That's their explanation for the surprising strength during November sweeps of such aging hits as Friends, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, Law & Order and Frasier and huge ratings for The Carol Burnett bloopers special.

        “People want to be in a comfortable area” after the Sept. 11 tragedies, says Stu Bloomberg, ABC Entertainment co-chairman. “We use the words "comfort food' right now.”

        But I won't bite.

        If we love “comfort food,” then why have millions stopped watching ABC's Spin City, Dharma & Greg and Once and Again? Why have ratings plummeted for Fox's Ally McBeal and The X-Files?

        Why has ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, TV's No. 1 show 18 months ago, lost half of its audience against NBC's Weakest Link? Who finds Anne Robinson more comforting than Regis Philbin?

        If we're sticking to old favorites, why has Oprah Winfrey fallen to third place for the first time in 15 years? Why was Jeopardy! been beaten decisively here by Entertainment Tonight in November?

An atypical season

        The “comfort food” theory also sours when I look at the astounding number (60 percent) of new fall shows renewed. Twenty of 33 are guaranteed a full season; only seven have been canceled.

        Usually that ratio is reversed, but this is an atypical season. It's hard to draw any conclusions with fall TV premieres delayed until October and November.

        Our yearning for the familiar also has been cited by TV executives trying to explain huge Survivor-like ratings for CBS' The Carol Burnett Show: Show Stoppers. The Nov. 26 clips from the 1970s variety show drew a whopping 27.6 rating and 40 percent audience share in Cincinnati, topping the ratings for Survivor: Africa.

        “People felt comfortable,” says Les Moonves, CBS president. “It was a return to good, old-fashioned comedy. It was feel-good comedy.”

Nostalgia crazy

        Mr. Moonves was feeling good about other specials, too. CBS had the top five entertainment specials last month: Carol Burnett, I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary, the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special, the Emmy Awards and Country Music Awards.

        Rival networks now are convinced that war-time America is nostalgia crazy.

        “Everyone is searching through their vaults right now,” says Jeff Zucker, NBC Entertainment president.

        “We will be mining our library to the largest extent possible,” promises Lloyd Braun, ABC Entertainment co-chairman.

        That could be a huge mistake.

        Mr. Moonves argues that I Love Lucy, Carol Burnett and Mr. Jackson are entertainment icons. All others pale by comparison. Blooper shows from Happy Days, The Brady Bunch or Dean Martin Show won't attract the same size crowd.

        Is the country clamoring for a Charlie's Angels 25th anniversary special? I don't think so. Certainly few cared about a Facts of Life reunion, according to November Nielsen ratings. Nobody was talking about Tootie and Blair around our coffee machine last month.

        Overall, ratings for November's musical specials weren't very special. Despite heavy promotion, CBS' three Garth Brooks concerts tanked. Neither Jennifer Lopez nor 'NSync scored high on the Nielsen charts. And ABC's Mick Jagger special on Thanksgiving was one of the lowest-rated programs in TV history.

Four times "24'

        Forget comfort food. November will be remembered as the month TV networks found a new way to force feed us.

        With 24 facing stiff competition at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Fox programmers have decided to air the show four times a week.

        So viewers who watch Frasier, NYPD Blue, The Guardian or Smallville on Tuesdays can catch 24 on Fox at 9 p.m. Fridays, or on the sister FX cable at 11 p.m. Sundays and 10 p.m. Mondays.

        Fox executives argue that the collective audience (18.8 million) makes 24 a hit. These aggregate ratings, part of a new “innovative paradigm,” may be used to set advertising rates for 24, Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman says.

        “What we've learned,” she says, “may become the new economic model.” New? This is what cable has been doing for years.

        Looking at November ratings, the only thing I'm comfortable saying is that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may impact TV all season — or longer.

        February sweeps won't offer many clues on our TV preferences, with NBC's Winter Olympics dominating the month. (CBS' Mr. Moonves already has conceded a February victory to NBC.)

        March and April will be a train wreck. All the new midseason comedies and dramas the networks normally launch in January will air in the eight weeks following the 2002 Winter Games.

        Then comes May sweeps. About the time we're comfortable with our old favorites back on the air, the networks will cancel some of them and announce new fall lineups.

        So it's hard to make any sweeping generalities from November.

        Comfort food? To me, it's a lot of junk.

        E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/kiese

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