THE TALENT SHOW:

I love Ed McMahon. But my most memorable musical moment of Star Search is a lame one -- Sawyer Brown crooning ''Somewhere Over The Rainbow'' for weeks in a row. The band went on to become small stars in country-pop.

Now American Idol . . . that's a talent contest. Just last Monday, grown women wept when Idol's Justin Guarini made a guest appearance on Oprah.

Sure, the Idol singers are an untrained homegrown bunch, as were the Star Search gang. But where McMahon was a nice guy, Simon Cowell and Fox's Idol have remade the talent contest as a must-see blend of high notes and putdowns. American Idol 2 starts Jan. 21.