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KELLEY STAYS PUT AT FOX

Writer-producer David E. Kelley is keeping his oddball lawyers, and whatever else may spill forth from his mind in the next few years, at the studio he’s called home for close to two decades.

The “Boston Legal” creator and multiple Emmy winner has renewed his eponymous production company’s deal with 20th Century Fox TV through 2008, the Hollywood trade papers report. He’ll continue at the helm of “Legal,” which begins its second season on ABC next week, and keep developing new projects for the studio.

“I used to be the youngest producer on the lot. Now I’m the oldest,” Kelley says in a statement. “They’ll never get rid of me.”

The new deal extends a relationship that began in 1986, when Kelley became a writer on “L.A. Law.” Terms weren’t disclosed, but Kelley reportedly has long enjoyed an arrangement that gives him a significant portion of his shows’ back-end profits.

The studio, unsurprisingly, is glad to have David E. Kelley Productions remain on its lot. “While there isn’t a sure thing when it comes to developing for network television, a show from David Kelley is as close as it gets,” says Gary Newman, co-president of 20th Century Fox TV.

At the moment, “Boston Legal” is the only Kelley show on the air. The WB passed on “Halley’s Comet,” a drama about a med-school student that Kelley executive produced, this spring, and his foray into unscripted TV, “The Law Firm,” was shunted off to Bravo after flopping on NBC this summer.

He’s currently developing a drama about a network morning show, most likely for NBC.

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“DAILY SHOW’ AUCTIONING OFF OLD SET

“The Daily Show” didn’t win many raves when it unveiled its new set over the summer. Now, those longing for the old desk-and-couch set from the show’s earlier days can partially re-create it, Kramer-style, in their own homes.

Provided, you know, they have room for a couple of 9-foot-high backdrops with big maps on them.

“The Daily Show” has put two pieces of its old set up for auction on eBay, with proceeds going to a non-profit group called 826NYC that helps develop writing skills for students. The two pieces are a 9-by-9-foot blue plexiglas wall with a map of North America and a 9-by-7 1/2-foot piece with maps of several continents etched into the plexiglas.

The larger of the two had a high bid of $1,325 as of midday Friday, while the other was going for $660. The auction runs through Wednesday.

The auction brings to mind the “Seinfeld” episode in which Kramer (Michael Richards) salvaged pieces of the “Merv Griffin Show” set from a garbage bin and re-created the show in his apartment. Those hoping to do the same with “The Daily Show” will have to provide their own desk and couch.

“Daily Show” writer/executive producer Ben Karlin is on the board of 826NYC, which provides tutoring, workshops and other services to students ages 6 to 18 to develop their writing skills.

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OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB RETURNS TO THE PRESENT

It’s not quite the bombshell that J.K Rowling committing to writing “Harry Potter: The Adult Years” would be. But Oprah Winfrey’s announcement that she’ll once again feature present-day authors in her book club has to be close to that for publishers.

The daytime talk queen announced her newest selection – James Frey’s memoir “A Million Little Pieces” – on her show Thursday. The book’s publisher has ordered an additional printing of 600,000 copies, and the book now sits at No. 1 on the Amazon.com sales chart.

The choice of “A Million Little Pieces” is a “radical departure” for the book club, Winfrey said on the show. “It’s not a classic and it is also not fiction but a bold choice … it’s a gut-wrenching memoir.”

Winfrey started her book club in 1996 and helped several dozen books, including works by Toni Morrison, Wally Lamb and Alice Hoffman, become bestsellers. She suspended the club in 2002 but started it up a year later, focusing on classic literature from the likes of John Steinbeck, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Pearl S. Buck. This past summer she recommended three books by William Faulkner.

Frey’s mother was in the “Oprah Winfrey Show” audience Thursday. As Winfrey began talking about “A Million Little Pieces,” she shouted, “That’s my son!”

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FOX: OFF WITH OUR “HEAD CASES’

The 2005-06 TV season, which is officially less than a week old, has claimed its first victim: Fox’s legal drama “Head Cases.”

Fox has pulled the show after just two airings, saying it has “had its last air date.” The series, which starred Chris O’Donnell and Adam Goldberg as mismatched lawyers whose only common bond was time in a mental institution, got drilled in the ratings Wednesday, primarily by ABC’s “Lost” but also by “America’s Next Top Model.”

In its place, Fox will air original episodes of “Nanny 911” for the next two weeks. The night will then be given over to coverage of the baseball playoffs and World Series for the rest of October; “Trading Spouses” will take up residence in the 9 p.m. ET spot starting Nov. 2.

“Head Cases” got little support from critics and debuted to mediocre ratings, drawing 6.2 million viewers on Sept. 14 – five days before the Nielsen-sanctioned start of the season. This week, facing “Lost,” “Top Model” and the premiere of “E-Ring” on NBC, it lost nearly half its premiere audience and drew a weak 1.3 rating among adults 18-49, Fox’s and advertisers’ favorite demographic.

Six episodes of “Head Cases” have been shot, but given the network’s “last air date” pronouncement, it’s unlikely the remaining four will make it on the air.

The season’s first hook came much faster than it did last year. NBC’s “Hawaii” was the first show pulled in fall 2004, but it lasted six episodes before getting yanked in mid-October.

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MARTHA’S “APPRENTICE’ NOT A GOOD THING FOR NBC

Martha Stewart began her foray into prime time Wednesday night, but early returns suggest she may be the one who doesn’t fit in.

“The Apprentice: Martha Stewart,” one of NBC’s more heavily touted new series this fall, premiered to a very underwhelming 7.1 million viewers Wednesday night – way off the performance of any of the previous, Donald Trump-fronted “Apprentices.” Its adults 18-49 rating of 2.3 wasn’t any good either; the previous two Trump “Apprentice” premieres averaged 6.6 and 7.4 in the ad-friendly demographic.

Stewart’s show got buried by an ABC special recapping the first season of “Lost,” which pulled in more than 15 million viewers at 8 p.m. That led into the season premiere of “Lost,” which, fresh off its Emmy win for best drama, scored its biggest audience (23.5 million viewers) and best adults 18-49 rating (10.2) ever.

The huge numbers for “Lost” eclipsed everything else in the 9 p.m. hour, including the premiere of NBC’s “E-Ring.” The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced show about the inner workings of the Pentagon managed only 9.1 million viewers and a 2.5 adults 18-49 rating.

That strength carried over some to the premiere of “Invasion,” which lost about 30 percent of its lead-in audience but still scored 16.4 million viewers and a healthy 6.8 adults 18-49 rating. Not too many viewers, it appears, were turned off by the premiere’s hurricane-related storyline, in which aliens (or something) use a hurricane hammering South Florida as a guise to take up residence in the local waters.

Both the total audience and the 18-49 rating for “Invasion” are the best at 10 p.m. Wednesday for ABC since “Trista and Ryan’s Wedding” in December 2003.

One bright spot elsewhere came from UPN, which scored 4.8 million viewers for the premiere of “America’s Next Top Model” and beat “The Apprentice: Martha” in adults and women 18-34, “Top Model’s” target audience.

If there’s any consolation for Stewart, it might be that her show could face less intense competition next week, when ABC starts rolling out its 8 p.m. comedy block. “George Lopez,” which has a one-hour premiere on Sept. 28, averaged a little over 7 million viewers last year, and new show “Freddie,” which debuts the following week, isn’t expected to be a breakout hit.

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GERALDO TAKES OVER FOR “CURRENT AFFAIR’

Geraldo Rivera is returning to broadcast television, headlining a syndicated news show that will replace “A Current Affair” later this year.

“Geraldo at Large,” a half-hour show hosted by the Fox News correspondent, will air five days a week on Fox-owned TV stations starting in November. The show will offer reports on the “most compelling” stories of the day, mixing in field reports, investigative work and interviews.

“Strong news reporting and the delivery of comprehensive information to the viewer are key ingredients to success and ones we are going to incorporate into our program strategy,” says Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations. “News is a key driver for the Fox owned-and-operated stations, and “Geraldo at Large’ will serve as a strong complement to our local stations’ newscasts.”

Rivera has been with Fox News since 2001. Prior to that he hosted a prime-time show on CNBC; he’s also worked for NBC News and ABC’s “20/20” and hosted a syndicated daytime talk show that ran for 11 years.

“A Current Affair,” which relaunched earlier this year after a long absence, struggled to attract audiences in its new incarnation. It will air through October.

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AP-NY-09-23-05 1615EDT