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TUBE TALK Sensitive new-age guy Phil Donahue is a top candidate to become the new face of MSNBC, the New York Daily News reports. Donahue, whose syndicated TV talk show ended in 1996, is likely to host an hourlong talk show in prime time on MSNBC. According to the Daily News, other possible MSNBC hosts include newsman Sam Donaldson and two wild cards: Dennis Miller and ''Politically Incorrect'' host Bill Maher. Why not Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey while they're at it?...

MTV is so excited by the success of ''The Osbournes'' that it's going to debut six new reality shows over the next two months, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The shows include ''Taildaters,'' in which friends follow a couple on a date and offer them advice, ''Virgin Chronicles,'' in which musicians recall their first kiss and other memorable life events, and an as-yet-untitled docudrama set in a sorority house. Sadly, none of the shows are set to include an unintelligible, sweatpants-wearing rock star....

FX's gritty new police drama, ''The Shield,'' is set to be renewed for another season, according to the Daily News. The show, which debuted just three weeks ago, won critical acclaim and set a ratings record for an basic-cable original series....

PAGE TURNINGS Book critics, get your knives out: A sequel to the oft-mocked romance ''The Bridges of Madison County'' will be published April 23, USA Today reports. The sequel, which ''Bridges'' publisher Warner reportedly rejected, will instead be published by the tiny, Texas-based imprint Iron Mountain Books. ''Bridges'' spawned a movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, but it's hard to imagine the pair returning for a sequel....

PASSING NOTES British comedian Barry Took, who worked on ''Laugh In'' and helped produce ''Monty Python's Flying Circus,'' died Sunday, according to the Associated Press. He was 73....