REVIEWERS SENSE NO MAGIC IN THE AIR ON NEW LATE NIGHT SHOW

          MAGIC JOHNSON's "The Magic Hour," continues to receive
     mostly mixed reviews.  USA TODAY's Robert Bianco writes that
     Johnson "lacks the most rudimentary talk-show talents --
     such as an ability to ask questions and listen to answers
     without convincing us both were scripted."  But Bianco adds
     that Johnson has "enormous personal appeal, and that may see
     him through the learning curve" (USA TODAY, 6/12).  In N.Y.,
     Caryn James writes that although Johnson is "[a]ffable and
     easygoing," he "still needs to rely on the structure around
     him, which is derivative and weak."  James concludes that
     the show "will have to become more inventive fast if they
     hope to survive beyond the end of the summer" (N.Y. TIMES,
     6/12).  In Orlando, Hal Boedeker writes that "there's a lot
     wrong with" the show, adding that it "veers between
     ponderously flat and tiresomely gushy."  Boedeker calls
     Johnson "inept, fawning and dull" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/12).