If your family has multiple children with Down syndrome or a parent with skin cancer or was robbed in a home invasion, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" may be looking to build you a house.

A producer for ABC's hit Sunday-night show sent a memo -- distributed to executives at several ABC affiliates -- looking for particular maladies or tragedies to feature on the air.

The memo, written by the show's family-casting director Charisse Simonian, was picked up and distributed widely by "The Smoking Gun" Web site this week.

In addition to Down Syndrome and skin cancer, "Extreme Makeover" is looking for families with very specific diseases -- muscular dystrophy, ALS or Lou Gehrig disease, progeria (a genetic disorder where children age prematurely) and a rare disorder where children cannot feel pain.

The ABC reality show stars builder Ty Pennington and a team who come in to build a home for families in need. Cancer victims, people who have lost homes to fire and mold and military families with injured veterans have all been in past episodes.

Currently, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is in the midst of four shows (8 tonight, WTAE) attempting to help communities in the path of Hurricane Katrina.

The show's executive producer, Tom Forman, said he was "a little perplexed" at why The Smoking Gun found the memo so interesting.

"It is a woman whose job it is to find families who need help, to find families that need a break and a new home and may not know about this television show," he said. After filming 60 episodes, producers are looking for new stories to keep things interesting for viewers.

"The Smoking Gun" headlined its story "ABC's 'Extreme' Exploitation" and said the memo contained a "creepy wish list of woe."

Forman countered, "At the end of the day, you're talking about going to someone who needs it badly and deserves it badly and building them a home that makes life a little easier for them. It's hard to figure out how that's exploitive." (Associated Press)

'COMMANDER,' 'PERFECT' RETURN

ABC already had plans to bring "Commander in Chief" back to the air next month, but with the threat of expanded editions of "American Idol" on Fox Tuesday nights, ABC is moving "Commander" to 10 p.m. Thursdays beginning April 13. ABC, no doubt, hopes the Geena Davis drama will benefit from having the hit reality show "American Inventor" as its lead-in. Newsmagazine "Primetime" will move to 9 p.m. Fridays until May 25.

"Hope & Faith" and long-benched sitcom "Less Than Perfect" will fill ABC's 9 p.m. hour on Tuesdays beginning April 18. (Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor)

PITT ON PBS

Brad Pitt is bringing his love of architecture to the public -- public television, that is.

Pitt will narrate "Design: e2," a series about environmentally friendly architecture, which is slated to air in June on PBS, a spokeswoman from kontentreal productions said.

The six-part series will focus on worldwide efforts to build environmentally friendly structures through sustainable architecture and design.

Pitt also narrates the upcoming PBS program "RX for Survival: A Global Health Challenge," airing April 12. (AP)

ABC DOUBLES UP IN MAY

Chances are any ABC show you're watching will be longer than usual when they end their seasons in May.

The network said the season finales for its three most popular scripted series -- "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" -- will run two hours. So will the season ender for "Boston Legal." And "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "America's Funniest Home Videos."

And the series finale of "Alias"? Yep, two hours. There will be a couple of regular-length finales as well, for "What About Brian" and "Invasion."

All those extra hours mean ABC will have to play around with its schedule some during May sweeps. "Brian" will end its season May 8 after just five episodes to make way for the "Grey's Anatomy" finale, the first of the two-hour extravaganzas. It will air over two nights: May 14 and 15. "Boston Legal" will end its season the next night.

On May 21, "Home Edition" and "Desperate Housewives" will both finish their seasons in extended fashion, with the former airing at 7 p.m. and the latter at 9. The fun continues May 22, when "Alias" will finish its five-year run on the network -- a switch from the Wednesday time slot it will occupy on its return to the schedule next month.

"Lost" will finish the year with two hours' worth of mystery on May 24.

The "America's Funniest Home Videos" season-ender on May 19 will celebrate its status as the longest-running entertainment program in ABC history. It premiered in 1990. "Invasion" will end its season May 17. (http://Zap2it.com)

CHANNEL SURFING

Fox has renewed "Prison Break" for a second season, during which the prisoners, having escaped, will be on the run. ... Lifetime has started airing reruns of NBC's "Medium" on Sundays at 11 p.m. (R.O.)