Fox dusts off '30 Seconds to Fame' for Saturday late night

In a bit of an unusual move, Fox is dusting off 2002 reality competition "30 Seconds to Fame" to air in its Saturday late night midnight time slot.

Fox hasn't had a regular show there since canceling "Talk Show with Spike Feresten," instead airing a mix of series burnoffs and repeats there. "30 Seconds" is a low-cost way to bring back a show that briefly did well for Fox in its initial run, but didn't last beyond 2003.

"30 Seconds," hosted by Craig Jackson ("The X Show"), gives contestants 30 seconds to display their talents, which range from the bizarre to the eccentric. (Consider it a modern-day "Gong Show.") Audience members vote on three acts to make it to the second round and then vote on who wins a weekly $25,000 prize.

It's not totally unprecedented for a network to fill a sked hole with a short-lived series that had sat on the shelf for years. You may remember that in 1997 the old Fox Kids Network put on the 1991-92 NBC series "Eerie, Indiana" as a lark on Saturday mornings; those segs actually ended up doing quite well for that kids block.

"30 Seconds" came from Wild Jams Prods.; Michael Binkow and Joe Revello exec produced. Show was part of Fox's summer 2002 strategy that also included "Meet the Marks" and a little show called "American Idol."