By Lisa de Moraes

Tuesday, March 7, 2000; Page C07

The Mormons have banned "God" from prime time.

Mormon Church-owned KSL in Salt Lake City is one of two NBC affiliates that won't air the new animated comedy "God, the Devil, and Bob." KPVI in Pocatello, Idaho, also has said it won't air the program.

The show, which stars James Garner as the voice of God and Alan ("Cabaret") Cumming as the voice of the Devil, debuts in a special 8:30 broadcast Thursday night before moving to its regular Tuesday 8:30 slot the following week.

It's about a 32-year-old Detroit auto worker, Bob (voice of French Stewart of "3rd Rock From the Sun"), whom the Devil has handpicked in a deal with God to prove that mankind is worth saving.

KSL Vice President Al Henderson said in a statement that the station's "management group looked at an advance copy of the show and decided it does not meet our standards of taste or quality during family viewing times." The show would air at 7:30 in Salt Lake City's time zone.

And "Veronica's Closet" does? I mean, really. According to NBC records, when that show started this season in the Monday 8:30 time slot, KSL was right in there airing it with the best of them. And "Suddenly Susan" at 8 p.m. Mondays, and the decidedly adult "Friends" at 8 Thursdays.

On the other hand, KSL has steadfastly refused to air NBC's "Saturday Night Live," as well as all "SNL" prime-time specials; it also refuses to air NBC's daytime soap "Sunset Beach."

NBC already has found another station to air "God, the Devil, and Bob" in Salt Lake City. It picked up the phone and called the WB station in that market--which also airs "SNL" and "Sunset Beach." The network is still looking for a Pocatello replacement. But that isn't nearly as big a headache for NBC because Pocatello is the nation's 160th TV market, out of 210, whereas Salt Lake City is way up there at No. 36.

"God, the Devil, and Bob" is produced by the Carsey-Werner, which is no stranger to controversy. Remember the lesbian kiss on "Roseanne"? Remember the pot-smoking scenes from "That '70s Show"? Remember just about everything related to "Men Behaving Badly"?

But "G, the D & B" is not without its ecclesiastical defenders. They include the show's two California consultants--Rabbi Harold Schulweis of Encino and the Rev. Ellwood Kieser of St. Paul's Church in Westwood, who believes the two TV stations "maybe are taking themselves a little two seriously."

"Theirs is not a decision I would agree with, or make myself, but I hope I'm a good priest and I'm certainly a believer," Kieser said. "I found [the show] delightfully human, and funny, and yet theologically very perceptive."

Kieser also has qualms about the Tuesday 8:30 time slot--because it'll air against ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

"That's a tough break," he mourned.

But Kieser says he's glad to have it air anywhere in prime time and calls it "a good show for families to watch together."

"There's all this clamor for family entertainment, and all the studies indicate there's a sizable audience for shows that a family can sit down and watch together and then discuss. Part of the popularity of 'Millionaire' is that the family can watch it together. This is the same thing in a religious, God-centered context."

Show creator Matthew Carlson is disappointed with the stations' decision.

"I thought there would be some controversy with the Christian right, but I didn't expect affiliates to be doing prior censorship of the show. I wanted to let people get a chance to make up their own minds."

Carlson defends the series's opening, in which God and the Devil are drinking in a bar, where they meet Bob.

"The Bible is full of that. Christ drank wine and hung out with prostitutes and sinners. And, by the way, God's drinking a light beer."

When Fox aired the first annual TV Guide Awards last March, the network only won two out of 16 trophies--David Duchovny for favorite actor in a drama series and Terry Bradshaw for fave sportscaster.

No problem--this year the number of categories was upped to 25. So, it stood to reason that Fox would take home more wins.

Not.

The network was completely shut out at the second annual TV Guide competition on Sunday. Instead, the two-hour Fox broadcast of the show turned into one long promotion for competing networks. And programs like CBS's "Judging Amy," which got two nods--favorite actress in a new series (Amy Brenneman) and fave new series. Or WB's "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," another double winner--fave sci-fi/fantasy show and fave teen show.

Other winners included NBC's "ER" for fave drama, CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond" for fave comedy and ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" for favorite game show.