Zach Braff, Scrubs
Arrested Development Blame vacation hangover, but I'm betting I missed about half of the references to AD's imminent cancellation or (please!) move to another network, and the not-desperate ratings stunts they cribbed from other shows. Of course, I don't even have to say this, but please write in with what I've left out. There was the promise before the credits that someone would die and that the show would be live, the 3-D tomato toss and the flashing SaveOurBluths.org. So as not to break the third wall, that thinly veiled plot about raising money for a new attorney opened the door for the Bluths to beg for their survival, and to discuss whether they'd received help from the Home Builders' Organization (HBO, for those of you not yet over those hangovers) or if they'd have to
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Dean Cain
The Dean's List — i.e., the roster of fab femmes that Dean Cain has gotten to work with in his TV career — boasts no less than Desperate Housewives' Teri Hatcher (who kicked off his impressive run when they costarred on Lois & Clark: The Adventures of Superman), Kelly Ripa, Vanessa Marcil and, just last week, Mariska Hargitay, on Law & Order: SVU. Starting tonight, Cain and Marcil will go another round or two (or more) on Las Vegas (9 pm/ET on NBC), as h
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Las Vegas
Before I get into the recap, I have a little Las Vegas housecleaning to get to. First of all, I never knew there were so many people passionate about who they want their Danny with: Sam or Mary. Now I do and I'm lovin' the debate; keep it coming. Second of all, I said that I gave the edge to the two ABC Daytime alums Josh Duhamel and Vanessa Marcil. Well, some of you out there reminded me that Nikki Cox was once on General Hospital. I stand corrected. But seriously. Josh and Vanessa were like ginormous stars on their respective soaps (AMC & GH). I mean, I only really became aware of Nikki when she was on that sitcom with the stuffed rabbit.
OK, now let's get back to our regularly schedul
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Las Vegas did the time warp and treated us all to a retropisode. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the effort an Ocean's 8. The vibe was chill, the music was cool and our posse looked gooood. The show did a credible job of re-creating early '60s Vegas — gangsters, gambling, racial tensions and all.
The names were all pretty much the same, except that the Montecito wasn't the Montecito, it was the Jubilee. Frank Sinatra was the main draw. And Mike had hair. The hair cracked me up. I think Robert Townsend wore somethin' like it back when he was in The Five Heartbeats. Nothing much really changed. Although this Ed Deline didn't have to hold back like he has to in the present day. Usually he has to turn the criminal element over to the police, but not in this alternate universe: He can actually go medieval on someone's sorry butt and then drop him off in front of his peeps just to se
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Question: Please tell me Sam (Vanessa Marcil) isn't the one dying on Las Vegas.
Answer: All I'll say is that the decision to kill off this particular character came after much internal discussion between the network, studio and the show itself. The only folks not consulted were the cast. "They thought it was a joke," says Thompson. "They read the script and went, 'What?'" Oh, and one other thing: The two-part episode marks the departure of another actor on the show. "Someone else," Thompson says, "will never step foot in the Montecito again."
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Question: Do you have any more juicy secrets that you're willing to share from your days working at Soaps in Depth?
Answer: This probably qualifies more as starchy than juicy, but Vanessa Marcil kept talking about how much she loved potatoes in an interview I did with her, so the following day I shipped a 20-lb. sack to her at the General Hospital studio. She was so blown away by the gesture that she called and left me the sweetest voice-mail message ever. To this day, whenever I see her at an event I have to remind her who I am she thanks me for the 'taters.
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Tyler and Nat are over
Sadly, life is imitating soaps for General Hospital stars Tyler Christopher and Natalia Livingston, whose love is on the rocks both in real life and in reel life. To refresh your memory, Tyler and Natalia were playfully "outed" as a couple during Walt Willey's faux talk show at last November's ABC Super Soap Weekend in Orlando, Fla. A setside spy now confirms to TVGuide.com that their approximately nine-month relationship has reached its conclusion for reasons I'm far too gentlemanly to pry into. (Translation: Um, I actually don't know.)
Fans figured Tyler and Natalia were in Splitsville when the twosome separately attended GH's annual fan-club weekend last month in Southern California. Livingston, a recent Daytime Emmy winner, was also conspicuously absent from her BF's personal fan gathering. (Back when Tyler was dating Vanessa Marcil — the Las Vegas costar formerly known as Brenda Barrett — they always escorte
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