Who will Bachelorette Trista pick as her potential hubby? What will Joe Millionaire's chosen gal-pal do when he reveals he's really Joe Thousandaire? And what is up with Michael Jackson's face?

All those questions, and more, promise to be answered during TV's February sweeps.

The key--and educational--ratings period begins Thursday, running through February 26. And while those 28 days may not offer sufficient time to properly address the matter of Jacko's nose, much less his entire face, our nation's diligent broadcasters will try. Oh, will they try.

A sampling of sweeps highlights:

VERY SPECIAL EPISODES Scrubs (Thursday, NBC): Grown-up Silver Spoonsster Rick Schroder revisits the sitcom form, bowing as a male nurse who makes Elliot's (Sarah Chalke) pulse race, in this 40-minute episode. Accompanying installments of Friends and Will & Grace will be similarly "super-sized." The bad news: a shameless NBC stunt. The good news: no room for Good Morning, Miami. Alias (Sunday, ABC): Onetime Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke drops into prime time as a compromised CIA agent. Suspicious spy girl Sydney (Jennifer Garner) is, well, suspicious. Star Dates (Sunday, E! Entertainment Television): Self-professed virgin Gary Coleman gives the dating scene a whirl. Life with Bonnie (Tuesday, ABC): Robin Williams guests as a wacky psychic. Funny voices ensue. Angel (Wednesday, WB): Lord of the Rings stalwart Sean Astin goes behind the camera to direct this episode in which Angel (David Boreanaz) gets turned into his invariably less-nice alter ego, Angelus. 20/20 (February 6, ABC): Barbara Walters anchors a British-produced documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson," featuring "unprecedented and exclusive access" to the Gloved One's private life--including the day he decided to go baby dangling.

It has been speculated that ABC's Jacko special may force NBC to push up the airdate of its own Jacko special. On February 17, Dateline NBC is set to rip the putty proboscis off the pop oddity, and his ever-morphing look, in a report titled "Michael Jackson Unmasked." Star Search (February 6, CBS): Arsenio Hall helps crown the champs in the junior singer, adult singer, model and comic divisions. An all-new tournament kicks off February 19. Will & Grace (February 6, NBC): Minnie Driver dates Karen's (Megan Mullally) ex-husband. Not to be outdone, Demi Moore pops up February 13 as Jack's (Sean Hayes) former babysitter. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (February 11, UPN): Grammy nominee Ashanti goes on a date with Xander (Nicholas Brendon). All things considered, we bet it goes better than Coleman's. Touched by an Angel (February 15, CBS): On the blessed occasion of this drama's 200th episode, a wayward guest angel (Lesley Ann Warren) tries to find her way back to heaven--not unlike what went down in the previous 199 episodes. High School Reunion (February 16, WB): The party's over for the class of '92. Meanwhile, on the Frog's Surreal Life, the free ride for Emmanuel Lewis and crew ends on February 20. Joe Millionaire (February 17, Fox): Faux rich guy Evan Marriott drops the bomb. Beware the fallout. The Bachelorette (February 19, ABC): Single gal Trista Rehn looks to end her single ways once and for all in the two-hour series finale. Smallville (February 25, WB): Big-screen Man of Steel Christopher Reeve plays a scientist who talks to little-screen Clark Kent (Tom Welling) about the meaning of Superman. Look for a public-service ad for Reeve's paralysis foundation at the end of the hour.

VERY SPECIAL PREMIERES Dragnet (Sunday, ABC): Married...with Children lout Ed O'Neill goes straight as Detective Joe Friday in this redo of the classic Jack Webb series. Kingpin (Sunday, NBC): According to an NBC exec, this limited-run drama about a conflicted drug lord, airing twice weekly through February 18, is not a rip-off of The Sopranos; rather, it's a rip-off of Shakespeare. Look for a racier version of the rip-off to air in March on Bravo. Are You Hot: The Search for America's Sexiest People (February 13, ABC): The latest dose of reality TV from the brains behind The Bachelor fulfills its title as wannabe hotties seek to be named the hottest hottie of them all. Survivor: The Amazon (February 13, CBS): The sixth edition of reality TV's standard-bearer heads for the jungle in a 90-minute season premiere. Host Jeff Probst splits the cast of 16 into two tribes--one for the boys, one for the girls. I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here! (February 19, ABC): Model Tyson Beckford, Howard Stern sidekick Stuttering John, E!'s Melissa Rivers and five other famous types leave behind Hollywood for the Australian outback in this all-new reality game to air on 15 consecutive nights. TV viewers back home determine the ultimate survivor. My Big Fat Greek Life (February 24, CBS): Nia Vardalos, who parlayed her one-woman show into a hit movie (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), tries to parlay her hit movie into a hit sitcom. With Steven Eckholdt as Nia's non-Greek hubby Thomas in place of John Corbett, who played Nia's, aka Toula's, non-Greek hubby Ian in the film.

VERY SPECIAL SPECIALS Brush with Fate (Sunday, CBS): What sweeps would be complete without a Hallmark Hall of Fame weepie? Not this one. Ellen Burstyn, Glenn Close and Thomas Gibson costar in this TV movie about three people and the one work of art that ties them together. CBS's Funny Flubs & Screw-Ups (Friday, CBS): What sweeps would be complete without a bloopers show? Not this one. (Sigh.) Yes, Dear's Liza Snyder hosts. The Three Stooges 75th Anniversary (February 18, NBC): Originally set to air in November, Woody Harrelson hosts this tribute to Curly, Moe and Larry, et. al. Jay-Z (February 22, Showtime): The rapper raps in his first full-length televised concert, live from Memphis. 45th Annual Grammy Awards (February 23, CBS): Music's big night moves to Sunday--and New York's Madison Square Garden. Scheduled performers include top nominees Norah Jones, Nelly (with Kelly Rowland) and Bruce Springsteen. James Patterson's 1st to Die (February 23, NBC): Gil Bellows and blaxploitation queen Pam Grier costar in this TV movie based on the thriller about a serial killer on the loose in San Francisco. The Lone Ranger (February 26, WB): The titular hero (Chad Michael Murray) and Tonto (Nathaniel Arcand) are back, and the WB's got 'em--and made 'em younger. This two-hour TV movie makes the western legend presentable for the Dawson's Creek generation.