Born in 1931 in what was very soon to become Hitler’s Germany, young Michael Peschkowsky was living in Manhattan by 1939. It was great luck both for the future Mike Nichols and for the country that accepted him.

Nichols is, of course, one of the most respected directors in Hollywood, and for good reason. He’s the original, craftsmanlike, and emotionally astute directorial voice responsible for such sixties and seventies classics as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,”  “Carnal Knowledge” and, of course, “The Graduate” (the source of his only directorial Oscar so far) as well as such eighties, nineties, and oughts successes as “Silkwood,” “Working Girl,” “The Birdcage,” and “Closer.” Even if some of the later films are not on the same level of quality as his earlier films — and several, especially his 1988 box office hit, “Working Girl,” stray into mediocrity — it’s still one of the most impressive and diverse careers of any living director in Hollywood.

That’s just on the big screen. On television, Nichols has rebounded in the eyes of many critics, directing two of the most acclaimed television productions of the last decade, 2001’s “Wit” with Emma Thompson, and the outstanding 2005 miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner’s brilliant and mammoth epic play, “Angels in America.” With his 80th birthday just a year and a half away, he’s still working hard with two thrillers movies planned, including an I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low” currently being rewritten by the decidedly counter-intuitive choice of Chris Rock.

Before he directed his first foot of film, Mike Nichols was a noted theater director. That in itself is not so unusual a root for directors to travel. What is different is that, before he was a noted theater director, he was half of one of the most influential comedy teams in show business history, Nichols and May. (His comedy partner, Elaine May, went on to become an important, if less commercially successful, writer and director in her own right.)

Still, from the moment he directed his first major play, Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” Nichols mostly abandoned performing. Today, his highly regarded early work is mostly known only to fairly hardcore comedy aficionados.

That Nichols/comedy disconnect is probably related to the fact that Nichols has become famous for films and plays that are usually witty but often anything but comedies.  Some, like “Closer,” are downright dour. Still, he has never made a film where where wit was not a factor. Dissecting relationships and politics with great skill, he’s more recently allowed his comedy freak-flag to fly with farce in 1996’s “The Birdcage,” and complete absurdity in the Monty Python-based theatrical musical comedy smash, “Spamalot.”

No, there’s little doubt that there’s very little in the way of traditional drama or comedy that Mike Nichols hasn’t successfully accomplished and, as his Wikipedia entry reminds us, he’s got his “30 Rock” EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) to back that up. There are other awards, nevertheless, and so it was that he was honored a couple of weeks back with an American Film Institute (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award, easily one of the  highest honors any U.S. movie director can win. It was presented at what sure sounds like a highly entertaining superstar-laden black-tie ceremony on the Sony lot in Culver City. I haven’t been allowed to see it yet, but we can all catch up on it after it premieres on TV Land, tonight, June 26th, at 9:00 P.M/8:00 P.M. central.

While such mega-luminaries as Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Elaine May, and a reunited Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel stayed far away from the press, a number of us writers were allowed to briefly chat with a few select notables and friends from Nichols’ past. The first to visit with the online press was Wallace Shawn.

An extremely busy comic character actor who began his film career being insulted about his looks by Woody Allen in “Manhattan,” Wallace Shawn’s best known work ranges from the “Toy Story” films (he’s the voice of Rex, the dinosaur) to the inconceivable villain, Vizzini, of 1988’s “The Princess Bride” who proved that sometimes you actually can go up against a Sicillian when death is on the line, though we’ve all been reminded lately that getting involved in a land war in Asia remains questionable.

The son of legendary New Yorker editor William Shawn, Shawn has been a noted playwright since the 1970s. He first came to national fame having a feature-length dinner with visionary directory Andre Gregory, in the Louis Malle directed two-character 1981 art-house sensation, “My Dinner with Andre,” co-written by Shawn and Gregory. Some years later, he again collaborated in what amounted to a starring role, and a dramatic role at that, alongside Gregory and opposite a then-unknown Julianne Moore in Louis Malle’s final film, the great semi-documentary adaptation of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya”, “Vanya on 42nd Street.” Though Shawn’s flair for comedy and humble, regular-schmo demeanor might make him seem like the opposite of a creative flamethrower, his plays are politically charged, highly controversial, and definitely not for everyone. Fiscally speaking, I’m sure he’d agree it’s a good thing he’s got such strong acting skills.

As for his connection to Mike Nichols, though the ex-comedian has done very little acting since the early sixties, Nichols did Shawn the rare honor of starring in both the stage and film versions of Shawn’s three-character piece, “The Designated Mourner.” It was directed on both stage and screen by playwright David Hare.

Wallace Shawn might be a man of big and challenging ideas. However, as in “My Dinner with Andre,” he seemed more comfortable discussing humorously mundane matters. Asked by a highly attractive podcaster next to me about what jobs he’d be doing if he wasn’t an actor and playwright, he started discussing his early position as a shipping clerk, an experience he remembered rather fondly when asked how he’d feel if he had to return to it.

“I worked for very nice people, and it was folding nice dresses. It would be alright.”

But what about the pay?

“The pay was [long pause] poor. Because I was not at the top of the shipping clerk world. It was rather low down…I only had started as a messenger. They said, ‘This guy can probably fold these dresses as well as the next guy.'”

When asked who he admired as a young man coming up, he said that, while there were many, he was more likely to idolize people today, specifically naming Mike Nichols as well as Nobel Prize winning linguist and leftist intellectual superstar Noam Chomsky.

Then I thought I’d go back to a line from a “Andre” in which he mentioned that, as a child raised in comfort, all he thought about was art and music, but that as 36 year-old working adult, he mainly thought about money. Where was he on the curve now?  Was he back to thinking about high-minded matters like art and philosophy or still focusing on the mundane need for ready cash?

“I do think a lot about how money affects things, but I think about it philosophically and artistically.”

I tried to follow it up with a question about the politics in Nichols’ work but after agreeing that “Angels in America” was a really good and weighty work of theater and politics, he was off to the next interviewer.

My dreams of a substantial, if necessarily super-brief, Terry Gross-style discussion with Shawn dashed, there was no time for recriminations because next up was character actor Tim Curry.  Though he’ll never quite live down the charismatic Mick-Jagger-meets-Juliet-Prowse excellence of his cult superstar making performance in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Curry has more than 200 credits on his IMDb page, including innumerable voice characterization for animation, and he may well rack up another hundred at the rate he’s going.

So, after such an eventful career, including innumerable highly demanding stage roles such as originating the role of Mozart in the Broadway production of Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” and any number of strong performances in films ranging from the board-game adaptation “Clue” to “The Hunt for Red October” to Bill Condon’s terrific 2004 docudrama, “Kinsey,” what was it like finally working with Mike Nichols during the 2005 Broadway production of the ultimate (and so far only) Monty Python-derived stage musical comedy, “Spamalot”?

“It was really great, which is why I’m here.”

Did that have something to do with Nichols own background as a comedian.

“Absolutely, because nobody knows funny like he does. He’s brilliant at comedy. He knows what it is. He knows how to make it work.”

Then it was time for my ultimate fall-back question which invariably pleases highly experienced actors — and for which I once again must credit Mr. Will Harris. Was there anything in Mr. Curry’s hugely full background which he felt deserves more attention?

“That’s a good question,” said Curry, taking a second to think. “I did a film in Arkansas where I played…a sort of version of [scandal plagued TV preacher] Jim Bakker. The company went broke just as it came into the theater, so nobody ever saw it.”

(The film comedy in question, 1988’s “Pass the Ammo,” is currently unavailable on DVD. Bug Lionsgate if you want to see it.)

After that, it was time for Curry to move on to the next questioner who queried him about his ongoing stint on “Criminal Minds.” For the sake of any fans of the shows out there — which I gather may include the previously mentioned Mr. Harris and another fellow PHer, Ross Ruediger — Curry confesses to being a huge enthuisast of the show himself and admits that he lobbied heavily for a part. Also, for any “Clue” cultists out there, he’s aware of the Rocky Horror-esque midnight shows at theaters like the Nuart in Los Angeles — complete with costumed film-goers — but he hasn’t attended. “It’s a bit late for an elderly person.”

Next up was one of the most familiar faces of American movies circa 1965-1980. In the seventies, George Segal carved himself a niche as somewhere between the Jewish Cary Grant and the handsome Woody Allen in films like “A Touch of Class,” Robert Altman’s classic look at compulsive gamblers, “California Split,” Carl Reiner’s edgy cult comedy classic, “Where’s Poppa?” (aka “Going Ape”) as well as such late seventies mainstream fare as “Fun with Dick and Jane” and “Rollercoaster.” These days, Segal is probably best known for his role as Laura San Giacomo’s publisher father on TV’s “Just Shoot Me.” In his mid-seventies, he remains a busy character actor and is about to headline his own sitcom on TV Land, “Retired at 35.”

Segal’s career got a major kick-start in the mid-sixties with two acclaimed films, the POW drama “King Rat” and, more relevant here, his somewhat underrated supporting turn in Mike Nichols hugely important directorial debut, Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” In the film, he and actress Sandy Dennis portrayed a younger married couple on shaky ground who find themselves drawn in to a very late night of ultra-dysfunction by rampaging academic drunks George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor). Though most of the attention went to the more histrionic performances by Burton and Taylor, Dennis and Segal were invaluable in grounding the film with their two highly layered performances.

Still, when asked about what he would do if he weren’t acting by my neighbor, he said that he’d probably be a professional banjo player. “I wouldn’t work as much — there’ s not much demand for them.” Late seventies/early eighties TV viewers and really knowledgeable traditional jazz fans will know this is no mere joke. Segal’s singing and banjo playing was once a familiar site on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” when he fronted the Dixieland-playing Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band alongside writer Sheldon Keller and fellow thespian Conrad Janis (“Mork and Mindy”).

When asked about Mike Nichols directorial technique, he denied ever having doubts about any of Nichols’ directorial decisions. “Those smart guys, they’re smart.”

Being curious about what smart guys do, I pretty much had to ask Segal about the making of Nichols epochal film adaptation of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Among other matters, the 1966 relationship-drama-on-steroids — already something of a shocker on Broadway — more or less delivered the final blow against the strict classic-era film censorship of the MPAA Production Code as well as changing preconceptions about what mainstream audiences would accept with its then remarkably blunt language and brutal emotionalism.  Since it was theater director Nichols’ first film, sure to be a super-controversial sensation, and  starring easily the most famous couple of the time in Taylor and Burton — very much the Brangelina of their day — those must have been heady times for a relatively new performer like the 32 year-old Segal.

“It was very intense. It was like six months that we spent on that movie, and one of those months was all rehearsal. So, that movie was prepared. By the time we got to doing it, we could have put it on as a play. And I think that comes across. They don’t do that anymore,” Segal said.

(Actually, it was pretty rare even then. Then and now, movies are typically shot over a period of 4-8 weeks, with only minimal or no time for rehearsal.)

Next up was a real hero of my youth — and it’s not like he’s exactly chopped liver now — Eric Idle. No more able to escape his past association with a certain six-man comedy ensemble than the surviving Beatles will ever escape their fab past, Idle has recently found great success retrofitting the group’s mega-cult breakthrough, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” into the smash Broadway and London musical comedy success, “Spamalot,” directed, naturally, by Mike Nichols.

Talking to Idle, I found it necessary to gush a bit. I was probably one of the first in L.A. to know anything at all of the existence of Monty Python, which had barely begun playing on PBS in Southern California, when “Holy Grail” opened in theaters in 1975. Being a bored kid with nothing to do but having never seen a single Python sketch, I hopped on a bus for Westwood Village to see the film on the strength of a couple of a couple of good reviews. Let’s just say that, as it would for so many geeks, my life would change just a little bit that day.

Still, it sure didn’t seem like it was on its way to being an institution and an English national treasure that day. There were perhaps three or four other people in attendance that afternoon. Idle says he was actually there at the Regent Theater for some of those early screenings, alongside “Brazil” director to be Terry Gilliam — quite possibly including the one I attended. I certainly wouldn’t have recognized either one of them at the time. But that was then, this is now and we’ve both moved on from our respective immanent projects at the time: becoming a worldwide comedy star in Idle’s case, puberty in mine.

How was working with Nichols on “Spamalot,” different than it would have been with other theater directors.

“He’s a comedian. He’s been there, so he knows where the laughs are. When to take them and when to leave them alone. He’s got a great deal of taste.”

So, other than Nichols, and himself, who are Idle’s favorite comedy directors?

“There are one or two people who are very good. Johnny Lynn [English sitcom creator and film director Jonathan Lynn of “My Cousin Vinny” and “Nuns on the Run”] is very good. It’s a specialized skill, comedy. But Mike really tends to leave the comedy to itself and then he tends to go more about truth-telling. He’s not worried about the comedy, he’s more concerned about the drama and the relationships and emotions. That what makes him so good.”

And was there anything Idle had worked on which he felt hadn’t gotten enough attention? At first, he misunderstood the question as, I think, the project he was most proud of, and answered “Spamalot.” When I explained I was talking about projects that had been mostly ignored — and a nationally touring, Tony-winning show doesn’t really qualify — he got into the spirit.

“Well,” he said, laughing, “[Composer] Johnny Du Prez and I have been writing musicals for 25 years, and we finally did ‘Spamalot.’ We have about 280 songs recorded. So, I think when we’re gone there’s boxes full of old songs.”

Little did I know at that point, but Idle would shortly be dressed as an angel while serenading Mike Nichols and the AFI crowd with a rendition of  “Always Look at the Bright Side of Life.” The song — which really was the perfect ending for the follow-up Monty Python classic, “Life of Brian” — has most certainly not been ignored. It’s been covered by Harry Nillson, Art Garfunkel, and Green Day and, according to Wikipedia, is sometimes sung at soccer matches and, yes, funerals.

Moving along, it wouldn’t be a red carpet if there wasn’t at least one celebrity present who is completely unknown to most Americans and has no discernible connection to the event. In this case that would have to be Jaime Camill, a personable actor and television host apparently hugely famous in Mexico and Latin America and who was then preparing to help cover the World Cup. He naturally made it very clear that he’d be honored to work with Mike Nichols at some point and who declared that all Mike Nichols films are “amazing.” I’m mentioning him really only because of the sheer randomness of it. Also, who knows, we might get some Latin American hits out of it.

Then we got to the point at the Red Carpet that I will call the Hyperspeed Parade of A-Listers Past and Present, or H-PALPAP for short. This is the point when the real household names at any of these events, having already spoken profound words to the truly major outlets (say, “EXTRA” and “ET”), whiz by us less major outlets. If we’re very lucky, they may provide a wave or a stray word or two.

Now, the only way to properly deal with the H-PALPAP is to have a large microphone in your hand and preferably a very large TV camera behind you. Then, you must come up with a really quick question that is entirely non-controversial but also kind of interesting enough to get their attention and ignore the (literally) screaming paparazzi behind them. The classic example of an H-PALPAP question is, I’m sure, “Who are you wearing?” Since you guys presumably don’t care about that, I really don’t know Vera Wang from Vera Miles, and I don’t own a large television camera, I have yet to perfect my H-PALPAP approach. However, since I got a few okay pictures of some of the more super-celebs, I’ll go with some pictures and brief commentary for the balance of this post.

Like Mr. Camill, the first H-PALPAPer jovially confessed to not having ever worked with Mike Nichols and expressed a sincere desire to do so. However, if Michael Douglas — who is promoting both the limited release success “Solitary Man” and the upcoming sequel to “Wall Street” — really wants to go to a party, he usually gets to go. After making a sincere case that he’s a fan of Mr. Nichols to a swarm of press that had clustered around him, however, the H-PALPAP-savvy reporter next to me asked Douglas — as she’d been asking almost everyone — what entertainment figures had inspired the young Michael Douglas to go into “the industry”?

“What am I going to do? My whole family’s in it. I couldn’t get away from it!” said the second generation A-lister son of Diana Douglas and Kirk freakin’ Douglas, suddenly seeming a bit more half-Jewish than usual, right down to talking with his hands.

Perhaps getting ready for a role, actor Giovanni Ribisi was next, sporting a mustache and soul patch which makes him like something between a Western bad guy and and a perverted jazz musician. A very solid performer but perhaps not really an A-lister, Ribisi stopped by long enough to answer a previously discussed H-PALPER-friendly question, about what he’d be doing if he weren’t an actor. “I’d be watching the Laker game.”

Apparently, if he were just a little more famous, he could have done both because later reports indicated that Jack Nicholson arrived late from watching the game and perhaps enjoyed a few beers, or something while doing so. According to numerous accounts of the night, his joke cum unsolvable Zen koan or perhaps veiled threat/warning to Nichols was “even oysters have enemies.” Someone should use those words in a song someday.

In any case, my Ribisi pictures didn’t come out so great. So, here, have a totally random picture of Harrison Ford, and a portion of Calista Flockhart, though I didn’t hear a word either said.

Wow, he’s really famous.

And then there the great women who passed where I simply fouled up with the camera. Candice Bergen (“Murphy Brown”), a huge favorite/crush of mine since I first saw her in “Carnal Knowledge” rushed by, clearly uninterested in courting the press too much. I got one picture that, tragically, just didn’t seem to look right when I put it here.

I had even worse luck getting a good photo of Helen Mirren with or without her director husband, Taylor Hackford (“Ray”). She cheerfully past us all by, but but gave a rather long and detailed answer to a writer from a green website who shouted a quick question asking her what she did to try and limit her carbon footprint. That’s part of why she’s super-cool, I guess. My recorder failed to capture the witty words of Emma Thompson in response to the same question, and my camera only caught half of her face at time, as well as the top of her head and, I swear by accident, her chest. If I could put them all together, I might have a decent picture.

They were followed quite rapidly by Steven Spielberg, who truly had no time for us Pixel-stained wretches and Mike Nichols himself, who was being understandably a bit selective and thoughtfully avoiding the 299 questions I could ask him. I got a picture of Nichols’ news anchor wife, Diane Sawyer, ironically begging not to be asked any questions by the media. Alas, it was bit too skewed, “Battlefield Earth” style, to use here.

I did, however, manage an acceptable picture of Warren Beatty and his mega-talented wife Annette Bening who, when asked one of the standard H-PALPER’s questions, said hardly a word, but provided fast-fingered photographers, but not me, a hilarious moment of prime Beatty-style evasiveness. You’ll have to make do with the squinty one I got below.

Then, somewhat surprisingly, none other than Cher, who is currently preparing to costar in the musical drama “Burlesque” with Christina Aguilera and Kristin Bell alit near us, talking to reporters en mass. She discussed her dress, of course, and her first meetings with Mike Nichols. (He famously rejected her early overture about acting in one of his films, later changing his mind, apologizing, and asking her to join the case of 1983’s “Silkwood.” That film wound up getting the singer her first Oscar nomination.)

She also took to the green question — and this time my recorder caught her answer.

“Oh, God. I just bought the ugliest car in the world. It’s some sort of Mercedes station-wagon that puts steam back into the air.”

And what would she have done if she hadn’t become a ultra-glam singer/actress and just had a “regular Joe job”?

“I’d be a bank robber.” I was also robbed of any good pictures of her.

Then, finally, my photographic luck improved a little with the appearance of Mary Louise Parker of “Weeds” and “Angels in America.” I had watched her the night before via my jam-packed-with-old-stuff DVR interviewing Elvis Costello on his “Spectacle” chat show in a special role-reversal episode. I figured it would be good to have seen it in the off-chance that I had a second to talk to her.  That wasn’t to be as the star was walking by as fast as her feet could move. I did, however, overhear that if she hadn’t become an actor, she’d be a kindergarten teacher.

Co-writer-director George Gallo, who penned “Midnight Run,” brings us the story of how Luke Wilson, with a little help from Giovanni Ribisi and Gabriel Macht, figures out that this Internet thing just might be good for showing people very naughty pictures. Since this is a movie, naturally the porn-purveying “Middle Men” get a bit more than they asked for.

Nice bit with Kelsey Grammer there at the end. Also, considering that he’s openly contemplating running for office someday, kind of gutsy. On a different note, I’d love to know the actual “true story” this apparently pretty heavily fictionalized movie is supposed to be based on. Just curious. Finally, let it be said, I hold no ill feeling against actor Gabriel Macht for the despicable and unholy desecration that was “The Spirit.” He just did what Frank Miller told him to do. I just felt like that needed to be said.

Oh, and speaking of trailers, Anne Thompson also has the trailer up for the third Narnia film. Go ahead and click, I mean, if you’re into that kind of kinky shit.

* Jeremy Renner of “The Hurt Locker” is “near a deal” to play Hawkeye in the Avengers film to be (theoretically) directed by Joss Whedon, who hasn’t said a word officially to anyone in months, as far as I can tell. Renner is a smart choice. Playing a character who hasn’t previously been introduced is going to be a special challenge in this movie and actors without real ability and charisma probably need not apply.

* So, if the Wrap is correct, Brad Pitt likely won’t end up staring in the U.S. remake of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” It looks like that will be Daniel Craig, instead. Having seen the Swedish film, it seems to me he’s a much better fit for the part of the male lead. The character has a bit of a hang-dog, defeated quality to him that just doesn’t fit Pitt. I think Craig can pull that off easily. He should probably gain or lose a bit of weight for the part. This guy might do okay with woman, but he’s a coffee-and-cigarette addicted journalist, not a perfectly exercised super-spy.

* Speaking of matters Bondian, as per the Playlist, Christopher Nolan is describing his very highly anticipated “Inception” as his Bond film, in a way.  I’m personally not a fan of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” but it’s an interesting model, nonetheless.

* And, speaking of Christopher Nolan, to news burning up the geek film blogosphere today that he won’t be recasting the role of the Joker for the next Batman movie. This is news? Doing otherwise would not only arouse anger from lots of people, it would put a new actor in a completely impossible position. That being said, Nolan’s habit of killing bad guys puts him in a tough spot because, of the three best Batman villains, Ra’s al Ghul,and Two-Face have been killed in his first two films, and the tragic real-life death of Heath Ledger ironically makes it three for three, at least as far as onscreen appearances are concerned. The Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman are all fun characters, but lacking in menace and the serious tone that Nolan likes. At least he hasn’t killed Scarecrow yet. Nolan’s realistic approach makes Man-Bat a tough call, too. Am I forgetting someone?

* More superhero stuff. /Film has the new Green Lantern logo. Ooh

* Rush Limbaugh, the movie. If they can make me in any way feel anything but contempt about that guy, that’ll be some real cinema genius. Say what you like about Nixon, W, or William Randolph Hearst/Charles Foster Kane, they cared about something. I never really got the impression that Limbaugh cares about anything other than Limbaugh. As for casting, Kelsey Grammer would be the guy for it, I think. Grammer is a very conservative Republican who has talked about going into politics, which could be a big plus in selling the movie as something other than a partisan hatchet job, though “creative differences” could easily arise.

* So fairy tales are hot, hot, hot and Brett Ratner wants to do an “edgy” Snow White that is “not your grandfather’s.” I think it is now time to officially ban the word “edgy” and the phrase “not your grandfather’s” from all thoughtful discourse.

* A former director of the Chicago International Film Festival is now head of production at Paramount.

* More inside movie-ball. Anne Thompson is filled with dismay. Russ Fischer at /Film issues a “WTF” and wonders if someone is “shitting” him. Christopher Bell at the Playlist comes up with both a “Whaa?” and an italicized “Say what?” I personally cried “Great Caesar’s ghost!” or the equivalent thereof when I heard the news.

The source of this consternation is word that Disney is entering negotiations for the ongoing sale of mini-major Miramax with a construction executive and investor named Ron Tutor and his partner, David Bergstein, which is where this gets weird. Thompson describes Bergstein as a “beleaguered financier,” Bell calls him a “bullshit artist extraordinaire.” Both terms are mild compared to what people really call him around town.

The fact of the matter is to that to say that Bergstein’s name is mud is to vastly over-value mud. His legal troubles are endless, he is universally regarded as having run a number of once-strong companies into the ground, and when the excellent but troubled director David O. Russell acted, by all accounts, like a total professional for once on the film, “Nailed,” it was nevertheless closed multiple times because of Bergstein’s apparently ultra-reckless or worse handling of the finances. (Kim Masters‘ piece from April, titled “Hollywood’s Biggest Hustler” makes fairly riveting reading.) The film remains unfinished two years later with two days of shooting left on the schedule and his name comes up in casual conversations between random folks in L.A.  All in all, venereal crabs are more popular than this guy.  Alex Ben Block of THR the details on the negotiation and Bergstein’s latest legal maneuver.

* Back in the eighties, when I assure you I was knee-high to a zygote, I was convinced that John Milius’s “Red Dawn,” with an absurd scenario about a Soviet land-invasion of the U.S., might hasten a real nuclear war by encouraging hysteria that was, in my view, already making a deadly mockery of our foreign policy at the time. Could the remake spark a real, new Cold War with China? Not by itself, surely, though economic issues and enough of the right/wrong kind of thoughtless propaganda or disinformation often can. In any case, the Chinese government is apparently unhappy about this remake, and it’s not because it thinks it’s a sign that Hollywood is running out of ideas.

* Mike Fleming chronicles how the fairly well-received science-fiction thriller “Splice” barely avoided becoming a TV movie. There’s an interesting bit of the post that shows the nastiness of the litigious tendencies of today’s studios. In this case it was because of a supposed resemblance between the movie’s resident creature and certain blue alien folk you all know.

* Speaking of Mr. Na’vi eco-defender guy, he’s not my favorite spokesmen for my positions, however, I absolutely, positively cannot disagree with James Cameron on BP. Can you?

V (Tues., Nov. 3 @ 8:00 PM, ABC)

The competition: “NCIS” (CBS) “The Biggest Loser” (NBC), “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox), “90210” (The CW)

Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Lourdes Benedicto, Logan Huffman, Laura Vandervoort, Morena Baccarin, Scott Wolf
Producers: Scott Peters (“The 4400,” “The Outer Limits”), Jeffrey Bell (“Day Break,” “Alias”), Steve Pearlman (“Reunion,” “Related”), and Jace Hall (“The Jace Hall Show”)
Network’s Description: A re-imagining of the 1980’s miniseries about the world’s first encounter with an alien race. Simultaneously appearing over every major city in the world, the Visitors (or V’s) promote a message of peace. Through their generous offer to share advanced technology, the V’s build a following that may actually hide a more malevolent agenda, one that twists a very deep component of human nature: devotion. While the world quickly becomes fascinated with the V’s and their link to wonders just beyond the reach of human understanding, FBI Counter Terrorist Agent Erica Evans discovers a secret hidden beneath the skin of every V – a secret that may threaten the lives of everyone close to her. Yet for her teenage son, Tyler, the V’s are his ticket to something big and hopeful — a new chance for mankind to unite in common goals. To Chad Decker, a career-hungry news anchor, his exclusive interview with Anna, the leader of the V’s, is crucial to his dominating the airwaves. Also unsure about the Visitors is Father Jack, a priest questioning his faith in the wake of the Visitors’ arrival. Seeking answers outside the church, Father Jack discovers there are other dissidents who believe the Visitors are not who they say they are, including Ryan Nichols, who is faced with his own life-altering decision when the V’s show up. Never has there been more at stake — it truly is the dawning of a new day.
The Buzz: Like “Eastwick,” there’s a certain instinct to ask, “Why do we need to revisit a 20-year-old property?” In the case of “V,” though, most of those who remember the show fondly will probably nod their heads and consider that, yes, special effects technology has evolved to a point where a concept like this one deserves to reap the benefits. And although the purists will no doubt grimace and claim that it won’t be the same without original creator Kenneth Johnson working behind the scenes, they need look no farther than “Battlestar Galactica” to have a good reason to consider the possibilities for a new “V.”
Pilot Highlight: Personally, I dug the showdown between Anna and Chad when he refuses to offer an interview consisting solely of softball questions and she informs him that either it’ll be all queries that paint the Visitors in a positive light or the interview will be canceled, but the episode’s tie-ins to terrorism were damned intriguing.
Bottom Line: There’ll clearly be a “we’ve seen this” reaction from the generation who grew up with “Independence Day,” but it’s already clear that this is not your parents’ “V.” It may not prove to have any more legs than ABC’s last stab at alien infiltration (“Invasion”), but it’s going to come down to whether or not the viewers who come in for the curiosity factor, thinking, “Hey, I liked the old show, I wonder how the new one will be,” are going to given enough to sell them right off the bat.

The Forgotten (Tues., Sept. 22 @ 10:00 PM, ABC)

The competition: “The Good Wife” (CBS), “The Jay Leno Show” (NBC)

Starring: Christian Slater, Michelle Borth, Heather Stephens, Bob Stephenson, Anthony Carrigan, Rochelle Aytes
Producers: Mark Friedman (“Home of the Brave”), Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman (“CSI,” “Cold Case”), Lukas Reiter (“Law & Order”), Danny Cannon (“CSI”)
Network’s Description: A drama series in which a team of dedicated amateurs – The Forgotten Network- work on murder cases involving unidentified victims. In the United States, the remains of 40,000 people have yet to be identified. When police investigations reach a dead end, civilian volunteers across the country work to name…the forgotten. After the police have given up, The Forgotten Network, led by Alex Donovan, must first solve the puzzle of the victim’s identity in order to then help catch the killer. These are citizen volunteers solving extraordinary crimes. Their persistence and compassion for the cases put them on a personal and emotional journey that focuses on giving names back to the deceased. The Forgotten Network gathers in coffee shops and living rooms to discuss leads, clues and tips, each bringing his or her own motivations and skills to the table, each driven by a deep sense of purpose. Donovan is a former detective who left the force after the disappearance of his own young daughter. Using his investigative skills, he can help piece together each victim’s story, retracing their footsteps and finding out why they died by learning how they lived. Working against the clock to give each victim a name before they’re buried as a John or Jane Doe, these amateur detectives are in it to bring closure… and win justice. Also volunteering in The Forgotten Network are Candace Butler, a confident, headstrong young woman who avoids the crushing boredom of her mundane job by helping the Network identify victims; Lindsey Drake, a resilient high school science teacher who works with the Network as a form of penance for a crime committed by her husband; Walter Bailey, a well-intentioned phone company employee and true-crime enthusiast whose zealousness can sometimes complicate investigations; Tyler Davies, a street-smart medical school dropout and aspiring artist who is court-ordered to join the Network to satisfy his community service; and Grace Russell, a resourceful homicide detective with the Chicago Police, who is Alex’s former protégé and now his main link to the department.
The Buzz: Into every season, there comes a show which requires so much retooling up to the wire that the critics don’t get the opportunity to check out a screener of the pilot. This season, it is “The Forgotten,” which – as you can see on YouTube – existed as a series before Christian Slater was ever brought into the mix, and as a result, the producers were left scrambling to restructure and re-film virtually the entire pilot. Worse, the fact that Jerry Bruckheimer’s name is attached will only serve to underline the similarities to “Cold Case.”
Pilot Highlight: There isn’t one, of course. You’re welcome to check out the same trailer and “sneak peek” that I have, but aside from the unique aspect of the team having no official police ties, nothing really stands out as original.
Bottom Line: Wow. The schmaltz factor in the trailer is downright painful. (“They’re all around us.” Give me a break.) But given America’s love of procedurals and the fact that the competition isn’t all that strong, it’s very possible that the show could find an audience.

Hank (Wed., Sept. 30 @ 8:00 PM, ABC)

The competition: “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (CBS), “Mercy” (NBC), “So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox), “America’s Top Model” (The CW)

Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Jordan Hinson, Nathan Gamble
Producers: Tom Werner (“Roseanne”), Tucker Cawley (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier”), Mike Clements (“The Life & Times of Tim”)
Network’s Description: Sometimes scaling back is the best way to get ahead. A legendary entrepreneur in the sports retail world, Hank Pryor and his wife, Tilly, have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to downsize and move his family back home to the small town of River Bend, Virginia. A self-made man, Hank is used to being the boss. But now that he’s lost almost everything, is he up for the even bigger challenge of being a husband and father? While Tilly regrets having to leave the glitz of New York City to move back to her hometown, Hank is gung-ho to relaunch his career in the place where it all began for him. Unfortunately this also means having to spend way too much time with his brother-in-law, Grady, who delights in Hank’s recent misfortunes. Hank struggles to find common ground with his kids — offbeat son Henry, who would rather play with action figures than toss a baseball with his dad, and daughter Maddie, a hip, New York City teen in whose eyes Hank can do no right. But every great businessman knows that the key to success is to turn setbacks into opportunities. It may take a while for this corporate giant to figure out how to mingle with the little people — like his family — but Hank’s up for the challenge, a man who feels he is destined to return to greatness. And he is. It’s just not the greatness he imagined.
The Buzz: For years, Kelsey Grammer was a man that could do no wrong in the realm of sitcoms, but that all ended with the one-season wonder that was Fox’s “Back to You.” It’s always good to see his familiar face, but if he couldn’t find comedic success in an ensemble that included Fred Willard, what chance does “Hank” have? Well, actually, the whole downsizing / riches-to-rags angle of the show could catch the interest of audiences in today’s climate, provided they don’t turn his move to Virginia into a riff on “Green Acres.”
Pilot Highlight: Aside from David Koechner’s brief appearance when Grady drops off a housewarming gift, it’s Hank’s attempts to bond with his children in the family’s new environment, which involves a stirring rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Bottom Line: As it stands right now, “Hank” feels like the weak link in ABC’s Wednesday night sitcom line-up, but it’s family-themed and it’s at 8 PM, so you never know. Plus, given creator Tucker Cawley’s track record with family comedies, the chance exists that it could find its stride pretty quickly, leaving us feeling guilty that we ever doubted its possibilities. If that happens, let’s hope it’s sooner than later, if only for Grammer’s sake.

The Middle (Wed., Sept. 30 @ 8:30 PM, ABC)

The competition: “Gary Unmarried” (CBS), “Mercy” (NBC), “So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox), “America’s Top Model” (The CW)

Starring: Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, Atticus Shaffer, Chris Kattan
Producers: Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline (“How I Met Your Mother,” “Roseanne”)
Network’s Description: A warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Frankie Heck is a superhero. Well, no, not an actual superhero – not unless you count getting her kids out the door for school every morning as a superfeat. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country, this harried wife and working mother of three uses her wry wit and sense of humor to try to get her family through each day intact. Frankie has a job selling cars at the town’s only surviving car dealer; her husband, Mike, is a manager at the local quarry. In between juggling shifts and picking up fast food dinners eaten in front of the TV, Frankie and Mike raise their kids with love and solid Midwestern practicality. Axl is the oldest, a teenage jock who eats the family out of house and home and walks around in his underwear. Then there’s Sue, their extraordinarily ordinary pre-teen daughter who fails at everything she tries with great gusto. Brick, the youngest son, is an odd kid whose best friend is his backpack. Together, they’re putting The Middle on the map.
The Buzz: Seeing Patricia Heaton playing a mom again is one of those “all’s right with the world” TV moments (if it takes a second to acclimate yourself to seeing Neil Flynn playing someone other than a janitor, just remember that he played Lindsay Lohan’s dad in “Mean Girls”), and although her role as a harried mom isn’t that different here than it was on “Raymond,” it’s been structured to make her the star of this show.
Pilot Highlight: When Frankie and Mike have to attend a parent-teacher conference about Brick’s eccentricities, which features a montage of his more interesting moments at school and closes with Mike sighing, “I just hope he’s weird enough that our insurance covers it.”
Bottom Line: Although the title of this show refers to the fact that it takes place in Indiana, i.e. middle America, it also feels like a not-coincidental tribute to “Malcolm in the Middle,” given the similarity in feel between the two series. (The difference, of course, is that Frankie is actually a halfway-decent, generally well-intentioned mother.) If you liked that show, then you’ll like this one, too.

Modern Family (Wed., Sept. 23 @ 9:00 PM, ABC)

The competition: “Criminal Minds” (CBS), “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC), “Glee” (Fox), “The Beautiful Life” (The CW)

Starring: Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, Rico Rodriguez, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter
Producers: Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd (“Back to You,” “Frasier”), Jason Winer
Network’s Description: Today’s American families come in all shapes and sizes. The cookie cutter mold of man + wife + 2.5 kids is a thing of the past, as it becomes quickly apparent in this bird’s eye view, which takes an honest and often hilarious look at the composition and complexity of family life in 2009. Take for example Phil and Claire, two parents who want to have that open, healthy, honest relationship with their three kids. It’s not always easy, especially when you have a teenage daughter who’s growing up a little fast, a too-smart-for-her-own-good middle daughter and a rambunctious boy. On top of that, Phil wants to be the “cool dad,” while Claire is just trying her best to run a tight ship, determined not to let her kids have the rebellious childhood she had. Then there’s Jay, a true guys’ guy who is having a bit of mid-life crisis. Jay has found a much younger wife, Gloria, who has become the center of his world. She’s a passionate and sassy divorcee who comes with an 11-year-old son, Manny. Already taking notice of girls and a hopeless romantic, Manny is as passionate as his mom and spends his time daydreaming and writing poetry. His new step-father isn’t altogether comfortable with the sensitive stuff and would like to toughen Manny up. But that’s only one of Jay’s challenges. The biggest is that people often mistake him for Gloria’s father, not her husband. And lastly there’s Mitchell and his partner of five years, Cameron. They’ve just taken that amazing ‘next step’ by adopting a child together from Vietnam. Cameron has a wonderfully big personality and maybe a flare for the dramatic, whereas Mitchell is the more serious of the two. But they balance each other out and are already doting fathers. Life, it seems, is neither tidy, politically correct or in any way predictable. For these three families, it turns out, are not three but one… one big, blended family, with Jay the patriarch and Claire & Mitchell his grown kids. Yet it’s just such surprises that make things so interesting in this window into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted embrace of the modern family.
The Buzz: After “Parks and Recreation” debuted to a lot of muttering about how it was virtually a carbon copy of “The Office,” you wouldn’t think a new mockumentary-styled sitcom would have a shot, but the diversity of the characters (and the comedic styles of the cast) and the variety of topics from which the show’s writers can mine laughs are considerable.
Pilot Highlight: When Cameron proceeds to totally and utterly disprove Mitchell’s assertion that his boyfriend is “not that dramatic.” You wouldn’t think you could get that big a laugh from a spotlight, but it turns out you can.
Bottom Line: Not only is there going to be a tussle between this series and “Better Off Ted” for the title of Funniest ABC Sitcom, but “Modern Family” comes within a few laughs of tying “Community” for the award of Best New Series.

Cougar Town (Wed., Sept. 23 @ 9:30 PM, ABC)

The competition: “Criminal Minds” (CBS), “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC), “Glee” (Fox), “The Beautiful Life” (The CW)

Starring: Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Christa Miller, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Brian Van Holt
Producers: Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel (“Scrubs”) Courteney Cox and David Arquette (“Dirt”)
Network’s Description: Jules is a recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture. While most women in their twenties go through life experiencing the challenges and often humorous pitfalls of meeting men, Jules took on the responsibilities of marriage and raising a son. Now in her forties, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery whilst surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to live or re-live a time gone by. Along for the journey are her friends and family: Laurie, the younger, feisty co-worker who encourages her to get out there and have some fun; Ellie, the sarcastic, unapologetic confidante content with her life and marriage to her average, but loveable husband, Andy; ex-husband Bobby, a classic under-achiever who’ll test her patience as they attempt to raise their teenage son, Travis; and newly divorced neighbor Grayson, who proves to be a catalyst of sorts for Jules.
The Buzz: The combination of bringing Courtney Cox back to her sitcom roots and pairing her with “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence has comedy fans chomping at the bit to see what will come forth from the collaboration, but there’s a bit of backlash about the show’s title…and by “a bit,” I mean that it seems to be all anyone wants to talk about. (I had no idea that people loathed the term “cougar” so much; it always struck me as sexy and therefore ostensibly complimentary.) Whether it’ll bite Bill on the ass and keep folks away or bring in a crowd to see what all the fuss is about, only time will tell.
Pilot Highlight: There are several involving Cox, including Jules’ inability to hold her liquor, her post-coital bliss, and the ongoing storyline about the advertising campaign for her work as a real estate agent, but Dan Byrd’s work throughout the show is a reminder than his work on “Aliens in America” was no comedic fluke.
Bottom Line: The story of Jules’s life and times has the potential to make the series into a better “Sex and the City” successor than either “Cashmere Jungle” or “Lipstick Mafia” (yes, I know I mixed those up, but, really, does it matter?), and the dysfunctional dynamic makes it a perfect show to follow “Modern Family.” It’s already funny, but the potential for growth is considerable. Here’s hoping it gets the chance to evolve.

Eastwick (Wed., Sept. 23 @ 10:00 PM, ABC)

The competition: “CSI: New York” (CBS), “The Jay Leno Show” (NBC)

Starring: Ashley Benson, Jon Bernthal, Veronica Cartwright, Jaime Ray Newman, Lindsay Price, Rebecca Romijn, Sara Rue, Johann Urb, Paul Gross
Producers: Maggie Friedman (“Once and Again”), David S. Rosenthal (“Gilmore Girls”), Michael Katleman (“Life on Mars”), Nancy Won (“Brothers & Sisters”), Chris Dingess (“Reaper”), Marc David Alpert (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)
Network’s Description: In the seaside village of Eastwick, three very different women are about to discover some bewitching talents they never knew they had. And once they get together– watch out. Something wicked their way comes. There was a time when Roxanne, Kat and Joanna didn’t get along because of their preconceived notions of each other. Roxie was the extrovert artist, Kat the overworked wife and mom, and Joanna the wallflower local reporter. But after a weird encounter in the park and a few martinis, these three women have suddenly become fast friends. Together, they wish for their lives to change. And that’s when the mysterious Darryl Van Horne arrives in town. His wealth, charisma and bad boy sex appeal are an irresistible combination for the three ladies. Mysteriously, he helps them discover their unique powers in ways they never could have imagined. But by igniting their hearts’ desires, he might just be opening Pandora’s Box.

The free-spirited and artistic widow Roxanne lives by her own rules; with a much younger boyfriend and a cash flow problem, she doesn’t exactly cultivate favor among her neighbors. But Darryl’s arrival in Eastwick seems to indicate that a change for the better is coming for Roxanne and her teen-aged daughter, Mia. What doesn’t change are Roxie’s vivid dreams, which may be premonitions for an exciting but dangerous future. Joanna just wishes she could shut her mouth sometimes, especially as the most inappropriate words spill out at the most inappropriate times. But Darryl tells this uptight, bespectacled reporter that, if she would just look someone straight in the eye, she can give a proper voice to what she wants… and get it. To her shock, it works – namely on her longtime crush, Will. But is it real? Kat wants a change in her life. A nurse, she possesses natural healing abilities and has an uncanny green thumb. But her powers can be destructive too, as she discovers when Raymond, her unemployed husband who spends his days observing life from a hammock with a can of beer, becomes their unintentional target.

As these enchanting women realize their talents, it doesn’t necessarily bode well for some of the locals. Darryl’s wealth stirs the pot just as Eastwick is going through tough times. When he quickly buys up the local businesses, including the town’s newspaper, candle factory and a long-empty mansion, the locals become understandably curious about just who Darryl Van Horne is. Among the curious is Joanna’s co-worker and best friend, Penny. Since Darryl appeared on the scene, Joanna’s been spending more and more time with Kat and Roxie – which means less time with Penny. Left behind, she decides to investigate the man who’s stolen her friend. Bun, the head of the Eastwick Historical Society, is like the fun and kooky aunt that Roxie never had. When Bun suddenly plunges into a coma at the very moment the three women spark a connection, waking only to blurt a bizarre warning about Darryl, it becomes clear that she may be a key to his mystery. Eastwick is turned upside down as these enchanting women come into their own, but it’s still the best thing to happen to this small New England town in centuries.
The Buzz: Come on, you’re wondering the same thing I am: “Who thought it was a good idea to make a series out of a 1987 movie (based on a 1984 novel)?” Probably the same people who thought it was a good idea to heavily utilize the theme from “True Blood” when offering up the promo reel for this series during the TCA tour. In other words, it’s a sketchy idea to start with, and now that it’s come to fruition, no one really seems to know how to promote it. Not a good sign.
Pilot Highlight: It probably doesn’t speak well of the series that my favorite moments came not from one of the leads but, rather, from Veronica Cartwright, but as Bun, the longtime resident of Eastwick who foretells doom and gloom in the wake of Darryl’s arrival, every moment she’s onscreen – first in the park, then in the hospital – is a great moment.
Bottom Line: I wanted to like the show, just because of the ensemble and the potential for spookiness, but if the series follows the pilot’s lead and maintains the heavy-handed “Desperate Housewives Have Magic Sex in a Small Town” vibe (like, say, the discussion about the size of Darryl’s package), I can’t imagine watching beyond more than another episode or two.

Flash Forward (Thurs., Sept. 24 @ 8:00 PM, ABC)

The competition: “Survivor” (CBS), “SNL Weekend Update” (Sept. 17 – Oct. 1) / “Community” (Oct. 8 onward) and “Parks and Recreation” (NBC), “Bones” (Fox), “The Vampire Diaries” (The CW)

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton, Peyton List, Dominic Monaghan, Brían O’Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Sonya Walger, Christine Woods
Producers: David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga (“Threshold”), Marc Guggenheim (“Eli Stone”), Jessika Borsiczky Goyer (“Revelations”)
Network’s Description: What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? When the world’s population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided. It’s just another normal day in Los Angeles. FBI agent Mark Benford and his partner, Demetri Noh, are in the midst of a car chase monitored by their boss, Stanford Wedeck and colleague Janis Hawk; Mark’s wife, Dr. Olivia Benford, is in the middle of surgery; Dr. Bryce Varley is weighing a potentially life-ending decision; Mark’s friend, Aaron Stark, is working high above the ground on power lines; and Nicole — baby-sitter to Mark and Olivia’s daughter, Charlie — is in the throes of passion with her boyfriend when suddenly and without warning, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time. For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn’t seem to exist. Everyone in the world will eventually begin chronicling what they saw in their flashforwards on a worldwide website — the Mosaic Collective — that will further draw people together. And some of the flashforwards just might help Mark and his colleagues piece together the cause of the blackout. Knowing their fate will alter each person’s life in one way or another and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?
The Buzz: How do the words “the next ‘Lost'” grab you? Not that we haven’t heard that kind of bold chatter before, but this is a series with a mysterious premise…well, unless you’ve read the book, anyway…and the kind of unfolding mythology which should – theoretically, at least – keep viewers returning week after week.
Pilot Highlight: The segment when we see what has happened to the world at large as a result of everyone suddenly losing consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds, which proceeds to set the rest of the episode up for a gripping mystery, namely, “What the hell just happened?”
Bottom Line: Best drama of the new season, filled with action, intrigue, and a strong ensemble cast. Count on a lot of viewing parties come April 29, 2010.

* “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.