In the wake of the outlandishly bad ""Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer,''it's difficult to give UPN any credit at all. But every other network has put an embarrassing bomb on their schedule this new fall season, so let's move beyond.

Or, in the case of "Legacy" (8 p.m. Friday, Channel 44), back in time. UPN trots out this drama of a ranch family set in post-Civil War Kentucky and continues its plan to be all over the map, a true broadcasting entity that offers diverse shows to the average citizen.

Right out of the gate, "Legacy" conforms to a couple of this season's trends. First, this Logan family has no mother. Second, it's a big, contentious Irish clan. But "Legacy" is something else as well: A bona fide sleeper.

The executive producer is Chris Abbott, who did "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," so she knows a little about reaching families and women, the two target audiences of this show. In essence, the Logans are a very rich but well-grounded family that breeds and races horses, among other duties on their sprawling ranch. Mostly, they are Good People. Better yet, they are Good-Looking People.

Abbott was going for a little "Legends of the Fall" action here, and she's found it. Although the pilot has a number of problems, they are not too great to overcome. And here's why "Legacy" could very well be the big sleeper hit of the season: Horses galore, good looking guys, family values, an interracial romance, a sense of grandeur like all the classic family dramas have, and that throwback sense of people doing the right thing, not being ironic or mean or dumb. If "Legacy" is maybe too earnest and too predictable in the pilot, those people seeking a drama with the aforementioned qualities will certainly overlook the stumble-start. And it's situated on a Friday night in the family hour with no drama competition.

"Legacy" revolves around hard-jawed Brett Cullen as the father of four. The eldest (Grayson McCouch) is about to be engaged to the snooty daughter of an enemy family before he realizes he's in love with ranch's black secretary whom he was raised with. The other son (Jeremy Garrett) is impetuous and wild but loyal to his father. The eldest daughter (Lea Moreno) is just coming into her own, and the youngest daughter (Sarah Rayne) is a bright little sprite. As if he doesn't have his hands full, pop Logan decides to adopt a 12-year-old kid from New York.

See, that's the "legacy" in question. Using your hard-earned money to give others a chance. But it turns out that the kid (Ron Melendez) is not 12, but 17, and a hardened thief and troublemaker. It doesn't turn the Kentucky neighborhood on its ear. Ah, but the eldest Logan won't give up. He's going to shape that kid, kind of like taming a wild horse.

You ought to know by now whether "Legacy" is for you or not. UPN certainly knows who's going to like this show. Women. And lots of them. Dean Valentine, entertainment president of UPN, found that any female who came in touch with this pilot loved it. He's sure of its success. And as easy as it is to doubt him following "Desmond Pfeiffer," a little slack needs to be cut here.

He's right this time.

A period-piece costume drama, all those earnest young men with their model-jaws and piercing eyes; all those horses and that cool Celticsoundtrack (Loreena McKennitt), all the romantic entanglements and upcoming familial hand-wrenching - what's not to like? Would you rather watch the Olsen Twins, a rehashed"Kids Say the Darndest Things," yet another dreadful "Dateline" or the unfunny "Living in Captivity"? Start flipping through the channels, and you might find yourself lulled into this sleeper.

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