'hannah' Back With Memory Of Mom

[Brian Damage]

BILLY Ray Cyrus, the lead- footed hunk of "Dancing with the Stars" who claims he wants his mullet back, has got a bigger problem than the loss of his formerly horrifying hairstyle. It's his kid, Miley Cyrus.

Of course we should all have his problem. It's that her hit TV series, "Hannah Montana," in which Billy Ray plays second banana to his adorable daughter, has been so successful for the Disney Channel that they debuted it this week in its new seven-days-a-week format. Between working the grueling schedule of dancing all day and trying to keep up with Miley - the cutest adolescent to hit the small screen since "The Bradys" - he truly has become the hardest-working man in show biz.

If you don't have kids, you may not know that "Hannah Montana" is the kind of character that preteens dream about and long to become. Miley plays a girl who lives with her former rock star dad and brother (Jason Earles) and is about to enter her freshman year of high school where she's just your average popular cute girl, Miley Stewart.

But the thing is, she is also - unbeknownst to all the students except her two best friends - Hannah Montana, an adolescent pop star who is bigger than Britney was. Almost.

For reasons only a preteen could love, the fact that Miley is Hannah is never discovered because, yes, she wears a wig. Hey - horn rims worked for Superman didn't they? (Although I never quite figured out the whole Spidey disguise.)

Interesting, too, for a preteen show, is that Miley's mom is dead, and that aspect is sometimes dealt with in an off-hand way. But this Friday night, in an episode called, "I am Hannah, hear me croak," the show takes it on in a very sweet way.

When the normally bubbly Miley finds out she has to have surgery to correct her hoarse throat, she dreams of her mom.

And what a mom! It's - yes! - Brooke Shields. Mom comes to Hannah the night before her surgery in a dream when Hannah projects herself past the surgery, which she dreams is unsuccessful. Without the pop star success, Dad treats her like Cinderella and she's reduced to eating scrapings off the grill. Jackson, the brother with no voice, has become a modern-day Axl Rose - and he's the star. Somehow, this is dealt with in a light-hearted way. I know that sounds nuts, but it is.

Mom comes back to tell Hannah that everyone will love her no matter what persona she takes on - including just being a regular kid without a million fans. Brooke, the real-life mom, does such a fine job, it just makes you sad that she had to, er, croak before the show even began.