Unearthing celebrity profiles that aged well

Someday, the Hollywood power brokers who reign over TV programming will wake up to discover that the cult of celebrity is over, and that the public has finally had its fill of the endless profiles of the rich and famous that have been clogging the airwaves since the medium was in its infancy.

That day is nowhere in sight, of course, and so, armed with that knowledge, the folks at the TV Land cable channel are trotting out a new series that will air for the next 14 Sundays and, if the ratings are decent, maybe longer.

The “new” tag comes with an asterisk, because the show, “TV Land Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews,” is actually composed of one-on-one chats culled from the archives of the long-running CBS newsmagazine. But although you might be thinking that the quality will be more like leftover turkey loaf than the real bird, the half-hour shows play surprisingly well. In fact, some of the older episodes feel fresher and more interesting than more recent interviews.

Sunday’s special two-hour block of four episodes, for example, opens at 9 p.m. with Morley Safer’s fascinating 1984 chat with Jackie Gleason that serves as a welcome reminder of the late legend’s talent and zest for life, while the last of the segments, Steve Kroft’s 1997 interview with Jerry Seinfeld (10:30 p.m.), covers what now seems like overly familiar territory.

Similarly, Mike Wallace’s tough, probing 1979 interview with Johnny Carson (9:30) is a winner, rendering Wallace’s ’99 puff piece on Carol Burnett (10 p.m.) pale by comparison.

Ed Bradley is the host of the series and offers updated perspectives on the segments, which include some footage that hasn’t been seen. Single episodes will begin airing Nov. 10 at 10 p.m. with Robin Williams in the hot seat.

Thirty minutes of classic “60 Minutes” interviews isn’t half bad, and more often than not, quite good.