Reader Reviewers love 'Hack' ride

Maybe authenticity pays off.

The pilot episode of CBS' Hack, screened recently for a panel of Daily News Reader Reviewers, averaged a 7.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, considerably better than the 5.5 a different panel of readers awarded ABC's Philly a year ago.

Hack, which stars Philadelphian David Morse, is being filmed here. The recently canceled Philly, which starred Roxborough's Kim Delaney, was largely shot on a Culver City, Calif., soundstage.

But then again, maybe it's not just location, location, location.

"Riveting," wrote Rick Brown, 30, of Haddon Heights, N.J. "Unlike Philly, where I watched just to catch glimpses of Philadelphia, Hack actually had a story worth watching. The lead character is intriguing, with a lot of issues to work out."

"He's the Clint Eastwood of 2002 with his one-liners," wrote Joann Manuel, 44, of West Philadelphia, of Morse's character, ex-cop Mike Olshansky.

"You don't have to be from Philly to enjoy the show," said Cathy Phillips, 30, of Voorhees, N.J., calling Hack "captivating from beginning to end."

'Dreams' too sweet?

Though its average score was a respectable 6.8 out of 10, NBC's American Dreams didn't do quite as well with our panel. The show, set in early '60s Philadelphia, filmed its pilot in Vancouver, British Columbia, before moving production to Hollywood.

"I found it hard to relate to since I grew up in the '80s," Phillips complained. "It didn't keep my attention."

"I have a hard time connecting with the show," said Brown. "Maybe if I had been alive during the '60s...not a bad show, but seems geared toward the older generation."

"A very good coming-of-age drama," commented Phil Fenstermacher, 43, of Northeast Philadelphia, while Daniel Herman, 65, of Langhorne, Bucks County, found it "an accurate portrayal of '60s America" but "a little too saccharine."

" Wonder Years revisited," wrote Marc Marino, 42, of the Far Northeast. "A feel-good show."

Ellen Gray