It was called Must See TV, NBC's way of describing its former Thursday comedy lineup.

In recent years, the schedule occasionally has been musty TV.

The Must See TV slogan, incorporated in a massive promotional campaign, began in the early '90s, extolling the virtues of such comedy hits as Cheers, Wings, Mad About You, Frasier, Friends and Seinfeld.

Those half-hours, aired in various time periods, provided NBC with huge audience ratings, critical success and an extremely healthy bottom line.

Thanks mainly to Must See TV, Thursday became the most-watched night on network television.

While the tag also was attached to 9 p.m. drama hours like ER, most promotional pitches were directed at the two-hour comedy block.

When those hit comedies faded, so did NBC's audience ratings, advertising revenues - and the "must-see" slogan.

As NBC's comedy cupboard begins to look like it belonged to old Mother Hubbard (anyone remember Joey?), CBS, ABC and even Fox began dominating the schedule from 7 to 9 p.m.

NBC, without appealing comedies, experimented briefly with reality series including The Apprentice, which started strongly and then faded.

CBS came up with two major hits - Survivor and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Now ABC draws strong audience support from Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, the latter being the most-watched drama on the networks.

Meanwhile, Fox is into the competition this month with something called American Idol.

So where does that put NBC?

In fourth place.

So it's time for a new slogan that will morph into another multimillion- dollar advertising and promotional campaign, according to Television Week.

You'll be hearing, reading and seeing a lot about Comedy Night Done Right.

The first logical reaction: It takes more than a slogan to create a successful comedy night.

But before trashing the Done Right approach, look at the network's four Thursday comedy half-hours: My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock.

Not a bad series in the foursome.

The Office, adapted from the British farce, is a major award winner while 30 Rock is, hands down, the best new comedy series of the season.

So don't look for NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly to make chan ges going into next season.

The problem, however, is the Thursday night landscape is different today than it was 10 years ago when NBC owned the time periods.

Going from fourth to first - or even second - is a challenge.

If NBC does find success, maybe it will go back to its initial Must See TV brand.

Planning ahead

• Monk (7 p.m. Friday, USA) television's most popular - and probably only - germphobic hero - closes out its fifth season on USA cable by entering a hospital because of persistent nosebleeds.

While there he meets a rowdy, cantankerous patient played by Charles Durning.

• Epic Conditions (7 p.m. Sunday) a new series on The Weather Channel, puts the snowy spotlight on Steamboat Springs, concentrating on June Florence, who serves as a ski patroller and certified avalanche blaster and controller.

Find the connection

ABC is bringing back Six Degrees, the above-average, if-under-performing freshman drama that was pulled from the schedule last fall.

One key performer is Bridget Moynahan, pregnant by her former boyfriend, New England quarterback Tom Brady.

Could it be the headlines surrounding this story affected the network's decision to return the series on March 23?

Perish the thought.

The network will air the final seven episodes of the original 13 produced.

Moynahan plays a career executive in the series about a group of New York strangers whose paths cross in mysterious ways.

Dusty's pick for tonight

Comedian Sarah Silverman has found success in her new situation comedy series, appropriately called The Sarah Silverman Program (8:30 p.m. Comedy Central). If you're aware of Silverman's style, you'll know this is not a Father-Knows-Best half-hour. It's raunchy and often funny with more time spent in the bedroom than the kitchen.

Today's nostalgia

On March 1, 1965, CBS aired a documentary, T-Minus 4 Years, 9 Months and 30 Days, an hour that examined if the United States would reach its goal of landing a man on the moon by 1970.

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