* “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” returns to ABC tomorrow. McPherson describes being on the set with Regis again as “nostalgic and energizing,” and assures us that the show’s return features the best million-dollar question moment in the entire history of the series. Big talk, but we’ll see.

* McPherson’s got class. He didn’t take the bait when asked for the obligatory comment about Ben Silverman’s departure, and he fully acknowledged that he’s interested in seeing what’s going to happen with Jay Leno, given that it’s the first time we’ve seen anything like this on TV in our lifetime.

* On the matter of viewers investing in series that could be yanked out from under them at any given moment, he made it clear that it’s not an arbitrary decision when a show is canceled. “How patient can you be?” he asked. “How much information do you have about the show? Is it being rejected? Is it slowly building? Is it stable at that label? How does it affect the rest of your schedule? The overall network?” Though they try to be as patient as they can be with a series, sometimes it just has to go. “Canceling shows is the worst part of my job,” he said.

* That’s as may be, but it sounds like dealing with Katherine Heigl’s outbursts can’t be a heck of a lot better. When asked about her actions, he replied, “I think it’s unfortunate. It’s not something I think you want to let consume you or your people, because it is what it is, and people are going to behave in the way they choose to behave, but I think there are so many people who work hard on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and all of our shows and go without any credit. Those are the people I’d be most concerned about.”

* When “Scrubs,” it’s still gonna be “Scrubs.” “It’s not changing its title,” confirmed McPherson. “It’s gonna be different in the sense of the construct of what’s going on, but it’ll be the same character dynamics as before, but it’s allowing Bill (Lawrence) to introduce new characters and spend time with them. But it’ll be the same tonal show, with the same kind of comedy and storytelling that you’re used to.” As noted, Zach Braff will be turning up for a few episodes, but McPherson says they’re going to “try to convince him to do more.”

* Despite appearances, “FlashForward” was not specifically created to be the heir apparent to “Lost.” “We would love for it to have even a part of the success of ‘Lost,'” McPherson admitted, ‘but the spec script was originally done, I think, for HBO, and we were thrilled to read it. But there was no development where we went, ‘Hey, let’s try to make the next ‘Lost’! It was just about good material.”

* It seems a bit weird that ABC should’ve rescued both Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton after their joint Fox failure, “Back to You,” but McPherson says they came about through very different circumstacnes. “We’d previously developed ‘The Middle’ and even shot it, but we just didn’t feel like we’d gotten the pilot to where it needed to be,” he said. “But then Patti got available, she struck us as the perfect person for the show, and she sparked to the script.” As for Grammer, his new series, “Hank,” was pitched “as a full show with him attached, and we felt it was really in the zeitgeist and a great character for him to be playing.”

* “Romantically Challenged,” the new Alyssa Milano / Kyle Bornheimer sitcom, is in talks for a midseason run, but McPherson isn’t sure where to put it at the moment.

* Despite rumors to the contrary, “Ugly Betty” was never canceled. It was just taken off the air to offer up episodes of “Samantha Who?” and “In the Motherhood,” and McPherson is very excited about the new season.

* In regards to Violet’s storyline on “Private Practice” last season, he acknowledged that he was “frightened by it” when heard about it, but “while it’s polarizing, it’s gained excitement about the show and the characters and the potential where we can go with it. We can go edgier at 10 PM, and it can be a different show than ‘Grey’s.'” McPherson declared the storyline to be a perfect example of why you should trust great show runners.

* And, lastly, for all of you “American Idol” fans, McPherson admitted that he has indeed reached out to Paula Abdul, and although he first said that he was sorry about what she was going through, he did managed to slip in that he’d love to see her on ABC.

Let’s head on over to the interview, shall we…?

Premium Hollywood: Hey, Victor, how’s it going?

Victor Webster: Hey, Will! How’re you doing, buddy?

PH: I’m good. Good to talk to you. Well, I have to say that, as Hunter, you’re the first person to get offed on the show where viewers were probably rooting for you to get offed.

VW: Rooting for me to get offed? (Laughs) Yeah, I think so, too! It’s been kind of fun, though. I haven’t really played those kind of characters too much, and it’s nice to mix it up and play someone like that.

PH: How did you approach the character, given that he was someone almost designed to be disliked?

VW: Well, the thing about him, I think, is that he’s not a bad guy. He just doesn’t care about anybody else and he doesn’t think about anybody else. He wanted Trish, he wanted to be back in the good graces of the Wellington family, and it was a very selfish choice for him to come out there and do that. Very bold, also. I don’t think he was out there to hurt anybody as much as he just didn’t care if he hurt anybody, just as long as he got what he wanted. So when I came at it from that perspective, I just thought, “I need to do this, this is what I’m going to do, nothing is going to stop me.” That’s how I looked at it.

PH: At the very least, the scene with you and Trish in the dressing room was a turning point in the episode, where you just felt, like, “Man, this dude is a creep.”

VW: (Laughs) Yeah, that was pretty bold, even for him.

PH: You actually had the advantage of being a character who was prominent to scenes that you technically weren’t even in, what with your text messages and your phone calls showing up on the caller ID. Did you feel like you had a lot to live up to because of that prominence, that you needed to play the character almost larger than life?

VW: No, y’know, I didn’t really think about it that much. I just knew that I was there for a reason, and however bold I had to be, whatever lines I had to cross, I was willing to do so. Maybe that inherently makes the character a little bigger than life, since people don’t normally act like they that. They follow constraints and rules, and Hunter wasn’t about to do any of that, so maybe that made him seem a little more out there.

PH: So how did you get involved with the show in the first place? Was it just a standard audition process, or did they come looking for you?

VW: I would love to say that they searched high and low for me, but, yeah, it was just the usual audition process. I went in there, met with them, did the audition, had a lot of fun with it, and then I got a call about a week and a half or two weeks later.

PH: Were you excited by the prospect of the show, since it was kind of a different series model?

VW: Yeah, I was truly excited about that. That was one of the things that most interested me. You know, nothing has been on TV like this before, and to be a part of something that is as groundbreaking as this is always a good time. And to see how it all works out and see that the reception from the audience has been so gracious, and people are enjoying it so much…I think a lot of people are watching, and that’s always fantastic, because when you try something new, you never really know what’s going to happen. I think they were so confident in their idea, and it paid off, just because of the way they shot it and the way the show looks. They’ve got a great cast, and…well, it was something that I was very happy to be a part of.

PH: I’ve talked to a couple of other cast members in previous weeks, and one of them mentioned how they played a “Survivor”-like game and say, “Let’s see, which of you won’t be back next week?” How did you find out you weren’t going to be back?

VW: Um, I read the script. (Laughs)

PH: (Laughs) Okay, I didn’t know if they approached you beforehand to let you know, or…

VW: Well, I knew that I wasn’t going to be on for the whole run, but I didn’t know how many I was going to be on for. They left that kind of ambiguous. So I knew at some point before the end of the show I was going to meet my end. I just didn’t know how or when. So when I read the script, I was, like, “Whoa! That’s pretty drastic: getting my whole face blown off.”

PH: Yeah, that was nice.

VW: (Laughs) That was good! I liked it! Plus, it was a great ending for that character. That’s the way you want to see him go.

PH: Is there any sort of death pool going on amongst the cast members?

VW: No, there wasn’t. (Laughs) There was a lot of discussion about who the killer was, though, because nobody knew who the killer was. So anytime we’d be around the producers, going out for dinner or anything like that, it was always, like, “Who is it? C’mon, you can tell me. I won’t tell anybody, I promise!” There was some bribing going on, and things like that. But, no, no pool.

PH: So are you yourself watching the show unfold?

VW: Yeah, I am, and I’m going to continue watching it, actually. I really like the show. Even though I was on it, I think they’ve done a really good job of telling the story and developing the characters, so I’m kind of hooked into it as well. And I want to know who goes next! From here on, I don’t know who goes, so I kind of want to watch and place my bets with my friends and find out what’s happening!

PH: So who was your favorite person to work with on the series?

VW: I loved Richard Burgi, man. He played Mr. Wellington, and he’s a great guy, a really cool cat. Just an old school guy’s guy, a guy you want to go out and have a beer with.

PH: Harry Hamlin said he really enjoyed his scenes with Richard as well.

VW: Yeah, Richard’s a professional. He’s really good at what he does, but he’s always telling jokes and playing around, and he doesn’t take it too seriously. He’s been around a long time, so he knows it’s just work, and you’ve got to enjoy it while you’re there.

PH: Do you have any thoughts on who the killer might be?

VW: I don’t! (Laughs) They have me totally confused. Every time I think I know who it is, they do something that says, “No, no, that person can’t be the killer now,” you know? So I’m totally confused.

PH: I wanted to ask you about a couple of other things you’ve worked on in the past. You spent quite awhile on “Mutant X.” Did you enjoy doing the superhero genre?

VW: Aw, man, that was great. If I could do that again, for the rest of my life and not do anything else, I’d be a happy man. It was like a kid in a playground, that’s all. It was so much fun going to work, all the time.

PH: Were you as shocked as everyone else when it ended as abruptly as it did?

VW: Yeah, I mean, the show was doing really well, and we had a great fanbase. There were just problems with the production company, and Fox, with them threatening to sue, and then actually suing over the “X-Men” franchise and having to work all that out. It just became far too expensive legally if the show was to continue to go. That’s really the only reason it stopped.

PH: I’m still waiting for them to reissue the series on DVD. It’s out of print now, and it’s going for ridiculous amounts of money.

VW: Oh, really? Nice! I’ve got some copies I could sell some people. (Laughs) They actually just started airing it again in Canada from the very beginning.

PH: So how did you enjoy working on the final season of “Charmed”?

VW: Oh, man, you keep bringing up all of these great shows. I just had such great experience on all of them.

PH: Plus, on “Charmed,” you got to marry Alyssa Milano in the end.

VW: Yeah, shit, who’s gonna be mad about that? (Laughs) I’d had a crush on her every since way back in the day when she was first on TV. And she’s the sweetest girl ever. She’s so cool, and she’s not affected in any way by her success and what she does. She’s truly one of the exceptions to the rule. But that show was great because, y’know, they’d been around for seven years together, and they were a family. It was a well-oiled machine. You’d come into work, and you’d be done faster than on any show I’ve ever worked on. They would just fly through the day. So that always made it a really great experience. And, then, a lot of times when you’re working on a set, people disperse to their trailers and go back into their own little holes and relax. On this set, though, they’d stay on set and just chat and laugh and talk. That was an interesting experience as well, and it made for a real enjoyable time working on it.

PH: You also did a stint on “Lincoln Heights.” I’m a big fan of ABC Family’s series, anyway, but I’d guess that it would’ve been an interesting experience working on that series…or, at least, more based in the real world.

VW: (Laughs) Yeah, it was…although, again, I was a good guy, and I kind of fell for a girl that I worked with, who was married to a cop. So I had this love for her that I couldn’t do anything about, and it kind of tore me up inside, so I forced myself to go away, to leave. And I sacrifice everything, my life there and everything that was going on, because it’s just too difficult to be around her, and I don’t want her to risk breaking up her family and her marriage. So I basically put myself in exile.

PH: And I’ll keep you on target here, but, in closing, I have to ask: are you afraid that your Playgirl layout is going to haunt you forever?

VW: (Innocently) I’m not really sure I know what you’re talking about…

PH: I understand completely…but, hey, man, don’t blame me. It’s mentioned in your Wikipedia entry.

VW: (Groans) I’m sure it is. I can only imagine.

* Missed our interview with Victim #1? Go check it out!
* Missed our interview with Victims #2 and #3? Go check it out!

Though it spends much of its time dealing with the dead, you’d expect a movie like “Pathology” to have a little more life to it. After all, it was created by the writing team behind “Crank” – quite possibly the most over-the-top movie ever made. Of course, with Milo Ventimiglia headlining the cast, it’s no wonder the film feels a lot duller than it should have been. The “Heroes” star does his best Hayden Christensen impression as Ted Grey, a brilliant medical student who’s just joined the nation’s most prestigious pathology program. When he arrives, however, he’s seduced into playing a twisted game with some of the other interns that involves them taking turns murdering strangers, while the others figure out how it was done. Think of it as Medical Clue, but much more boring than it sounds, because there isn’t a single horrific or suspenseful moment in the film, despite the fact that that is how it’s being marketed. Even worse is that the audience has no one to root for. Sure, Ted is supposed to be the good guy in the movie, but are we really supposed to forgive all of his faults (cheating, killing, using, etc.) as someone who’s simply taken a wrong turn in live? Puh-lease. Only Michael Weston is given a role with any real meat on it, but even his crazy antagonist is never given the attention it deserves. Now, if the film followed him around instead of Milo, maybe we’d have something interesting to watch. It might not be “American Psycho,” but it would definitely be better than this.

Click to buy “Pathology”