by Roger Reini (rreini@wwnet.com)

In the long sketches this week, Linda's costar in "Driving Miss Daisy" is nothing like the character he plays on stage; Kay is the foreperson of a racially diverse jury which can agree on very little; and Harry Rosenthal appears in a rap music video.

Short bits: Virginia doesn't care for the blacks (or is that the Blacks?); Fern gives her take on black-Jewish relations; Rayleen gets in trouble with the Nation of Islam; Mrs. Noh sponsors a donuts-for-guns exchange program; Chic tells us about the time Johnnie Cochran was a passenger in his cab; Trevor tells us about Nelson Mandela being a passenger; and Sydney tells us she has no problem hiring minorities -- she just can't fire them.

This was an interesting episode (they all are, of course). The sketches I liked the best were Linda and her "Daisy" co-star (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs -- remember him from "Welcome Back Kotter") and Kay on the jury. The jury sketch had just about every conceivable minority and stereotype portrayed; nobody was immune from their particular prejudices (except possibly Kay). Bit of a sad commentary about this nation, I thought. Well, they did come to some agreement (watch the episode to find out what). And it was interesting to watch Linda interact with her co-star, who (out of character) is hostile to nearly everything and everyone around him. It was also very interesting to see Linda in a tight, short black dress <g> -- it was very flattering.

NEXT WEEK: The supernatural -- plus the return of Midge and Chris. Two more episodes left -- Politics and Music (order TBD), then the best-of special.