Comeback” is the term du jour in the music business these days. Bands like Duran Duran and Tears for Fears have set aside their differences, and are in the process of re-igniting their careers and jumping back into mainstream consciousness. However, other bands need a little push, and that is the motivation behind VH1’s series “Bands Reunited.” The series focuses on bands that exploded during the infancy of music video, only to fizzle into obscurity years later.

Host Aamer Haleem travels around the world to find long-disconnected band members and lure them into the same room. Sometimes, it has been more than two decades since these people last saw one another. But, the real hope of “Bands Reunited” is that the band members can forget their issues for a couple of days and perform a gig.

The biggest attraction “Bands Reunited” has is not necessarily the possibility of old bands playing together again, although it is exciting when an original lineup decides to dust off its heyday hits for a crowd of joyous fans.

Instead, “Bands Reunited” is riveting television because of the unique study in human behavior it provides. Case in point: Haleem set out to reunite new-wave group ABC, responsible for ’80s hits like “The Look of Love (Part One)” and “Poison Arrow.” Saxophonist Stephen Singleton and guitarist/keyboardist Mark White said they would sign on if the other members agreed. The other members — lead singer Martin Fry and drummer David Palmer — showed up to talk, but Singleton and White did not. Fry and Palmer went ahead with the one-off show, and sounded better than ever with session musicians filling the holes.

Meanwhile, some episodes have ended with no reunion at all, as was the case with New Kids on the Block. Jordan Knight said he would reunite, as did his older brother, Jonathan. However, Joey McIntyre — known as “Joe” among those in the NKOTB fan circle — turned down Haleem’s request for a reunion, and Donnie Wahlberg’s manager said NKOTB’s resident “bad boy” was too busy with his acting career to revisit his “Hangin’ Tough” past Danny Wood, who spent most of his New Kids days relegated to human wallpaper as Jordan and Joe starred on teenybopper magazine covers, would not even meet with Haleem to hear his offer. If any of the New Kids were to refuse a reunion, one would think Jonathan Knight would have been the spoiler, given his well-documented struggles with stage fright. Heck, the potential was there for Jordan to be the partypooper, seeing as he has tried so hard to shape himself into a credible solo artist.

But of all the people to put the kibosh on a New Kids reunion, it had to be Danny Wood? Maybe he justifies avoiding Haleem by wanting to escape the memories of that horrible Vanilla Ice-style fad he had back in the day, but I do not buy it. Danny, you may not have been the most popular — or most talented — New Kid, but you went along for the ride.

Thanks to “Bands Reunited,” I know where you live, so I will be sending you loads of lipstick-covered pleas to jump on board for a group reunion. That said, you had better come through for me on this deal, or I will sell my NKOTB T-shirts and cassettes on eBay for way more than my mom paid to buy them as gifts for my seventh birthday. I am a college student, after all — money talks. So, the New Kids on the Block story obviously demonstrates one shade of the “Bands Reunited” spectrum — a band with a still-rabid fan base and no desire to reunite.

However, Haleem has stopped ex-members of other bands as they were driving their children to school, or taking cigarette breaks at work. He barely pitches the idea before they agree to a reunion. A few people express concern about looking bad on camera after having been out of practice for so many years, and some insist they have moved on from the rock star world However, they end up going through with the reunion, anyway, and all quite convincingly. Despite less hair on their heads or more pounds around their waists, they slip back into their old roles with visible comfort.

While “Bands Reunited” has spurred many a “Reunite WHAM!” campaign — and rightfully so, I might add — Haleem probably will not be able to keep scheming for much longer, as more ex-band members go on alert after seeing these shows.

The New Kids on the Block episode of Bands Reunited starts at noon on Sunday on VH1.