Cybill Shepherd's face launched an armada of magazine covers. Her brassy style helped keep two prime-time television series afloat. But the actress hasn't found smooth sailing with her new talk show.         Viewership is less than impressive, with her syndicated series vying with tough-talking bottom-dweller Dr. Laura for the position of lowest-rated freshman daytime talk show.

        Then there's the matter of the program's title, in which Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (1 p.m. Monday-Friday, Channel 64) is written large. Written much, much smaller is With Cybill Shepherd.

        In the crowded, competitive world of daytime TV, Ms. Shepherd has discovered that playing a host is a different kind of role and that star power doesn't always count. Despite its slow start, however, the show may yet turn out to be a winner.

        Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, based on the relationship advice book by John Gray, was overhauled before it even aired. Eleanor Mondale, daughter of former vice president Walter Mondale, was set to host when Columbia TriStar Television shifted gears and hired Ms. Shepherd last summer.

        The beautiful blonde, enjoying a rush of attention after the publication of her juicy tell-all book, Cybill Disobedience, jumped at the chance to join a program already in development and with the advantage of a deal to air on NBC-owned stations.

        But seeing her name cut down to size didn't sit well with Ms. Shepherd, especially when she felt that Columbia TriStar was trying to do the same to her personality.

        “I'm a triangle peg trying to be rammed into a round hole,” she said a month after her show's October debut. “They were thinking I was someone else and they wanted me to be as small as my name is.”

        Odd, since Ms. Shepherd is known as a larger-than-life figure, from her spectacular modeling years, roller-coaster movie career (The Last Picture Show), the success of Moonlighting in the 1980s and Cybill in the '90s, and assorted battles with co-stars and producers.

        She's also got a reputation for being candid, which made her autobiography (written with Aimee Lee Ball for HarperCollins), a best seller this year.

        Despite that history, she said, Columbia TriStar balked at her efforts to inject herself into the talk show that deals with ways for men and women to find common ground.

        She recalls one incident in which a skimpy bit of lingerie was supposed to illustrate a segment on how to spice up a relationship.

        “So I hold up this electric pink thong and say, "Oh yeah, this is exactly my size, fits perfectly on my head,' ” Ms. Shepherd recalled. “If I don't do that, the audience at home is going to be disappointed. That fits exactly with my persona, to be that outrageous.”

        Producers insisted on re-shooting the scene sans joke, she said. She's also been hit with criticism for — among other things — her overuse of the TelePrompTer and a fondness for telling personal stories.

        She's got one high-profile supporter on her side: Merv Griffin, whose TV production credits include Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! sold the idea for Men Are From Mars to Columbia TriStar.

        “I'd like to loosen it up for Cybill,” said Mr. Griffin. “There are too many people saying, "Don't do this, do that,' none of it being Cybill. . . . It's just a matter of trying to get an agreement on what the show should be. That's our mutual frustration right now.”

        Over at Columbia TriStar, executives are publicly upbeat about the show's prospects and diplomatic about their relationship with Ms. Shepherd.

        “Cybill is learning to work in a very different way,” said Melanie Chilek, senior vice president of programming. “We're asking her to be the kind of person she is off-camera, which is bright and well-read and engaging and interested.

        “I think we really want the same things, but this process of getting there for Cybill is something, frankly, very new and sometimes frightening.”

        As the show has evolved, it's focused on offering viewers advice and support in dealing with relationships, a la Mr. Gray's book, and on allowing “real people” to tell their stories, say studio executives. Celebrity guests, ranging from former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark to pop stars, remain part of the mix.

        Men Are From Mars has posted recent audience growth for NBC stations in some key markets, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Miami, but needs to double its national audience of about 1 million households to survive, one industry analyst said.

        Bill Carroll, vice president and director of programming for the Katz Television Group in New York, said the talk show has taken a while to find its voice as it copes with changes in NBC's morning schedule and election news pre-emptions.

        “My sense is that the NBC stations are pleased with what they've seen so far and are reasonably hopeful about the show,” he said. “In the end, they will determine its long-term future.”

        Despite her differences of opinion with Columbia TriStar, Ms. Shepherd isn't losing faith.

        “It's a great opportunity. Am I gonna complain?” she said, then grins as she answers herself: “I AM complaining. I may complain, I may struggle with the process, but the reality is how grateful I am and what a miracle it is this got on. I'm 50 years old, and this stuff doesn't happen.

        “I'm hoping everyone can soften up. I'm willing to try being more of a moderator and less of myself.”

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