WQlk~ nwoy alive nnd, ("'.</p><p> Hillf(<'f. thro nut..'onm mot. tA:lft4 more thiM limlJ. "a's 0 8how you really get your hopes up for,-says Singer. "You want to come bock and work on it. 8 long time, 80 that raises the st.ukes. "There nrc other shows you might work on that are not either that pleasant to work on or you fccl some· how the concept didn't get realized and you're ready for bad things to happen," he SRYB. "But thili show -we're all 80 jazzed about it.</p><p> A dis appointment would be a greater disappointment." But the 3n-y.ar-old Gedrick -who's been burned by high hope. in the put -iD.i~t" the programming stunt won't be nervR-WTack.ing for him. "l ',"0 ..</p><p> I'm going t<> have to find another job sooner or later anyway," he !!aYI. "lfB not that big a deal to me. 'Tv. b."n nown this .·oad bt.,fore with r ... lly. 1",.,,11,. ",.II-reeeiv.,d "how. lik. 'EZ Btreeu.' 1 meAn we could not have ... ritt~n betler review. ourselv ••.</p><p> And DO one "." it.</p><p> So, maybe I'm a liltl. jadod." Another CBS drama, "EZ Streeu" premjered in 1996 to ... ery lJb"ong revi.",. and lot. of pr... att..entioD thank, to 8 calt tbftt al80 included Ken Olin and Joe Pantoliano.</p><p> Aner airin, once in ill regular lime Ilot, the 8how W88 yanked for several months, aired a faw more times and then can celled . .. , really Jove workine- on this ,how," Gedrick say •. "But) think if ) get caught up in that, the disappointment factor ... it gets to beat you up a little bil." He's had small role. in films like "Backdrall:" and "Born on the Fourth of July," ." well 0" tho l(>Iul in CBS'" h"u·k. hu"t4lr miniMf'ri .... -J·he L ... t Uuu" .IHI 'hi "1~~:::'! '14'll wlLll twu dill. dron /l1It1 hltHl'cI in Lop' Angelf's, Gedrick hlt8 steadily grabbed better and bettcr rolcs ever since.</p><p> Now, it's come together for him. "By the timc we finished 'Falcone: I'd learned a lot about film technique," says Gedrick, a disarming admission from someone who's slarred in a number of TV shows and about a d01.en movie8. "The lost fuur episodes are sensational.</p><p> We were shoot ing in Toronto and , was dying to get home.</p><p> But I real ly didn't wont to stop shoot ~ ing.</p><p> I didn·t want to stop act ing because I'm just starting to get out of idle here."
