TV

Katie Holmes will appear in an episode of Eli Stone, airing Oct. 21, after executive producer Greg Berlanti, who worked with Mrs. Tom Cruise on Dawson's Creek, "begged her." He said she will, in the spirit of the show's surreal approach to storytelling, both sing and dance, though he did not mention whether viewers can expect a little seltzer down her pants.

In another minor flurry of super-celeb name-dropping, Eli Stone star Jonny Lee Miller was asked if he would consider phoning his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, and inviting her on the show. "You'll have to call her," he responded. "I'm afraid."

With his long, shaggy hair and week's-worth-of-stubble, Michael Imperioli looked more like Serpico than Christopher, the Sopranos' character that made him famous. But that's all part of joining the cast of Life on Mars, a show about a present-day cop who finds himself whisked back to the world of 1973 New York. It's not too much of a stretch for the former Sopranos mobster. "Most of the stuff I've been doing is as a cop or robber. If that's what pays the bills, so be it."

He also offered the funniest line of the day. When asked what memories he had of 1973, he said: "I was 7. Yeah, I remember it all. The sex was easy."

While talking about the possible renaissance of the old "variety show" format, ABC Ent prez Stephen McPherson mentioned that ABC was all set to do a Christmas variety show hosted by Will Ferrell. "But then he realized how much more money he could make doing feature films, so he did that instead." Oh, what might have been.

ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson acknowledged that this past season of Dancing with the Stars lacked dramatic tension. While he first discounted the suggestion that Kristi Yamaguchi's superior athletic/dancing skills didn't dampen excitement and speculation over who might win ("we didn't get back in testing that people thought she had some sort of unfair advantage"), he went on to pretty much say that, in fact, yes she did.

"No mystery does take away from the fun of watching the show and from early on you knew that unless she fell there was no way she wasn't going to win." He also admitted that Jason Taylor's second-place success was a surprise. "We honestly thought he'd be out in week two. I mean, he's this 7-foot-tall football player, who knew he could dance like that?"

He did add that Kristi as the obvious winner wasn't last season's only problem. Another problem was that everybody was just too nice. "You need some edge along with more competition. We'll definitely be looking for some entertaining personalities as we cast this season."

Calling Gary Busey?

The writers strike ended last February, but its effects linger on. In its first day at the TCA press tour, ABC spotlighted the only two new show it has to offer viewers this fall -- Life on Mars, a remake of a British series, and Opportunity Knocks, a reality game show. That's not exactly a jam-packed schedule for what is, after all, supposed to be the new TV season. But Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, tried to put the best spin on the situation during his morning Q&A session.

"The strike changed everything in terms of the way development went.... We're in the middle of pilot season now. January and March are the new launch zones for shows this year."

So Spring is the new Fall in TVland. So what does that make Fall. For ABC, it has become the season of making old shows new again. The name of the game this September and October isn't launching shows, it's re-launching, whether it's a relative newcomer like Dirty Sexy Money coming back with a new star (Lucy Liu) joining the cast or an old-timer like Desperate Housewives returning with some fired-up plot points (that must not be revealed).

"We are prioritizing returning shows this Fall, that's where we're at," Mr. McPherson says.

Have a lot of weight to lose and want to let America watch you lose it? The NBC reality show The Biggest Loser will hold a casting call on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Dave and Buster's at 10727 Composite Drive in Dallas. The show is looking for teams of two to compete for the $250,000 first prize.