Though not on the fall lineup, "The Magnificent Seven" is ready to ride to the rescue for CBS at the first sign of trouble on "America's Night of Television."

January's premiere ricocheted to ratings success behind clever promos tuned to Paula Cole's "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" That was despite an unimaginative pilot, too great a mirror of the 1960 movie that inspired the series.

Vast improvement came as new sagas unfolded. The nicely blended ensemble is spearheaded by black-clad gunslinger Michael Biehn, embodying Clint Eastwood's Josey Wales persona with the right mesh of angst, bravery and compassion, and ex-bounty hunter Eric Close, providing sensitivity without mush.

In the pilot, Biehn, Close and five frontier wanderers formed a set-it-right posse, dispensing justice from the dusty town of Four Corners. These cowboy compadres blend the best of "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza" and "Maverick," bringing contemporary messages via these Western sages' brushes with injustice.

"The Magnificent Seven" will rope you back into the Saturday night saddle.

Kim Wendel, on staff at Sun's East office, would love to spend a Saturday night by the campfire with Michael Biehn.