While CBS's "Survivor" rests -- it returns next month -- "Wickedly Perfect" (8 tonight) rides in to take its place for a few weeks.

	Eric Liebowitz, CBS Contestants vying to be the next Martha Stewart look on as chef Bobby Flay, left, stylist David Evangelista, author Candace Bushnell, second from right, and host Joan Lunden discuss the competition on tonight's premiere of CBS's "Wickedly Perfect." Click photo for larger image.

Originally titled "Domestic Diva," the show might as well be called "The Next Martha Stewart." After all, that's what "the search for the next great stylemaker" is all about.

Judging from the premiere, there are some tightly wound contestants vying for that title. Perhaps the most memorable is 46-year-old Darlene Cahill, a Home Shopping Network host who scurries about, appears to munch on a plant of some sort and verbally spars with Tom Frank, one of three male competitors.

"I'm quite over your self-appointed dictatorship," she says, getting in his face a little, "and it's going to end now."

It's this sort of drama that draws voyeuristic viewers to reality shows in the first place. Whether or not they want to see a bunch of Martha wannabes remains to be seen, but judging by Stewart's continuing popularity, even while incarcerated, chances are there will be some curiosity tune-in.

Joan Lunden hosts, and the premiere is set in -- where else? -- the Connecticut countryside, where the 12 contestants arrive to compete for a book deal, TV development deal for a lifestyle show and six appearances on CBS's "The Early Show."

Players are divided into two teams that ultimately declare themselves "Crafty Beavers" and "Team Artisan." Their first task: Pick as many apples as possible in 30 minutes. Then they have to make team projects out of the apples to be judged by author Candace Bushnell, stylist David Evangelista and chef Bobby Flay. At the same time, contestants are to work on a project of their own. Judges determine the two worst individual projects on the losing team and those two players are put up for eviction.

Structurally, "Perfectly Wicked" is perfectly similar to every other reality show, and the personalities of all reality participants tend toward those with control freak tendencies, although it ratchets up even more here.

As reality series go, "Perfectly Wicked" is by no means perfect, but the wicked aspect at least pushes it in the right direction.

Get a 'life'

One of the things I love most about TV is its fluidity and how a TV series can improve over time.

Though I still think "life as we know it" (8 tonight, ABC) pales in comparison to some other teen dramas of the past ("Freaks and Geeks," "My So-Called Life"), it's not a bad little show.

ABC moves "life" into an earlier time slot tonight, and in episodes airing this week and next, Peter Dinklage ("The Station Agent") turns in an impressive performance as a school psychologist who tries to help Dino (Sean Faris) deal with his feelings about his mother's extramarital affair.

The story of Ben (Jon Foster) and his affair with a teacher (Marguerite Moreau) is thankfully coming to an end. Although the plot seemed designed to titillate at the series' outset, "life" has taken great pains to show their relationship was ultimately a bad thing for everyone involved.

"life" doesn't rise to the same quality level as ABC's "Lost" or "Desperate Housewives," but in a less stellar TV year, it would easily garner greater acclaim.

Local tsunami telethon

KDKA, WPGH, WPXI and WTAE will all air a telethon to raise money for victims of the South Asia tsunami tomorrow at 7 p.m. Donations will go to the American Red Cross' international relief fund.

The one-hour special will be broadcast from the studios of WQED, which cannot air the fund-raiser because of Federal Communications Commission restrictions on non-profit stations raising money for anything other than their own stations.

Each station will be represented on the telethon by two news anchors and two reporters from each station will answer phones from viewers making contributions.

Such cooperation among local stations is rare. In March 1995 six local stations joined forces to produce and air "It Takes a Whole Community to Raise a Child," a one-hour special about violence and youth.

Channel surfing

WCWB has moved "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from 10 a.m. to 5 and 5:30 p.m. weekdays. ... Bravo has signed comedian Kathy Griffin for six one-hour episodes of "Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List," an unscripted series chronicling her efforts to keep her career as a D-list celebrity afloat. ... Pittsburgh native Laura Leigh Hughes guest stars on the Jan. 20 episode of "ER" as the mother of a little girl with kidney disease. ... Fox has ordered an additional five episodes of the medical drama "House"... MTV has ordered another five seasons of "The Real World" and two more seasons of "The Real World/Road Rules Challenge."

TV Q&A

This week's TV Q&A answers questions about Comcast carrying WPGH in high-definition, local Nielsen ratings and the whereabouts of Jon Stewart. You can read the Q&A online only at www.post-gazette.com/tv.