NEWS & NOTES : SOMETHING RETAINED, SOMETHING NEW FOR SHOWTIME'S `DEFENDERS'.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

More details for vintage-TV fans excited by news of Showtime's revival of ``The Defenders'':

According to Andy Wolk (``Criminal Justice''), who has penned the initial telemovie script with his brother Peter (a Manhattan criminal attorney), E.G. Marshall's law-firm patriarch, Lawrence Preston, will be the only major character carried over from the original 1961-65 TV series.

The late Robert Reed's role of Preston's defense-lawyer son, Kenneth, won't be recast. Instead, the Wolks have created a new character, Kenneth's brother, who will be the drama's leading man. There also will be a new female lead, Kenneth's daughter - and she's working for the prosecutor.

Also, Wolk clarified some information in Tuesday's report here, saying that while Reginald Rose, creator of the original ``Defenders'' series, had indeed been hired by executive producer Stan Rogow (``Shannon's Deal'') to write the second ``Defenders'' Showtime telemovie, Rose did not contribute to the initial script.

State of `Politically Incorrect': ABC will use next Tuesday's State of the Union Address as a springboard for some prime-time exposure for its quirky talk show, ``Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.''

President Clinton's speech will be broadcast at 6 p.m. locally. Later in the evening, ABC will air a half-hour installment of ``Politically Incorrect'' devoted to the event. It's a move reminiscent of many taken by Comedy Central, the birthplace of ``Politically Incorrect,'' which often followed presidential speeches and such with a ``PI'' special.

``PI,'' which jumped from Comedy Central to ABC earlier this month, airs weeknights at 12:05 a.m.

Re-creation gets results: Nick at Nite's re-creation last Friday night of ABC's popular 1970s Friday lineup - ``The Brady Bunch,'' ``The Partridge Family,'' ``Room 222,'' ``The Odd Couple'' and ``Love American Style'' - generated ratings 48 percent higher than what the network did on the same night a year earlier, according to Nielsen ... Cable's Comedy Central has reached the 40 million subscribers mark ... HBO will repeat its recent ``Bette Midler - Diva Las Vegas'' special at 10 p.m. on Sunday. Also, George Carlin will headline two new comedy specials for the pay-cable giant on Feb. 23 and Feb. 28. These shows are part of a special ``George Carlin Week'' tribute on HBO that will feature a different vintage Carlin special each night.

Ratings off-key: Dick Clark's annual ``American Music Awards'' show gave ABC a Nielsen win Monday night - but the program generated its lowest ratings ever.

The telecast, which featured appearances by the likes of Toni Braxton, Jewel and LeAnn Rimes, averaged a 13.2 rating (percentage of the nation's 97 million TV homes) and a 21 share (percentage of the sets in use). That's off about 4 percent from last year's previous record-low 13.8 rating/21 share.