And the Monday TELEVISION Dweebing

Fury over Tunes
Bugs & Daffy redesign misreported
Talk show hosts across the country are overreacting to an announcement by Warner Bros. about a new cartoon show scheduled to appear this Fall on their Saturday morning Kids WB slate. EDITOR'S NOTE: TALK SHOW HOSTS OVERREACTING?! GOSH. THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

A new series called LUNATICS will feature descendants of the famous Looney Tunes characters as superheroes in the future.

But many are misreading the fact that these six descendants will be redesigns of their ancestors, decrying that Warners would change the design of their beloved classic characters.

While no one raised an eyebrow in 1990 when, in a similar move, Warners unleashed younger versions of these characters for their popular TINY TUNES ADVENTURES series, for some reason commentators have misread the news releases. EDITOR'S NOTE: THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY READ IS SUCH AN UNDER-UTILIZED SKILL.

Personalities like Howard Stern immediately expressed outrage at the news, while news daily the New York Post, in a story subtitled “Has Warner Bros. gone daffy?”, complained “Apparently, falling anvils and exploding cigars are no longer enough to keep kids 6 to 11 years old entertained.”, while the Boston Globe asked, “Have our Looney Tunes taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque?”

If animation history is any indicator, if LUNATICS is funny, then like TINY TUNES it will enjoy a healthy run. If it’s as lame as the Looney Tunes web cartoons created for their website, they’ll be roundly rejected. EDITOR'S NOTE: AS QUEEN OF THE DWEEBS, IT MIGHT SEEM HYPOCRITICAL FOR ME TO MENTION THIS BUT...UMM...HEY, FOLKS! GET A DARN LIFE!!!

Trekkies fight end of 'Enterprise' series
EDITOR'S NOTE: SNIFFLE. (BYE BYE TRIP......)
Trekkies are uniting to win a reprieve for "Star Trek: Enterprise," slated to end its mission on UPN in May.

"Save Star Trek" was the headline for a full-page ad that ran in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times and called on fans to get the show a new TV home through a petition campaign and rally.

"Captain Archer and the crew of the NX-01 need your help to continue their journeys!" the ad reads, calling the "Star Trek" franchise a "cultural icon." The ad asks viewers to commit to watching the show, now in its fourth season, if the Sci Fi Channel ("its logical home," according to the ad) agrees to pick it up.

A call requesting comment from the New York-based channel Tuesday evening was not immediately returned EDITOR'S NOTE: CAUSE UPN DIDN'T PAY THE PHONE BILL? IF WE SEND THEM PENNIES WILL THEY RE-UP THE SHOW? IF WE SENT THE SCIFI CHANNEL A CLUE, WILL THEY PICK IT UP?

Wolf in sitcom clothing for NBC
In Dick Wolf's first foray into comedy, NBC has greenlighted a pilot from the drama super producer that veteran sitcom director James Burrows has come aboard to direct.

In another first, Fox executive-turned-producer Sandy Grushow has received his first pilot order for "Don't Ask," a comedy set up at Fox.

Additionally, Fox has given the thumbs up to an untitled Bill Oakley/Josh Weinstein comedy pilot, exec produced by "Saturday Night Live" honcho Lorne Michaels.

The untitled Dave Flebotte comedy, from Wolf Films and NBC Universal TV Studio, centers on an old-school Italian family that owns a diner in the North End of Boston, where they cater to a combustible mix of longtime locals and the yuppies the neighborhood has started to attract.

EDITOR'S NOTE: BUT WAIT. STILL MORE MENTIONS OF DICK WOLF (WHO IS, AFTER ALL, RATHER TV-UBIQUITOUS).

Wolf makes case for 'L&O'
Dick Wolf on Tuesday lamented that his hit "Law & Order" franchise is scheduled against some stiff competition but said he expects the NBC series -- particularly the original -- to endure for the long haul. "The goal is to beat 'Gunsmoke' in four years as the longest-running scripted show in the history of television," said Wolf, who was the featured Industry Forum Luncheon speaker at the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills. EDITOR'S NOTE: 15 YEARS ALREADY ISN'T A 'LONG HAUL'? BY TV STANDARDS, IT'S AN ETERNITY!

The original "L&O" has been airing on NBC since 1990 and has been followed by three spinoffs, including the upcoming "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," which debuts March 3.

Sergei finds right angle in 'Triangle'
Ivan Sergei EDITOR'S NOTE: ON MY LIST OF PEOPLE-WITH-CAREERS-IN-HOLLYWOOD-FOR-NO-APPARENT-REASON added to UPN's drama pilot "Triangle," Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have been tapped for the two leads in the WB Network's drama pilot "Supernatural," while Ashley Williams is set as Fox's drama pilot "Amy Coyne."

In other pilot casting news, Ed Begley Jr. has joined the WB Network's comedy "True," Alanna Ubach and Reg Rogers have come onboard Sony Pictures TV's comedy pilot "Uncommon Sense" and Raoul Bova has been added to ABC's drama "What About Brian."

"Triangle," from Paramount Network TV and Shore View Entertainment, centers on a young doctor (Sergei) who moves to the Caribbean after his wife disappears during their honeymoon there.

CBS tribute to Rather in prime time
CBS will televise a one-hour prime-time tribute to Dan Rather the night he leaves the evening news anchor chair, and its producer says it won't avoid the story that has clouded his final days on the job.

"Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers" will air 8 p.m. EST on March 9, an hour after he anchors his final evening newscast after 24 years, the network announced Thursday.

Rather, 73, will talk about last fall's ill-fated "60 Minutes Wednesday" story about President Bush's military service, said Susan Zirinsky, the show's executive producer. CBS fired the story's producer and asked for the resignations of three executives because it could not authenticate documents used in the story.

"We're not going to shy away from dealing with his issues," Zirinsky said. "We'll deal with them and so will he. It's going to be a full picture."

Baldwin joins ABC drama 'Pros and Cons'
William Baldwin EDITOR'S NOTE: IS HE THE BALDWIN THAT'S NOT ONE OF THE BROTHERS? has been tapped to star in ABC's drama pilot "Pros and Cons."

In other pilot casting news, Abigail Spencer has been cast in the title role of ABC's drama pilot "Lennie Rose," lifting the contingency off the project; Adam Goldberg, Rachael Leigh Cook and Rockmond Dunbar have joined Chris O'Donnell in Fox's untitled Crazy Lawyers drama pilot; veteran actress EDITOR'S NOTE: CODE FOR 'OLD BROAD'? Swoozie Kurtz has joined the WB Network's comedy pilot "True"; and Nicole Sullivan has landed a role in ABC's comedy pilot "Hot Properties."

Additionally, Rade Serbedzija and Leighton Meester have come on board NBC's "Fathom," and Rachel Boston has been cast in Fox's comedy pilot "Peep Show."

"Pros and Cons," from Touchstone TV and Bad Robot, is a stylish caper focusing on a group of con artists who work for the FBI. Baldwin will play an FBI agent.

'Grey's' gets its days on ABC
ABC's midseason drama "Grey's Anatomy" will premiere March 27 for a four-week run in the Sunday 10 p.m. slot, following this season's hottest new show, "Desperate Housewives."

"Boston Public," which airs in the slot, will go on hiatus, returning April 24 with all-original episodes for the remainder of the season.

Following the initial four-week run, the remaining episodes of "Grey's" 13-episode order will air in another yet-to-be-determined slot.

"Grey's," from Touchstone TV, centers on the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns and their supervisors. EDITOR'S NOTE: ATTRACTIVE CHILDREN LEARNING TO BE DOCTORS. GOSH. I DON'T THINK THAT'S EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.