NBC's Dateline will do what we did here in early December, follow the twists and turns of Michael Jackson's face over the last twenty years, a grim undertaking for sweeps week Feb. 17:

An NBC News publicist later told Reuters the "Dateline" special would trace "the rise and fall of Michael Jackson using the transformation of his looks as a metaphor for his career." She said the segment would include an interview with a plastic surgeon who treated Jackson.

The performer ignited worldwide speculation about his face when he was photographed and shown on television during a rare courtroom appearance in November that that left many with the impression he had undergone one nose-job too many.

Close-up footage of the singer showed an eyeliner-and-lipstick-wearing Jackson with a stubbly goatee, a clear, bandage-type plaster on his scarred nose and a wild mane of black, silky hair.

A number of plastic surgeons said it appeared the singer's nose had collapsed from too many surgeries and that he seemed to have shrunken skin. Some have suggested that Jackson may suffer from a rare psychiatric condition, called body dysmorphic disorder, which renders patients dissatisfied with surgical results regardless of any objective improvement in their appearance. [Reuters]

Among other sobering thoughts: this madness has been enabled by his fabulous wealth, no millions, no repeated surgeries until the nose falls apart. Jackson is very much a victim of his own success.