TV REVIEWS : 2 SHOWS: ONE FUNNY, ANOTHER SERIOUS

It’s always a treat to see a wondrous new character spring to life on our TV screen. And NBC has turned the trick again tonight with “The Incredible Ida Early,” an hourlong “NBC Family Special” that airs at 8 on Channels 4, 36 and 39.

Played with scene-stealing verve by Jackee Harry, Ms. Early is an outlandish new housekeeper who magically appears at the doorstep of the Sutton household, where a recently widowed school principal (Ed Begley Jr.) has been overmatched trying to raise a quartet of unruly kids.

Built like a scaled-down version of Philadelphia 76ers forward Charles Barkley, brimming with folk wisdom (“Some people wade through life; others pan for gold”) and dressed like a Melrose Avenue bag lady, Early is an endearing--and formidable--presence, breathing life back into the chaotic, motherless family.

Preoccupied with battling a conservative school board, the father would prefer a more conventional housekeeper. But he’s no match for Ida, who charms his young twins into eating broccoli, juggles flap-jacks like they were tennis balls and gently builds up the confidence of his daughter, who’s an aspiring ballet dancer.

The oldest son, Randall, has his reservations about Ida, especially after she claims to be lifelong friends with baseball hero Hank Aaron (who makes a brief guest appearance as himself). But even Randall eventually falls under Ida’s spell.

Written by Pamela Pettler, the show has its faults--it’s a bit sugary, even for a “Family Special,” and the slender Aaron sub-plot has a far too predictable payoff. But Ida’s zest and rousing imagination are contagious, reminding the entire family of the importance of remaining loyal to friends and sticking up for deeply held beliefs.

As Ida, Harry supplies so much energy and sass that we eagerly await her arrival in every scene . . . which not only sounds like a prescription for good TV, but makes us wonder why Ida Early couldn’t be the star of her own series.

Cocaine and alcohol--people can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. It’s this deadly fascination--America today has 1 million cocaine addicts and 11 million alcoholics--that ABC’s “Closeup” documentary unit explores in “Alcohol & Cocaine--the Secret of Addiction,” an hourlong special tonight at 10 on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42.

Reported by ABC news correspondent Bill Blakemore, the documentary focuses on new, high-tech scientific advances that make a strong case for the key role that heredity plays in the development of addiction.

Somber, studious and, dare we say, occasionally dull, the program presents findings from a gallery of medical experts as well as candid interviews with recovering addicts. Their confessions are scary--and all too familiar.

A suburban alcoholic, his wife at his side, can’t even remember the many times he stumbled downstairs in the middle of the night, prowling for a few more beers. A cocaine addict, once so crazed that he leaped out of his car to attack a fellow motorist with an ax, acknowledges he now has problems retaining information and is plagued by a shortened attention span.

And these are the survivors (alcohol alone kills nearly 100,000 people each year). The medical experts have found a wider range of problems, discovering that cocaine and alcohol not only attack the brain, but destroy bone marrow, muscle fiber and sex hormones.

“Closeup” shows its lab coat-clad visionaries in action, using sensors to monitor brain waves, taking computerized fingerprints of individual cells and researching organ damage.

Unfortunately, only the final segment of the show zeroes in on the most pressing problem, the new generation of teen-age drug and alcohol experimenters (and you have to wonder how many of those potential problem kids will be at home on Friday at 10 p.m. to see this program).

Scientists may have found what a huge role heredity plays in addiction, but what about the enormous impact of today’s seductive media messages? While our medical heroes are making new discoveries, our “go for the gusto” culture is presenting us with a host of disturbing new questions.

All that this “Closeup” cautionary tale can offer us is a telling passage from a John Updike story, which warns: “The world is full of people who never knew what hit ‘em.”