ABC is trying to do good again with a so-called "reality" show. "The Ex-Wives Club" is supposed to help people mend their broken hearts after traumatic divorces.

How? "By getting angry, getting even and getting over it!"

All on national television, of course.

And that's the part of this concept that's really, really offensive, although certainly not new to ABC. You can certainly argue that "Supernanny" helps people whose children are out of control, but you've got to balance that against the fact that the show and the network are exploiting small children for ratings.

And now the producers and the network will exploit people who have gone through one of the toughest things in life. At least they're adults and have decided to be used.

"Ex-Wives Club" (tonight at 8 on Ch. 4) features Angie Everhart (who was married to Ashley Hamilton); Marla Maples (the second of three Mrs. Donald Trumps); and Shar Jackson, who was pregnant with her second child with boyfriend Kevin Federline when he left her for Britney Spears.

I don't mean to be too judgmental here, but don't you have to be a wife to be an ex-wife?

And, yes, Maples was dumped by Trump. But she was also involved with him while he was still married to the first Mrs. Trump, Ivana. And that doesn't make her the most sympathetic figure.

Anyway, they're going to give both men and women makeovers, dating advice, career advice and help with the whole "getting even" — in tonight's premiere, they present one woman "with one of her ex-husband's favorite things — a vintage car — and the opportunity to push it out of a plane."

How uplifting and empowering.

THE SIMPLE LIFE returns for its latest pointless season (11 p.m., E!) with a reunited Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie going to work as camp counselors.

It would be too easy to make some comment about Hilton's pending imprisonment, so I won't do it.

But if you send your kid to a camp where Paris and Nicole are counselors, should you be sent to jail, too?

LOCAL RATINGS: For the recently completed May sweeps, KSL-Ch. 5 continued to lead the late-newscast competition — a time period from which stations derive a large amount of their revenue.

For the 28 days of the sweeps period (May 3-30), Ch. 5 averaged about 96,500 households for its 10 p.m. newscasts. Second-place KUTV-Ch. 2 averaged about 89,000.

KSTU-Ch. 13's 9 p.m. news hour averaged about 56,200; and fourth-place KTVX-Ch. 4 averaged about 39,400 homes at 10 p.m.

Compared to May 2005, Ch. 5 was up slightly; Ch. 2 and Ch. 13 were both down somewhat; and Ch. 4 was down more than 20 percent.

KTVX has been in a cost-cutting mode — the station (along with Clear Channel's other TV holdings) has recently been sold. The contract of anchorwoman Ruth Todd was not renewed and anchorman Terry Wood was reassigned to weekend newscasts as a way to improve the station's bottom line and make it more attractive to buyers.

Of course, a big drop in ratings for the station's flagship newscast won't make the news owners overly happy.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com