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MEDIA MONITOR By STEVE K. WALZ-TELEVISION WRITER Barbara Carrara's on the threshold ... New York--Showbiz has always had its share of superficial beauties . . . You know the type, gorgeous on the outside and hollow on the inside where it counts most. As of late, though, I have begun to meet a steady stream of phenomenally attractive, yet extremely intellectual, thespians who have a definitive percep­ tion of who they are and where they are going. Barbara Carrera is a prime example. When the ageless Nicaraguan beauty struts into a room, exuding the exotic sultriness of a Jennifer Jones or a Dorothy Lamour, you can't help but get­ ting a lump in your throat. But what im­ presses me most about this superstar model-turned-actress is her eloquent command of English (she also speaks four other languages), and her precise analytical evaluation of herself. Background At this critical juncture in her career, Barbara is once again attempting to establish herself in films. Her initial thrust failed, despite the fact that she starred opposite the likes of Tom Laughlin ("Master Gunfighter"), Rock Hudson ("Embryo") and Burt Lancaster ("Island of Dr. Moreau"). Down but not out, Carrera segued into "Centenmai," the critically acclaimed NBC-TV mini-series (1978-79), starring Kooert Conrad and Richard Chamber­ lain. Barbara drew rave notices as Clay Basket, the Indian woman who played a pivotal role in the lives of Pasquinel (Con­ rad) and Alex McKeag (Chamberlain). Any doubts about her abilities were subsequently erased when Carrera por­ trayed Sheva, Peter O'Toole's feisty Egyptian-Jewish mistress in "Masada," ABC-TV's epic mini-series. There are those who believe that she will walk off with an Emmy award for that perfor­ mance, despite some heavy competition from Jane "East of Eden" Seympur and Yoko "Shogun" Shimada. By her own admission, winning the Emmy would be "lovely," but it is not a goal. Remember her film career? As soon as word leaked out about her pro­ fessional attitude, Disney Productions whisked her before the cameras for their "Condorman" spy-spoof, which is cur­ rently opening in selected arfeas across the globe. But more intriguing was American Cinema's offer to portray GhaMutte Bennett, the key character in their screen adaptation of Mickey Spillane's-Mike Hammer pulp detective thriller--"I the Jury," opposite sexy Ar- mand Assante. Barbara jumped at the opportunity. - "My TV roles have certainly changed the way people look at me," she began to explain in her luxurious hotel suite, clad in a revealing cotton dress. "I've had better roles to choose from ... a better dance shall we say. I'm finally be­ ing taken seriously after a period of ap­ prenticeship." The alluring beauty also noted that she has a set game plan in the way she translates a character from a script to the screen. "I try to achieve a certain truth about my characters. I'm like a painter who is appreciative of the art. It's a personal kind of truth. That's the whole trip for me. ' "For instance, my 'I the Jury' role is ex­ tremely exciting because Charlotte is a vamp ... a bitch of a woman. You see, my character has accomplished a lot in her career, except she doesn't have the capital to do the things she wants to do--so she goes to the CIA for money for her fledgling sex clinic. The agency goes along but supplies her with conditioned talent. It ends up that she gets too involv­ ed, and one of her client's, a friend of Mike Hammer's, is killed--so here comes Mr. Snoop. She tries to seduce Mike in order to make him her ally. Believe me, it will be fairly explicit. We are going to show huw people manipulate other people. It's frightening- ly contemporary, even though it was written in the 1940's. For me this is like the icing on the cake." So we can expect Barbara to emerge as a sex-symbol of sorts, right? She pondered that question for a moment and replied, "I haven't had time to think about it. Right now I'm busy taking the time to find out and learn the business. It takes love you know, to become better at your craft." TV COMWM.OO WHICH, WC.