“Three Wishes” might not be all that bad

Admitting to one’s mistakes can be one of the most difficult things to do – especially when you have to own up to thousands of readers that you may have been too quick to judge. While I’m not willing to say that NBC’s “Three Wishes” is anything but an attempt to get Amy Grant’s music career back on track, I must admit I’ve become hooked even before the show premieres.

The preview tape – which to my disgust didn’t include the ending – was a tearjerker and an inspiration to help others.

Each episode follows the personal story of a family as Grant and her team make dreams come true. While I’m still not sold that some parts of the show aren’t staged and scripted, if you can set aside the occasionally cheesy outbursts of song, it’s worth tuning in.

Especially now, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, “Three Wishes” provides tales of heartache turned into happiness when we need it most.

The marketing done for this one is quite intriguing, according to information provided on the NBC Web site.

To promote the series, NBC granted three wishes in 15 towns last week, including a “big wish” at a local charity in each city, where they presented a check for $2,500 to make a purchase from the charity’s own wish list. As part of the grassroots marketing campaign, they also granted two smaller wishes at local retailers by picking up the restaurant or grocery store tabs for several customers.

They paid the retailers with specially stickered $1 bills, which went into cash registers and supposedly are being distributed to subsequent customers with their change. The sticker directs recipients to a “Three Wishes” section on the nbc.com Web site, where they’re encouraged to use the specially marked dollars to fulfill the wish of someone else in the spirit of the show.

I’ll warn you, if you’re not a fan of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” or don’t happen to have a box of Kleenex handy, this one might not be for you.

Tune in at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, to see how one young boy thanks his stepdad for being a knight inshining armor after his biological father died and whether Abby gets the operation she needs after being in a horrendous car accident with her father.

Martha’s gearing up for the premiere of “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, followed by The Donald’s premiere of season four of “The Apprentice” at 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22.

The Donald hand-picked this season’s contestants and says he’s “thrilled with the results.”