DREADED DRENTELL IS BACK, 'ONCE AND AGAIN'

BYLINE: Verne Gay -- MILES DRENTELL? The name brings back some oddly disjointed memory from a popular TV show of long ago. Some hints: Maddeningly imperious, parable-spouting, manipulative, talented, vain and-on some not entirely obvious level - evil.

Yes, that Miles Drentell. He's back.

When ABC's "Once and Again" returns to the schedule tonight in its new 10 p.m. time period, a face from the past returns to haunt and (yes) fascinate us. Drentell, played so memorably by David Clennon, was the exquisitely Mephistophelian owner of a Philadelphia ad agency who tormented Michael Steadman (Ken Olin) on "thirtysomething" for three seasons (1989-'91).

And starting tonight, he has a new victim. Rick Sammler (Billy Campbell) is hired by Drentell's firm to design a building worthy of his expansive ego. Mr. Sammler's planet has suddenly become a slightly more dangerous place.

Marshall Herskovitz - who created both "thirtysomething" and "Once and Again" with Ed Zwick - recalls that "we had come up with a storyline about basically a client from hell, and we were in the midst of trying to describe what this guy was like and thought, 'He's sort of like Miles Drentell.' We looked at each other and literally said at the same time, 'No.' And then said, 'Why not? We can do it.' The idea tickled us so much."

Really, why not? Great TV characters have an uncanny way of being recylced (see: "Mary and Rhoda," ABC, Feb. 7), and Clennon's Drentell was a great character. "It's a puzzling thing," Clennon once told Newsday. "In fifteen years of acting in feature films with some of the best directors around - people like Hal Ashby ("Being There") and Costa-Gavras ("Missing") - nothing has gotten me the recognition that Miles Drentell has."

For good reason. Like Nancy Marchand's Livia Soprano, viewers are drawn to subtly malicious characters, if for no other reason than they know someone like them. Drentell, in fact, was based on a TV producer who had tortured Zwick and Herskovitz early in their careers.

Herskovitz says that Clennon - a new father of twins and by all accounts, one of the nicest people in Hollywood - was initially reluctant to revive Miles. But the character, he learned, would be different. Says Herskovitz, "Miles is on his third marriage, had a child, and he's in his late fifties facing the issue of mortality and trying to be kinder-if that's possible."

If.

Drentell, and Clennon, are welcome additions to "Once and Again," which until now has focused on the relationship (and breakup) of Rick and Lily Manning (Sela Ward). But with the move to Mondays, "we will take the focus beyond Rick and Lily," Herskovitz says. "What we always intended is that once we set the central groundwork was to make this a true ensemble show and for viewers to learn about the rise of the other characters."

Including Drentell, who will appear in two of the remaining episodes. Drentell is now in the "corporate image" business. As he explains to Sammler, "You know what sells product? Shame. The idea of a commercial is to make viewers so unhappy with their own life that they will do anything to better it. I must do the same with my clients. The executives of the largest corporations in the world must come into my building and feel their efforts are worthless without me. Yes, I need a very imposing building..."

Ah, Miles. We missed you. Glad to have you back.__Newsday (January 24, 2000)