Cupid returns

This is the craziest TV story I've heard in forever: ABC and "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas are bringing back "Cupid."

If Clinton's second term has receded to a hazy memory for you, let me help:

The year was 1998. Peyton Manning was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft (the Broncos picked Marcus Nash). "Titanic" topped the box office charts. And on television, a quirky little show named "Cupid" debuted on ABC.

It paired Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall. Piven played Trevor Hale, a man who claimed to be Cupid, the god of love, cast down from Mount Olympus and forced to wander the earth until he united 100 couples in true love. Marshall played his court-appointed psychiatrist.

Great premise, great actors, funny, touching, all around wonderful. Canceled after a dozen episodes or so.

I did a column over the summer talking about all the TV shows coming back from the dead ("The Apprentice," "Jericho," "According to Jim"). But going back to 1998? Bejeezus.

Obviously, "Bionic Woman" goes even farther back for its inspiration, but that's a "Battlestar Galactica" style reinterpretation. What ABC is talking about with "Cupid" is bringing back the Exact Same Show. Well, maybe not with Piven and Marshall. But with Rob Thomas and the same premise and the same everything.

Thoughts: I loved "Cupid." I'm not sure it would work without Piven. Obviously, it didn't work with Piven in 1998, but Thomas and ABC say the material was ahead of its time and the outlandish premise would fit better in 2008. Which is totally true.

Still... this is all so deeply weird.