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You can't go running amok in the White House, even if it is a make-believe White House.

That's one lesson former ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' star Kyle Secor has learned while playing initially frustrated first gentleman Rod Calloway to Geena Davis' forthright, take-charge President Mackenzie Allen on ''Commander in Chief.''

The spirited political drama quickly became the fall season's top-rated new series. It's been ranked in the Top 10 prime-time shows much of the fall and is averaging nearly 16 million viewers each week.

Back in the day when he was playing impetuous rookie Detective Tim Bayliss on ''Homicide,'' Secor did what came naturally.

''I was just young enough and raw enough and dumb enough to do it on instinct,'' recalls Secor of those early years on ''Homicide'' in the mid-1990s. ''But the political world is a more regimented world. It's a challenge for me.

''My natural instinct is to kick and bite and scream. You can't do that at the White House. It's a tea party,'' notes Secor wryly. ''You have to be more under control.''

And so on ''Commander in Chief,'' which is built around the charismatic performance of Davis as America's first female president, Secor's been enjoying the acting stress test of portraying a man who's adapting to an unprecedented change in both his and his wife's life.

''Rod's an innovative survivor,'' says the 48-year-old Secor of his White House alter ego. ''He's smart and talented. But he's not the visionary; Mac's the visionary. He's the manager. He loved the first gentleman thing. But he doesn't like putting together state dinners.''

Meanwhile, the imposing, 6-foot Davis is surrounded by what may be the tallest supporting cast in television.

''I think I'm the only one who really plays basketball,'' jokes the 6-foot-5 Secor, who passionately played hoops in school while growing up in Federal Way, Wash.

As the first woman president, Davis is a perfect fit, says her first gentleman.

''Geena is extraordinary. She fully brings out the integrity and the power and the dignity of the office,'' explains Secor. ''That's how she conducts herself at work, too. She's the leader.''

Walking tall

The lineup of lanky actors on ''Commander in Chief,'' which airs tonight at 8 p.m. on KTVX Channel 4, could start a political basketball team:

* President Mackenzie Allen: Geena Davis, 6 feet.

* First gentleman Rod Calloway: Kyle Secor, 6 feet 5 inches.

* Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton: Donald Sutherland, 6 feet 4 inches.

* Vice President Warren Keaton: Peter Coyote, 6 feet 3 inches.

* White House Chief of Staff Jim Gardner: Harry Lennix, 6 feet 4 inches.

* Nathan Templeton's top aide Jayne Murray: Natasha Henstridge, 5 feet 10 inches. Recently put on waivers, fired by Templeton.

- Source: Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com

Channeling

The Biggest Loser: KSL Channel 5, tonight, 7. The second season winner is revealed.

Commander-in-Chief: KTVX Channel 4, tonight, 8. Polly Bergen (''Winds of War'') guest stars as President Allen's mother.

Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005: KTVX Channel 4, tonight, 9. Tom Cruise and Teri Hatcher (''Desperate Housewives'') are among those on the list who will be interviewed.