When CBS and ABC broadcast the first debate between Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore and his Republican rival, George W. Bush, next Tuesday night, Fox will be screening the two-hour premiere of a science-fiction adventure series.

NBC, for its part, said last week it had to stick to major-league baseball.

"The debates are there," said Jeff DeRome, a vice president of Fox Broadcasting Network. "I don't think it's incumbent on every broadcast network to carry the same program."

Fox is the only broadcast network shunning all three presidential debates as well as the single vice-presidential debate. It will air "Dark Angel" on Oct. 3 and 17 and major-league baseball playoffs Oct. 5 and 11.

"Dark Angel," set in the near future during a new American Great Depression, revolves around a young woman who has been genetically engineered by the government, DeRome said. The pilot episode was directed by James Cameron, director of the movie megablockbuster "Titanic."

NBC said Friday that its contract with Major League Baseball tied its hands for Oct. 3, when it was legally obliged to carry the game. Fox has no such obligation toward "Dark Angel."

"PRETTY SIMPLE, REALLY"

"It's pretty simple, really. We have a cable news channel, and we have a corporate interest in raising its visibility," DeRome said. "Additionally, two of the dates conflicted with contractual obligations we have with major-league baseball."

ABC and CBS plan live coverage of all four debates, as do public television stations and the all-news cable channels.

By offering the science-fiction drama -- which has a TV-14 rating, indicating material unsuitable for children -- instead of earnest discussion of Social Security reform and other issues, Fox is clearly aiming to draw viewers away from the debates.

The network may also reap a financial windfall by airing commercials during the profitable prime-time ratings period while the other networks carry the debate without interruptions.

"I guess we could be a beneficiary of that. We will have a fairly compelling new show coming on that night," DeRome said. "I think there probably will be acute interest in the debates, so I would assume that the aggregate audience for the many, many channels that are carrying it will be a very big number."

Since 1984, presidential debates have averaged around 65 million viewers, except for 1996, when the figure fell to 36 million. But the debates this year may be even more important than in some past campaigns, since Bush and Gore are locked in a neck-and-neck race.