Live Press Tour Diary: CBS, Day 2

JERICHO PANEL 10:28 am: Nuts! CBS has planted one-pound bags of peanuts on all of our chairs, along with "Save Jericho" T-shirts! Nothing like a little swag to brighten my post-Emmy nod doldrums. 10:34 am: The Jericho panel includes stars Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Ashley Scott and exec producer Carol Barbee. Got questions? Post 'em below - and quick! 10:36 am: Announcement! CBS is launching a new effort to give viewers a heads-up via e-mail when Sunday-night programming will be delayed due to football overruns. It's called CBS Eye-Lert. Oh, I get it - Eye-Lert! Clever! 10:45 am: "I don't think any of us thought it would come back when the decision was made [to cancel it], because it only happened one time before," says Barbee, who adds that the Season 2 story will focus solely on the happenings in Jericho. Had there been a full-season pickup, part of the action would've been set in New York. 10:48 am: Skeet says the best way the cast and crew can thank fans for their support is to "continue to make the best show we can make and push the story forward." He's also not ruling out going door-to-door giving out free DVDs. 10:50 am: Due to the limited order, the seven episodes will be "lean and mean," says Barbee. "The stories will focus on just a couple of people. We're arcing out an action story that will have resolution [at the end of the seven episodes]." 10:52 am: It was always the plan that Gerald McRaney's character would die. "It may've happened a little sooner than we had planned," says Barbee, "but that's just where the story was going." They wanted Skeet to step up and be a leader. 10:53 am: "We're ready, willing and able" to continue beyond the seven episodes should CBS order more, says Barbee. 10:57 am: All of the cliff-hangers from last season "will be paid off" by the end of the season premiere. 10:59 am: The Season 2 story will focus primarily on Hawkins and Jake's mission to save the world. 11:01 am: Lennie James says the "NUTS" campaign was "incredibly humbling... and gratifying." 11:03 am: Casting scoop: Heather's returning! Barbee confirms that Sprague Grayden will be back for several episodes. Titus Welliver, meanwhile, won't be returning as Col. Hoffman, but a new character is coming in "to fill those shoes." 11:15 am: Barbee says the last half of the season "was really the show we always meant to make." 11:17 am: The Jericho Season 1 DVD will be out Oct. 2. 11:19 am: Gaggle stampede! Off to get you some Jake-Heather scoop! 11:25 am: Exclusive Jake-Heather prattle from Barbee: "Heather comes back to town to find Jake and Emily together. And she gets a possible new love interest. But there's still a pull between her and Jake that ends up working into the story." SURVIVOR: CHINA-THEMED LUNCH 12:35 pm: Vegetable lo mein, tofu salad, four chocolate-covered fortune cookies and one Mark Burnett sighting. POWER OF 10 PANEL 2:02 pm: Confession time: The only reason I'm attending this session is because there's a slight chance host Drew Carey may announce that he's taking over The Price Is Right. 2:06 pm: Contestants on this game show (debuting Aug. 7) have to predict the American public's response to certain poll questions. The grand prize is $10 miiiiiiillion dollars. 2:12 pm: The panel starts and Drew Carey makes no mention of TPIR in his opening remarks. Curses! Now I'm stuck here. 2:19 pm: Someone asks Drew about the TPIR buzz. Confirms that he's been approached and they're in talks. "Nothing's been decided yet," he says. "I wish I had something to tell you today." You and me both. 2:20 pm: Lots of chatter about the accuracy of polling data. Zzzzzzz.... 2:21 pm: Thank god this ballroom has wi-fi. Let's see if TMZ has any new Gary Dourdan video up. 2:25 pm: Would it be tacky of me to walk out in the middle of the session? This is what I'm grappling with at the moment. 2:32 pm: A reporter just asked Drew if he pays his own airfare when he goes on the USO tours. I offer to pay Matt Roush $10 to pelt her in the head with one of my Jericho nuts. He says he'll do it for $20. I meet him halfway at $15. He mulls it over for a sec, but ultimately declines. Nuts! 2:33 pm: Drew jokes that one thing holding up TPIR talks is that he wants to change the show's title to "The Magic Golden Wheel." Says negotiations are "going back and forth," adding, "It would be really fun to do. That show needs to be treated with a lot of respect." 2:45 pm: The session's over - I'm a free man! SNACK TIME 3:50 pm: Mmmmm... soft pretzels. You rock, CBS! VIVA LAUGHLIN PANEL 4:01 pm: It's CBS' final session of the tour, and they saved the worst for last! This genre-bender is 25 percent mystery, 40 percent drama, 35 percent musical and 100 percent lousy. 4:06 pm: The panel includes a bunch of people who deserve better, most notably Brothers & Sisters' Eric Winter, Twin Peaks' Mädchen Amick and 24's D.B. Woodside. 4:17 pm: Exec producer Bob Lowry insists Viva is not a musical. "We're a dramatic television show with music.... We're telling a story first. We need to have a solid story to tell, and then we use the music to enhance that." LOL! 4:21 pm: Lowry is explaining the subtext behind Melanie Griffith's big production number in the pilot, and, to my surprise, it's not, "I'm going to fire my agent!" 4:25 pm: Lowry gets an unintentional laugh when he mentions the possibility of the show getting a full 22-episode pickup. 4:26 pm: Exec producer Hugh Jackman (who's MIA today) will make occasional appearances throughout the season, his busy schedule and cancellation clock permitting. 4:44 pm: Mädchen Amick mentions Twin Peaks in passing. I get wistful. 4:48 pm: Eric Winter confirms that he'll return to Brothers & Sisters for one episode to wrap up his story. After that, he's "happily" committed to Viva. 4:49 pm: D.B. Woodside says he has "a funny feeling that people are going to embrace this show." The key word there is funny. 4:50 pm: Session over, and not a moment too soon. Off to CBS' Stars party. See ya back here in the morning for the CW!