Amazing Comebacks

By DAVID ELLIS

All in the Family.

Surrounded by mind-numbing network fare, the revival of Archie Bunker's antics has scored high in the ratings.

Newark.

A national survey proclaimed the poor man's Philadelphia as "most livable city" in the U.S.

St. Petersburg, U.S.S.R.

If the townspeople have their way, the name returns for the first time since 1914.

Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Worse Than Hitler, 1990, is sitting pretty in Baghdad. Who won the war, anyway?

Goatees.

Maynard G. Krebs' 1950s beatnik look is once again a sign of absolute cool.

Video Discs.

After doing time with Betamax on technology's skid row, the CD's first cousin is enjoying a sales boom.

Rayon.

Once dismissed as sleaze pretending to be silk, the slinky synthetic is coming on strong in the latest collections.

Wisdom Teeth.

Have the maligned molars taken a bum rap all these years? Now many dentists are leaving them unpulled.

John Connally.

The former Texas Governor got Big Rich, then went Big Broke. Now he's back as head of the state's task force on revenue.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart