HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – UPN local affiliate WLYH-TV will view tape of the debut of “Amish in the City” before deciding whether to show the series.

“Is it exploitive? We’ll make that decision,” said Matt Uhl, WLYH general manager.

The reality series, which was to debut Wednesday night, features five Amish young people living with six Southern Californians in a house in the Hollywood Hills. The Amish youths are from Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. They are going through rumspringa, a rite of passage in which they experience life outside their secluded communities.

WLYH executives will convene a panel of educators and advertisers to view a tape Thursday and decide if the series is disrespectful to the religious group. The station will then decide whether to add the series to its lineup. “I hope we’ll be able to air it at its regular time, which is 8 p.m. Wednesdays,” Uhl said.

Uhl said WLYH has received about 1,000 phone calls, e-mails and letters evenly divided between airing and not airing the show.

Lancaster Mayor Charlie Smithgall and other Lancaster County politicians have urged Uhl not to air it. Congressman Joseph Pitts has accused UPN of taking advantage of vulnerable young people.

UPN’s Philadelphia affiliate, WPSG-TV, which can be seen in parts of Lancaster County, planned to carry Wednesday’s show.

Trump gets competition

NEW YORK (AP) – Move over, Donald Trump. Again. Yet another suit-and-tie reality show in the vein of “The Apprentice” is slated to hit the airwaves.

“American Start-Up,” produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s LivePlanet production company, will fund eight baby businesses with $50,000 seed capital, then eliminate them if they don’t measure up, Spike TV’s programming and production executive Vice President Kevin Kay announced last week. The announcement was made during the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles.

“We believe in the contribution and independent spirit of the American entrepreneur,” executive producer Affleck said in a statement.

Unlike the Trump-filled “The Apprentice,” Affleck and Damon won’t tell contestants they’re fired during the 10 episodes of “American Start-Up.” Instead, a board comprised of successful entrepreneurs, tycoons and venture capitalists will guide and review the eager contestants.

“American Start-Up” is the latest in a string of upcoming business-themed reality shows. This fall, ABC debuts “The Benefactor,” featuring Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and Fox presents “The Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best,” with Virgin boss Richard Branson.

“American Start-Up” is expected to premiere on Spike TV in mid-2005.

*next two are both Knight Ridder Newspapers

Whoopi Goldberg canceled an appearance on “The View” because she was worried her comments would cause another political firestorm and distract from the Democratic National Convention, reports MSNBC.com.

The outspoken comedian was scheduled to appear on the ABC talk show Monday, but thought better of it because she didn’t want her words to be used against the Democrats.

“Those comments she made last time made headlines,” a source said, referring to off-color jokes about President Bush and Vice President Cheney. “It’s inevitable that that whole thing would have been a topic of conversation on “The View,” and either that or something else Whoopi says – and of course, she’s going to say what she thinks about Bush and it ain’t pretty – would make headlines again. The Democrats just don’t need that right now.”

Goldberg’s spokesman, however, denies buzz that the request to cancel came from the Democratic National Committee, which has vowed to keep Bush-bashing to a minimum.

“Whoopi and only Whoopi decided that she would prefer not to appear on television during the convention,” he said. “She felt very strongly about not wanting to detract from the convention in any way.”

Parker falls into the gap

The burning fashion question at Gap these days is: “How do you wear it?”

If you’re Sarah Jessica Parker, the answer is: with velvet ribbon and bows. Parker stars in the retailer’s fall marketing campaign, and for her ads, the “Sex and the City” star customized several pairs of jeans, reports The Associated Press.

On one pair, she added a velvet ribbon sewn down the legs to imitate tuxedo pants. Another one of her customized looks features jeans cut just below the knee and enhanced with a ribbon bow at the hemline.

She dresses the jeans up and down with her tops, including a shrunken jacket, a sexy secretary’s pink cardigan, a black turtleneck and a white button-down shirt with black piping, to which she added a bow tie.

“I think the Gap is terrifically creative, fun, inspired, and the clothes are for everyone, of every age,” said Parker, known as a fashionista both on-screen and off, in a statement. “They are timeless, easy, colorful, classic and affordable.”

Parker describes her own style as having “no rules.” She’s been known to wear vintage, off-the-rack sportswear and couture sometimes all at the same time.

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