FROM CUDDLY DOCTOR TO DRUG SMUGGLER

Fans of Northern Exposure, beware. If you think Rob Morrow is returning to
series television in a role as warm and fuzzy as that of Dr. Joel
Fleischman, think again.

In the grim new drama Street Time, premiering Sunday on Showtime, Morrow
plays Kevin Hunter, a convicted marijuana smuggler. After five years in a
federal penitentiary, he is on parole and hoping to go straight. It's
tougher than it seems.

His past life tempts him back, while a mistrustful parole officer watches
his every move. But life for Officer James Liberti (Scott Cohen) isn't all
it's cracked up to be, either.

In fact, he and Hunter often mirror each other, leaving viewers to decide
who and what is right or wrong.

Morrow said his character's moral ambiguity initially drew him to the role.
"For all intents and purposes, Kevin's a good guy," the actor said. "It
just so happens he smuggled pot."

Morrow further argued that Hunter might be even nicer than Northern
Exposure's Fleischman. "He's not as limited in his scope as Joel was," he
said. "He's a more worldly, open person."

Perhaps what makes Morrow's portrayal so convincing is the suggestion that
there is still a character like Fleischman underneath Hunter's tough facade.

Such complexity isn't all that surprising, given that Morrow's preparation
for the role led him to the real-life ex-con on whom Hunter is based: the
show's creator, Richard Stratton. Stratton, 55, spent eight years in
prison, from 1982 to 1990, for smuggling marijuana.

Describing his upbringing as "upper-middle class," Stratton said he got
involved in smuggling drugs while attending Arizona State University in the
late 1960s. By the end of his freshman year in college, Stratton added, he
was making so much money that he quit school.

But his illicit behavior wasn't based solely on any sort of financial
goals. "You become addicted to the life," he said. "It's an adrenaline
rush, and I was an action junkie."

Arrested for conspiracy, Stratton said it was as a parolee that he got the
idea for Street Time. Parolees ostensibly are forbidden from associating
with known criminals. But Stratton said it was while sitting in the report
room, where parolees wait for their parole officers, that he noticed
mobsters, gangsters, and other like-minded folks meeting with old friends.

"I said to myself, 'This is a TV show.'"

Actor insists new character is nice guy, too

On TV

'Street Time'

When: 10 p.m. Sunday

Where: Showtime