NBC: Must-see-if-it-can-work TV

NBC, which presented its fall lineup to TV critics at its summer press tour Friday, has recently had to endure just about every disaster to befall a network, and then some. The major problem has been a general prime-time decline-and-fall (not helped by the decision to scrap 10 p.m. dramas in favor of "The Jay Leno Show").

Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, explained: "We made too many changes too quickly from a position of weakness," adding, "We're trying to rebuild and recognize some of the mistakes we've made over the past several years. We've put a lot of money into development this year and are taking more shots. But we feel very good about the progress we've made and believe we have a lot more stability than we've had in some time."

'THE OFFICE' WITHOUT CARELL Steve Carell, in the midst of a busy movie career, will not return to "The Office" after next season, leaving the obvious questions: What now and what next? Angela Bromstad, president of prime-time entertainment, said the show's producers would develop a story line over the forthcoming season that incorporates some "mystery" about who Michael Scott's successor will be.

Had she or NBC given any thought to ending "The Office" after Carell leaves? Said she: "Would we have ended 'ER' after George Clooney left? We've known about it for some time [and] it'd be very sad to end it, and then hard to go home and face my 14-year-old son."

'THE EVENT' IS NOT 'FLASHFORWARD' NBC took some effort yesterday to explain that "The Event," its new time-twisted sci-fi entry with a big puzzle at the center, will not be like the once highly regarded, now departed ABC thriller with a not-dissimilar tone. Starring Jason Ritter, Laura Innes and Blair Underwood, "The Event" is about a mysterious event and how that affects a group of people, from the president (Underwood) to a detainee (Innes), who may or may not have something to do with said event. The pilot is good, and is easily NBC's biggest ticket this fall, with flavors and shades of "Lost" and its various leaps forward and backward. But show runner Evan Katz ("24") promised yesterday that "time will move forward from episode two on." And don't worry about being left in the dark for too long: "Lots of things will be revealed very quickly," Innes said.

'L&O' IS DEAD; LONG LIVE 'L&O: LOS ANGELES '"Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf yesterday said that the show, which ended in May after 20 seasons, will not be reborn on a cable network; there have been recent reports that AMC expressed interest. "I can confirm it's moved into the history books," he said, adding, "We were extremely disappointed the show didn't come back for a 21st season. That's business. That's life. Everything on television is born with a death sentence. They just don't tell us the date of execution."

The new Los Angeles-based "L&O" will star Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard as the prosecutors (they'll rotate the role, to accommodate screen careers), while Skeet Ulrich is one of the cops.

"How can you do a show in L.A. without doing celebrity crime?" asked Wolf. "But not every week."

AND IN OTHER NEWS "30 Rock" will undertake a live episode on Oct. 14. Reason: Tina Fey, with her bountiful "Saturday Night Live" background wanted to. . . . Rob Lowe will join "Parks and Recreation" as a full-time cast member; the show returns midseason. . . . NBC is developing a series based on "Prime Suspect," the classic British procedural from the '90s and '00s; pilot shoots early fall.