"Scandal in a Small Town," this Sunday's NBC movie, is certainly scandalous, especially if you already saw the very similar "Evil in Clear River" when it was broadcast in January over ABC.

Filmmakers always have borrowed ideas from other movies. But in this case, "Scandal in a Small Town" is a major heist of the ABC production.

"Scandal," which stars Raquel Welch and Ronny Cox, will air from 8 to 10 p.m. on WMAQ-Channel 5. It deals with a teacher (Cox) who liberally sprinkles his high school history lectures with virulent anti-Semitic hatred.

Welch is Leda Beth Vincent, a high school dropout who is trying to raise her teenage daughter (who was born out of wedlock) on her cocktail waitress salary. Welch seems to be doing a good job because Julie (Christa Denton) is getting good grades in school, belongs to the cheerleading squad and is looking forward to a possible college scholarship.

But one evening as Welch is helping her daughter prepare for a history test, she learns Denton is being taught such things as Abraham Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth, a Jew, was part of a Zionist conspiracy. Further, Denton has been told by history teacher George Baker, a respected citizen in the community, that the Jews were responsible for the French Revolution, World War II and even Vietnam.

When Welch confronts Cox about the factual veracity of his lectures, the teacher reminds her that she is nothing but a school dropout, ill-equipped to question his methods. A college history professor encourages Welch to challenge Cox's teaching qualifications in front of the school board and in court.

The town, of course, is filled with an assortment of bigots who support Cox, so Welch looks like the only beacon of reason as she challenges Cox's Nazi-like teachings. Well, we've seen all this before, so figuring out the ending of "Scandal in a Small Town" hardly will require heightened powers of deduction.

This film follows the plot of "Evil in Clear River" from beginning to end. The only differences between these two films are relatively minor differences in a few characters.

For example, Lindsay Wagner's character in "Evil in Clear River" was a somewhat better-educated woman than Welch's in "Scandal in a Small Town." And Welch's Leda is supposed to have a reputation as the town slut, which eventually is brought to bear on her credibility in court.

Gee, I don't know why. In almost every scene, Welch is clad in a leotard that challenges the laws of physics, or a mini-skirt that barely covers her navel - even when she's invited to dinner with the stolid college history professor and his family.

Oh yes, there's one other important difference. Wagner delivered a far better performance in "Evil in Clear River." Welch is undeniably one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen, but she is simply an awful actress.

Anti-Semitism is a valid topic for any drama, but to simply rip off an earlier film with only a few cosmetic changes in the story line is nothing more than sheer laziness.

Enough of television smacks of sameness already without being so obvious about it.