The TV Zone

Do not adjust your set when you're watching the Federer-Sampras tennis match live next Monday night from Madison Square Garden.

You may think you're watching FSN New York, but you'll be watching the "rebranded" channel MSG Plus. As of that 7 p.m. March 10 event airing live from Madison Square Garden, FSN is being renamed to better fit with its MSG corporate sibling (both owned by Cablevision Systems).

As MSG Plus, the channel will still serve as the cable home for hockey's Islanders and Devils, and will still carry Fox Sports Net original programs like "Best Damn Sports Show" and "Sports Science."

"MSG is a powerful brand," Michael Bair, president of MSG Media, said in today's press release. "Rebranding FSNY as MSG Plus capitalizes on the unprecedented MSG brand value and recognition, and helps to establish a stronger correlation between our two television networks."

So when both the Isles and Devs are playing, do the overflow games go to MSG Plus Plus? MSG Plus 2? (Equals 4?) We shall see . . .

If you didn't see today's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" installment, we're here to tell you that West Babylon's Mark Czachor walked away with $100,000.

The Garden City science teacher and wrestling coach phoned a friend on the question, “A famous poem by William Carlos Williams reads, 'So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow glazed with rain water beside the' what? A) Wet ducklings, B) Green pasture, C) Rusty fence post, D) White chickens.” (Correct answer: D.)

But he knew better than to guess on the $250,000 question, “Equivalent to twenty bottles, which of these large bottles of champagne holds the greatest volume? A) Balthazar, B) Jeroboam, C) Methuselah, D) Nebuchadnezzar.” (Correct answer: D.) So he took the money and ran.

More locals: Tomorrow's "Millionaire" (12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13 on WABC/7) features Mount Sinai attorney John Leonard, while Friday's (Feb. 15) show welcomes Merrick's John Yandrasits.

Three LI contestants next week on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (weekdays at 12:30 p.m. on WABC/7):

Monday, Feb. 11 -- Mark Czachor, West Babylon, a science teacher at Garden City Middle School who also coaches wrestling at Garden City High School. (He plays on Tuesday, Feb. 12, too.)

Wednesday, Feb. 13 -- John Leonard, Mount Sinai attorney.

Friday, Feb. 15 -- John Yandrasits, Merrick, tour manager for rock’s Revelation Theory.

[Photos of (left to right) Czachor, Leonard, Yandrasits, courtesy Valleycrest Productions Ltd.]

For a little slice of land, Long Island sure boasts plenty of people in showbiz countdown lists. But here’s one the locals might rather not boast about: “celebrity meltdowns.”

The E! channel counts ’em down Saturday (Jan. 26) at 5 p.m., including among its “25 Most Sensational Celebrity Meltdowns” such LI lights as Lindsay Lohan, Rosie O’Donnell, Mariah Carey and Alec Baldwin -- with both Baldwin and Lohan making the less-than-vaunted top 10.

Sometimes it's not so nice to be overrepresented.

East Moriches resident Alan Blaustein sits in the hot seat on Thursday's “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (Jan. 24 at 12:30 p.m. on WABC/7).

A government and economics teacher at Urban Assembly Media High School in Manhattan, Blaustein has wife Michele cheering him on from the audience. He mentions he used to sell motorcycles in Denver, once making a sale to Broncos quarterback John Elway. The Broncos took the Super Bowl the next two seasons, so let’s hope Blaustein’s luck holds for him on “Millionaire.”

Find out about auditioning for the show yourself here.

[Photo above: Courtesy of Valleycrest Productions, Ltd.]

At least in movie form.

Yes, the whole sordid Amy Fisher-Joey Buttafucco love-and-gunplay tale gets relived once again, as 2008 arrives with a repeat of “Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story” (Tuesday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. on Lifetime).

This is the 1993 TV movie casting Alyssa Milano and Jack Scalia as the real-life lovers. And who starred in the other two quickie flicks in this infamous Amy-Joey network trifecta?

Check here tomorrow for the answer.

Cablevision’s HD lineup currently seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Just in time for college football’s annual bowl-o-rama, the cable provider is today adding ESPN2 HD, a simulcast of the standard-def channel using HD video when available, on Ch. 735.

Upcoming events in HD on ESPN2 include Friday night’s New Orleans Bowl (Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic), Saturday’s Papajohns.com Bowl (yes, there is such a thing, pitting Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati), and Sunday-Tuesday’s 2007 World Series of Poker.

Peruse HD offerings for both ESPN and ESPN2 at hd.espn.com.

They lost big, so they won big.

Bill Germanakos of Lynbrook worked off 164 pounds to take “The Biggest Loser” title on NBC’s Tuesday night competition, while his 40-year-old twin, Jim, won the weigh-in among previously eliminated contestants after dropping 186 pounds. [NBC photo above: Bill Germanakos, center, with brother Jim and family.]

Bill, a medical salesman who stands 5-feet-8, took home the $250,000 grand prize by going from 334 pounds to 170 over the eight-month production schedule for the 15-week series. Twin brother Jim, a Freeport police officer from Massapequa, earned $100,000 for dropping from 361 to 175, and losing 132 of those pounds at home after his fifth-episode elimination.

The Germanakos brothers, the first set of twins on “The Biggest Loser,” made a triumphant appearance on Wednesday’s “Today” show, saying they were inspired by their father passing away young at 57, as well by as the recent death of “a friend that was in our age group,” Bill told Ann Curry. “He left a houseful of kids, and it’s very upsetting. And then to know that we were on the path for an early death as well. It’s something, when we had an opportunity to go ahead and do this, it’s something that we jumped at.”

Both were members of the “underdog” black team, a surprise in-progress addition to the series, which normally features red and blue teams of six persons each. The competition’s final four contenders all came from the same team, another first. “We were the throwaways,” Bill said in celebratory video clips posted after his win at NBC.com, where he had become a favorite in viewer comments expressing support for his can-do attitude.

But it was that “throwaway” sting of rejection that prompted Bill to describe “the defining moment of my life as an obese person.” With daughter Adrienne standing beside him after his win, he told NBC.com about taking her to an amusement park and waiting in line an hour to ride the front car of a roller coaster. “And I didn’t fit. They tried so hard, it was painful, when I got up and we had to walk away with everyone looking at me.” He said that after the show’s “reveal” party, “We went right back to the amusement park, we got right on the roller coaster, and I proceeded to bring her on every roller coaster. Listen, I’ve been waiting 20 years for this.”

Bill used his “Today” appearance to thank his wife, Stephanie, and his kids, Adrienne, Luke and Hope, for all their support. Jim thanked his wife and three kids, too. Both encouraged other obese people to do whatever it takes to lose weight. “We needed help,” said Bill, “and we found the help.”

Not to mention reality TV fame. And a nice chunk of change, too.

Univision’s WXTV/41 and TeleFutura/67 are sponsoring a toy drive at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at the Wal-mart store on Green Acres Road in Valley Stream.

WXTV personalities Salvador Cruz, Antonio Martinez, Merijoel Duran and Nilda Rosario [photo at right] will be on hand in Valley Stream, along with the children’s animated characters Los Solecitos (Little Suns).

The Hispanic Federation will distribute donated toys to needy kids.

“Wheel of Fortune” marks the show’s 25th anniversary with three special theme weeks originating from Radio City Music Hall.

The festivities kick off with "Best Friends Week" (airing Nov. 5-9). These five shows will feature New York-area pals playing together.

Needless to say, several Long Islanders will be attempting to buy vowels. They include:

On Nov. 7: Gina Varacchi of Medford and Eric Gustafson of Centereach; Kathy Uptonof Massapequa and Heidi Spraul of Patchogue.

On Nov. 9: Vikki Rella of Nesconset and Kristin Bunger of Babylon.

“Wheel of Fortune” airs weeknights at 6:30 on WLNY/10/55 and 7:30 on WABC/7.

When I dropped by Peter’s restaurant in Babylon last night, an hour before the premier of Kitchen Nightmares, they were hooking up auxiliary speakers to the flat-screen TV. As Fox’s viewing public now knows, Peter’s was the first recipient—or victim—of Gordon Ramsay’s culinary counsel. Back in March, the pugnacious British chef had swept into this modest Italian restaurant and had exposed everything—family strife, non-working stoves, frozen crab cakes—to the cold light of a television production crew.

The restaurant is owned by Tina Pelligrino, but its dominant presence is that of her brother, Peter. (He’s not the restaurant’s namesake, Tina explained; the place was named for their grandfather who founded it.)

Now that the specter of Joey Buttafuoco has faded, the South Shore of Long Island needs another poster boy and, in the show, Peter Pelligrino rises to the challenge. He comes off as selfish, crass, vain and violent: skimming money off the restaurant’s profits to buy a fancy car, an expensive tan, gleaming teeth and jewelry. He insults the wait staff within earshot of their tables, he physically threatens his creditors and, worst of all, neither he nor Tina seem to care that their kitchen barely functions and sends out consistently mediocre food.

Was Peter nervous about his upcoming small-screen debut? “As Shakespeare said,” quoth he, “‘All the world’s a stage.’”

The fledgling thespian—“this restaurant is my Carnegie hall”—said he has studied with acting coach Olinda Turturro. Years ago, he was stopped on the street by “Bobby De Niro” who liked his look. This led to a small role in “A Bronx Tale” (uncredited) and other De Niro movies. “I read seven times for the Soprano’s,” he said.

The five days Ramsay spent in Babylon, Peter said, were life-changing ones. “He made me toe the line,” he said. “I concede—he was right and I was wrong.” At the end of the one-hour episode, the bull has turned into a pussycat. He works hard, praises his employees and even sponsors a Family Day for Babylon. I asked him if, six months later, he feels that he has still turned over a new leaf. “I turned over a whole forest,” he responded.

We’ll see. I witnessed some very dismissive words directed at his long-suffering sister.

But I don’t think he’ll be around for long. Peter is an avowed scenester who considers himself “part of the woodwork” at Cipollini, the trendy Manhasset restaurant. He’s also a regular at the Manhattan Eurotrash magnets Da Silvano, in the Village, and Nello’s on the Upper East Side. Tony Danza loves his artichokes.

And he’s got some television projects “in the works.”

For all that, he makes for some very entertaining TV. Which was probably his intention all along.

How did we miss this one till now? Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre has the 1980 cheese treat of all time scheduled this Saturday late night!

BOTH “Xanadu” and “Flash Gordon” [above] fill the big screen from 11 p.m. Aug. 11, pairing roller skating disco with outer space football from that gloriously gilded era. Sneak peeks here and here prove it's oodles more fun than Sci Fi's limp new "Flash Gordon" series.

Much more at summercampcinema.com.

Scrabble is the latest “sport” to hit ESPN, the channel that has us already glued to such competitions as spelling bees and the rock-paper-scissor championship.

We kid you not.

ESPN will air the National School Scrabble Championship on Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. (Definitely do not make outdoor plans that day, folks.)

The promoters of the event say ESPN “truly presents the championship as a gaming spectacle, using footage of tense elimination rounds and close-to-the action camera shots (like those in televised poker).” No word whether Chris Berman will be doing the play-by-play.

And did we mention there will be some local kids among the Scrabblers? Although a show spokeswoman says it’s unclear how much camera time the youngsters will get during the final broadcast.

For the record. our home-grown boardmasters include three teams from Rockville Centre’s South Side Middle School; three teams from Hampton Bays (Elementary and Junior High); two teams from Our Lady of Victory in Floral Park and a squad from Portledge Middle School in Glen Head.

Good luck to all of you. Hope you get a lot of X’s. Z’s, J’s and Q’s.

Among the just-announced contestants on NBC’s weight-loss competition, “The Biggest Loser,” which returns on Sept. 11 are two Long Islanders: 40-year-old twin brothers Bill and Jim Germanakos.

The Germanakos are the first set of twins to compete on the show.

Bill, of Lynbrook, is married with three kids and works in medical sales. Jim, of Massapequa, also married with three kids, is a police officer. In his free time, he’s a volunteer firefighter and can be caught singing Sinatra songs at the local Italian bistro. Their goal, according to NBC, is not to become the “fat twins.”

Baby-faced Amy Schumer was one of five finalists chosen last week in NBC’s current run of “Last Comic Standing” (Wednesday at 9 p.m.). Raised in Rockville Centre, Schumer started in improv, then moved on to stand-up, where she’s wowed ’em in Bud Light’s Ladies of Laughter competition as well as at Gotham Comedy Club, The Laugh Lounge and Caroline’s on Broadway.

Schumer was the only female chosen alongside four guys, to go with the previous week’s three guys and two women. Now all 10 face final challenges, starting with The Heckle -- taking off on each other as theater audiences vote their top jokesters and hecklers. Eventually, two comics square off in the first head-to-head showdown to winnow their number down.

Watch a two-minute replay of last week’s semi-finals episode here. And check out Amy’s MySpace page.

So now the high-def wars get interesting.

Cablevision just announced it’s adding the VOOM suite of 15 HD channels previously available only on Dish satellite (and before that on a stand-alone satellite service created as a Cablevision subsidiary). Starting Tuesday (June 26), they’ll be added to Cablevision’s existing lineup of two dozen HD channels, including the broadcast networks, premium movie channels, FSN, MSG, ESPN, Discovery, NatGeo, TNT and Universal. Cablevision says that means it will offer more HD channels than any other provider.

VOOM offerings -- all shot or remastered in HD rather than upconverted -- tend toward niche treats like the Gallery arts channel, WorldSport, Rush extreme sports, Monsters HD horror, Kung Fu HD and GamePlay, plus broader-appeal feeds FilmFest and Family Room.

Meanwhile, DirecTV keeps talking up the full-time high-definition channels it plans to add by the end of the year, most of which are HD versions of current offerings -- CNN, USA, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Disney, History, A&E;, TLC, Food Network, HGTV, Bravo, FX, even The Weather Channel. DirecTV is launching two new satellites, and claims it should have 100 channels by fall (including multiple sports feeds).

Cable industry behemoths Comcast and Time Warner have been boasting they’re upping HD capacity, too, though they’re less eager to name channel names.

What’s on VOOM? Details here.

Saturday’s the day Fox brings its casting call for “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” to New York City.

Auditions for five fall-season kid slots take place starting at 8 a.m. Saturday at Manhattan’s Javits Center, 655 West 34th St. They're open to graduating fourth graders registered for fifth grade this fall.

Here's what auditioners' parents need to do:

Kids should come prepared with a show-and-tell presentation of their choice, lasting 3 minutes or less. Costumes are encouraged (containing no logos, though).

Parents must bring ID for the child, plus completed forms they can find online at fox.com.

That web page also contains further details.

CAKEWALK IN TIMES SQUARE:
Stephanie Florio of Sayville won “Bridezillas”e “Take the Cake” Cake-Eating Competition!" Tuesday in Times Square. Fifteen brides-to-be chomped through icing-coating tiered cakes, eating their way to a $25,000 prize towards their upcoming wedding. The stunt hyped WE tv’s series, “Bridezillas”, which returns for season four Sunday night at 9.

Stephanie and fiancé, John Collins, also of Sayville, plan on using the money to splurge on the wedding details, in particular, the reception hall that was once out of their budget. Stephanie says she will just “upgrade” everything, from the flowers to the catering.

B-I-N-G-O OR IS THAT L-I-N-G-O?
Michael Papillo of West Babylon will be one of three contestants on Friday's edition of “National Bingo Night” (9 p.m., ABC/7). He and two others will try their luck for a chance to win shopping sprees, a luxury European cruise and a huge cash jackpot. Meanwhile, viewers can play along to win a trip for two to next season's "Dancing with the Stars," a trip for two to The ESPY Awards, a $50,000 cash jackpot plus thousands of other prizes. Check out abc.com for details.

TV, too. Location shoots in New York City hit a record last year, says Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image, which is sponsoring a behind-the-scenes peek at production on May 20.

It’s a daylong outdoor event featuring tours of working movie trailers and trucks, plus free admission to the Museum, which houses an interactive look at the filmmaking process. The Museum’s 2 p.m. seminar that day, “Made in NY: Careers in Film and Television Production,” features a panel of top New York-based industry professionals, plus celebrity guests.

The event lasts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 20, on 36 Street between 34 and 35 Avenues (the street between the Museum and the Kaufman Astoria Studios, which will be closed to traffic).

Museum info here.

Is this your dentist?

West Hempstead dentist Warren Deluty goes on the hot seat of daytime’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” this Friday and Monday at 12:30 p.m. on WABC/7. (Two days! Good omen?)

The Brooklyn native and Yeshiva University grad has wife Sheryl along in the studio to cheer him on. If Deluty wins big, he tells host Meredith Vieira, he wants to buy Sheryl a new kitchen. (Awww.)

You, too, can try to “Be a Millionaire”: Contestant auditions start up again Monday, April 30, at ABC’s Manhattan studios and continue through the summer. Casting calls will hit other cities, too. See rules, pre-register here.

[Photo courtesy of Valleycrest Productions, Ltd.]