Miss America moves to TLC

Here she is ...

But there'll be some changes made when the Miss America pageant airs Saturday from Planet Hollywood's Theatre for the Performing Arts.

For one thing, it's on a different cable channel, as TLC takes over from CMT, last year's TV home.

For another, the pageant telecast -- dubbed "Miss America Live!" -- serves as the finale of "Miss America: Reality Check," a four-week reality series.

"Up to now, the first time to see them was live" during the actual competition, points out Brent Zacky, TLC's programming vice president.

This year, viewers can develop a rooting interest even before Saturday's finale, which begins at 5 p.m. (to catch East Coast prime-time viewers) but airs locally, tape-delayed, at 8 p.m.

And while this year's pageant incorporates various changes, Zacky notes, "it's safe to say that those who love the pageant" will find traditional trappings as well.

Death Valley days: The phrases "national park" and "Las Vegas" may seem mutually exclusive, but not to the folks at Florentine Films, who have brought you PBS documentary classics from "The Civil War" to "The War."

Their next project, "National Parks," is scheduled to air next year.

Thursday through Saturday, however, cameras will follow about 70 seventh-graders (and their science teachers) from Dr. William H. (Bob) Bailey Middle School to Death Valley National Park for a documentary short airing in conjunction with the "National Parks" telecast.

The short focuses on "city kids and national parks," explains Susan Shumaker, a "National Parks" associate producer, who's producing and writing the short, from Florentine Films and Sherman Pictures.

The Bob Bailey students are the first participants in a new Death Valley program geared toward "getting kids into the park," Shumaker explains. In addition to Death Valley footage, the short will feature establishing shots of the Strip.

"I think it might make a fun contrast," she notes, citing "the lights of the Strip and the darkness and stillness of Death Valley."

Life of luxury: The Travel Channel's "Luxe Life" series makes a logical stop in Las Vegas this week, visiting swank destinations from Joel Rubichon's MGM Grand restaurant to the Playboy Club at the Palms for an hourlong episode set to air this summer.

Designs on Bravo: In a search for undiscovered interior design talent, Bravo's "Top Design" will hold a open casting call for the show's second season from noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 28-29 at the World Market Center, 495 S. Grand Central Parkway, Building B.

For more audition details, click on www.bravotv.com -- or tune in to next week's edition of Shooting Stars.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at (702) 383-0272 or e-mail her at ccling@reviewjournal.com.