Question: I saw in the Biz column that NBC has not yet decided if they will renew Scrubs. So this leads to a series of questions: Why would a network that has a limited number of quality shows even think about letting one of them go off the air? If the show is struggling, why does NBC refuse to put it on Thursday, where it could become part of a great comedy lineup? Finally, if it isn't renewed by NBC, could it be picked up by ABC? I think I read that someone at ABC was part of the team that developed it for NBC. I really do hope it survives, because it is a shame to see shows go off the air that have some sense of originality and can actually make you laugh. Thanks for the time.
Answer: All are legitimate questions, and most have been asked repeatedly during a season when NBC often treated Scrubs, despite its Emmy nominations and general acclaim, as if it were toxic and contagious. We've speculated before that if NBC dropped Scrubs at this point, ABC might jump at it, given that the
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Surreal LifeAh, chemistry. I hated it in high school but I love it on The Surreal Life. Not every cast has worked. But if the first episode of the new season is a harbinger of drama to come, this may be the most addictive edition yet. As observed by Florence Henderson, aka Mrs. Brady, aka Dr. Flo, the cast's on-call guidance counselor (she's a real-life hypnotherapist), the house is filled with some strong personalities: Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille, who sounds like a cross between Bob Goldthwait and my super-Jewish Long Island aunt (come to think of it, he used to look like her, too, when he wore makeup back in the '80s); Playboy hottie Andrea Lowell, who insists she's not a bimbo (even though she uses made-up words like "ominent"); Tawny Kitaen,
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Florence Henderson
VH1 has announced the has-beens who will be cohabitating in the sixth season of its megahit The Surreal Life. They are — and I swear I'm not joking — The Jeffersons' Sherman Hemsley, Whitesnake video vamp Tawny Kitaen, Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille, Playboy TV's Andrea Lowell, Smashmouth rocker Steve Harwell and Alexis Arquette, Rosanna, Patricia and David's cross-dressing sibling. Wait, it gets better: Florence Henderson will also be on hand as the roommates' official den mother. Charlene Tilton's application was rejected yet again.
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Make no mistake, this show caught me like the hook from "Jumpin' Jack Flash." But for the love of Keith Richards, I can't figure out why CBS feels we need three nights of it. Last night's "clinic" episode was about as necessary as the 20-minute drum solo I nodded off to during a Poison gig in '89. But then again, a clinic may be something with which the winner becomes quite familiar if he/she gives in to the decadence of life on the road.
Speaking of which, check out the spread laid out for the gang in the dining room! It sure ain't no beggar's banquet. And a room full of Gibson guitars for dessert? These wannabes might not be rock stars yet, but they're certainly being treated like them. I was half expecting to see some poor kid weeding out the brown M&Ms from a candy bowl, a la Van Halen's notorious dressing-room request. Instead, I'm startled by the sight of Dave Navarro wearing only pants and a feather boa. And here I thought I was the only
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