'Push' pulls out disappointing debut

America's fascination with Olympic athletes has reached an all-time high, especially with the recent Olympic winter games and a certain pint-sized skater named Tara Lipinski. Contributing to the media hype is the new series "Push," which debuts tonight on ABC and follows six athletes aspiring to be the next Mary Lou Retton or Carl Lewis. But these athletes have more on their minds than the usual dream of having their faces plastered on Wheaties boxes some day.

In the premiere episode cleverly titled "Push," we get a glimpse into the life of these athletes in training. In addition to attending classes at Cal Southern University and training sessions that begin at 6 a.m. is a healthy dose of sex, drugs (lots of drugs) and betrayal.

Courtesy of ABC Adam Trese and Laurie Fortier star as Olympic dreamers Victor Yates and Cara Bradford in "Push," a soapy drama of sex, drugs and gymnastics premiering tonight at 8 on ABC.

We are first introduced to Victor Yates (Adam Trese), the new gymnastics coach who would much rather be performing on the rings than coaching. But an injury at the Olympic Games in Atlanta dashed his hopes of ever obtaining gold.

His assistant coach is the ever- so-persistent Nikki Lang (Jamie Presley). It's a small world when Nikki and Victor meet up again. The two were quite the item before Atlanta and before Victor's fall. Now she wants a second chance, claiming the hype of the Olympics got to her. Since then, she has changed and matured. She will pull out all the stops to scheme and connive her way back into Victor's life - but she better be ready to do some battle.

Standing in Nikki's way is her friend and competition for Victor's attention, Cara Bradford (Laurie Fortier) who gives new meaning to the term dedicated student. Victor seems to think Cara has what it takes to make it to the Goodwill Games if only she can get her act together. The night before her meet, she ends up doing marijuana and much more with her English professor, and her bad girl act doesn't stop there.

A cat fight is brewing over Victor, but it's hard to see why two reasonably intelligent women would be fighting over a cocky coach still hung up on his past. We don't get much emotion or substance out of Victor's character except for a couple of flashbacks to his injury at Atlanta. But it's not all Trese's fault; the writers deserve some of the blame for coming up with this contrived storyline.

REVIEW
	Push 2 stars ABC Mondays at 8 p.m.

The lamest part of the show has to be Dempsey Easton (Jason Behr), the once-great runner whose obsession with winning again leads him to pop pills guaranteed to make him "fly." We later find out his sob story - his need to win stems from his troubles with his alcoholic father.

Just when "Push" seems to go nowhere and starts to look like an after-school special with "Melrose Place" influences, the character Scott Trysten (Eddie Mills) draws you in. A talented swimmer with a bronze medal at the Olympics, his life is sent into a tailspin when he discovers he may have contracted HIV from a brief fling at orientation. His world is further complicated as he starts to fall for fellow swimmer Erin Galway (Maureen Flannigan).

The two grow closer, especially when Scott helps Erin through a personal tragedy. But knowing the ramifications if he is tested positive, he has no choice but to push her away. A potential love triangle develops as Scott must back down, leaving the field open for his roommate Tyler (Scott Gurney) to make a play for Erin. The relationship between the three develops more in the second episode, and it will be interesting to see where it's headed.

"Push" features a crop of new faces, and none of them are particularly memorable - except for newcomer Eddie Mills. Some of you may remember Maureen Flannigan as the half-alien girl on "Out of This World." She virtually disappeared since that show ended and now she is trying to make a comeback and shed her goody-goody image. "Push" is not exactly going to take her career to the moon, but a person's got to start somewhere.

The first episode is a disappointment but if you are willing to give it another chance, the second episode gets better. One can only hope that the show will get better with each episode. What it needs is a push in the right direction.

04-06-98