Mr. Cosby came up with a contcept for the program after CBS' Carol Burnett Show bloopers special was the top-rated special in November sweeps, the Television Critics Association was told during the winter press tour here.

        “Bill is very excited about some ideas. He has a very strong idea of what he wants to communicate,” says Tom Werner, a partner in Carsey-Werner-Mandabach productions and former executive producer of Mr. Cosby's sitcom, TV's No. 1 show 1985-90.

        Mr. Werner's company is talking to the entire cast about appearing in the special, which will be shot in New York in April, he says. The NBC executive wants a two-hour special about the series, which aired for eight seasons (1984-92).

        “What matters to us is that we do honor to the show,” he says. “We want to make sure it can fill two hours.”

        Fueled by the stunning success of the Carol Burnett special, May sweeps could be one long trip through TV Land. NBC plans a three-hour 75th anniversary special, and a two-hour L.A. Law reunion movie with Susan Dey, Corbin Bernsen, Harry Hamlin, Susan Ruttan, Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry.

        Hollywood TV executives told TV critics that studios are going through their vaults looking for nostalgic clip shows.

        “There's definitely an appetite there,” says Steve Mosko, Columbia TriStar Domestic Television president.

        But Mr. Werner worries that supply may exceed demand. For that reason, he has turned down offers to do a reunion show for Roseanne, the 1988-97 ABC sitcom produced by his company.

        “You have to hope there's not a glut of these shows,” he says. “The reason to do a show is to do something special. And until there's a reason to do it (a Roseanne reunion), from our point of view, there's no reason to contemplate it.”

        PBS news: The Public Broadcasting System, the largest U.S. network without a nationwide news operation, will launch two news programs this year after being criticized for failing to cover the terrorist attacks live on Sept. 11.

        Now with Bill Moyers debuts 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18 (Channel 48). It replaces Life 360, which returns in summer.

        “We hope to work out relationships with... Frontline and Nova and places like that where they create news,” he says.

        Frontline, PBS' award-winning documentary series (9 p.m. today, Channels 48, 54, 16), is preparing World, an international news magazine show with three or four stories per hour. Some will be follow-ups on Frontline reports.

        Stu done: ABC's fourth-place finish in November sweeps cooked Stu Bloomberg's career as ABC Entertainment co-chairman. He resigned Monday, despite recently signing a five-year contract.

        This was Mr. Bloomberg's second stint running ABC's programming. He was in charge of series development in the 1980s, overseeing the creation of Who's The Boss?, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Coach, The Wonder Years, thirtysomething and Twin Peaks.

        When Jamie Tarses floundered as ABC Entertainment president in 1998, Mr. Bloomberg returned to help program the network with Lloyd Braun, who remains ABC Entertainment co-chair.

        Susan Lyne, ABC's executive for movies and miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, was named ABC Entertainment president, a position vacant since Ms. Tarses resigned in 1999.

        Enquirering Minds: Some Enquirering minds who read my column Tuesday wanted to know: Are the networks canceling Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Weakest Link?.

        No, they're not. The column item was about the daytime syndicated versions of the two popular game shows. Neither has been bought by any Cincinnati station for broadcast 9 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays. The networks' prime-time telecasts will continue on Channels 5 and 9.
        TV critic John Kiesewetter is reporting from the Television Critics Association's winter press tour. E-mail: jkiesewetter@enquirer.com.

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