'Celebrity Circus,' big top or big flop?

Reasons to watch "Celebrity Circus": None.

Just kidding. There's always a reason to watch something, right?

Let's see - it's hot, your AC is broken, you can't move your thumb to change the channel. Or, you've already seen that repeat of "CSI: NY." Or, "Farmer Takes a Wife" makes your head hurt, or . . .

What it's about: Two words.

"Celebrity." "Circus."

Put them together, and, debuting at 9:30 tonight on Channel 10, you've got stars doing the trapeze, spinning plates or eating fire.

"Celebrity Circus" got the green light last winter in the midst of a crippling writers' strike and at a time when the networks feared that the only thing standing between them and test patterns were revivals like this. "CC's" stars - soap actor Antonio Sabato Jr., R&B singer Blu Cantrell, Christopher Knight (Peter Brady on "The Brady Bunch"), swimming champ Janet Evans, Wee Man Acuna ("Jackass"), model Rachel Hunter and Stacey Dash, who was once on "The Cosby Show" - perform in front of a studio audience and host Joey Fatone. Viewers at home will vote on who's best.

Bottom line: NBC provided no preview screener on the pretext that it's live, but perhaps on the subtext that it's probably awful, too. In fact, beware any package that comes with Rachel Hunter and Wee Man Acuna rattling around inside. To a certain extent, these two have become code words for TV that's really bad.

Will they confound expectations? Will the other "stars" turn out to be people we recognize? Will "Celebrity Circus" be a thrill-a-minute joy ride en route to Nielsen boffo heaven? Yes, and expect three feet of snow in your back yard by tomorrow. *