Saturday has been a quiet day. The bulk of it is devoted to Television Critics Association business, with the organization's business meeting this morning (very smooth and peaceful) and the annual awards ceremony tonight. I will post the winners here later. In between, I had lunch with Yvette Nicole Brown, an actress from back home in Ohio, and one of the best people in the world. The lunch was about half interview, half just chatting, and a good way to spend the afternoon.

Given that today hasn't been an endless series of press conferences (that schedule resumes tomorrow, with NBC), I thought I'd catch up on some things I haven't mentioned before.

One is UPN's party on Thursday on the Paramount lot. Some odd scenes there, like actor Eric Balfour coming up behind E! Online's Kristin Veitch, grabbing her and kissing her cheek. She did not look happy when first grabbed. Opinions are divided about whether she was happy when she saw it was Balfour.

Chris Rock was in attendance also, to promote the series "Everybody Hates Chris." He was a big attraction and wasn't even off the red carpet (which was actually purple) before reporters began to circle him. But UPN eventually got him off the carpet and to a spot where he could stand and talk to ever-changing clusters of reporters.

UPN deserves a lot of credit for organizing that situation, even going after writers who had tried unsuccesfully to get in the first Rock circle to make sure they got into a later one.

But UPN's publicists were not the only star wranglers attending, and here's where a problem arose.

Some stars bring their personal publicists along, and these personal publicists see their first priority as coddling and protecting the star who is paying them — NOT seeing to the promotion of the show the star is in. More than once, reporters have tried to get to an actor or actress and been stiff-armed by a personal publicist.

That happened for a very long period with Kristen Bell, star of "Veronica Mars."  When I went over to her and asked if she could chat, she immediately turned to her publicist, who said Bell was about to take a break but would be available later.

I don't know why she needed a break. These events generally last two to three hours, and the whole point is to talk to reporters. But even assuming she needed a brief on, this break went on and on — including Bell eating, shmoozing with other people — with the publicist repeatedly stopping reporters from talking to her.

The roadblock finally broke when the omnipresent Veitch approached Bell, began a conversation and, as Bell talked, turned on her recorder. I don't know how the publicist missed that — or if she simply deemed Veitch and E! more worthy than us print wretches. But if Veitch could start interviewing, then Bell was fair game, and others — including me — joined in.

As interviews go, it was all right but nothing overwhelming. Bell said she had not yet read the script of "Veronica's" second-season opener, so that limited the discussion some.

She WAS aware of the support she and "Veronica" had received from television critics, including her nomination for a TCA award for individual achievement in a drama. She was grateful for that support, too. Too bad Bell's publicist wasn't as aware.

Networks are in the business of putting hits on the air — and taking off flops. Their executives have to be cold and calculating. But when they explain their decisions, they can sound as if they had to shoot Old Yeller.

This is most likely to happen on a press tour when the show in question is one that TV critics have admired. The executives can't deny they killed the show, but they want to sound as if they felt bad about it.

For UPN, the subject was "Kevin Hill," the drama starring Taye Diggs.

Here's UPN President Dawn Ostroff's explanation: " 'Kevin Hill' was a real heartbreak for us. 'Kevin Hill' was a show that we all believed in. And we all felt so passionately about having Taye on our air. The entire cast was fantastic."

Then the slashing started:  "The show just floundered as the season went on, and creatively it lost its way. The ratings weren't as strong as we really hoped that they would be. It lost around 40 percent of its lead-in audience. … When you look at where their season started and where they ended up, it really spiraled down versus a show like 'Veronica Mars' that … started down and really ended up."

Apparently not convinced yet that Old Yeller was rabid, a reporter asked Ostroff once more about the creativity issue. "I think the show creatively struggled, yes, and the viewers never really embraced it," she said.

For The WB, "Jack & Bobby" got the heartbreak treatment. Literally.

" 'Jack & Bobby' is the most heartbreaking experience this network went through last year and, personally, that I've been through, I think, in my entire career," said WB Entertainment President David Janollari. "We loved the show. We thought it was exceptionally well executed on every level. Week after week, the quality was consistent. …

"The heartbreak of it all was the episodes got better and better … and at the end of the day, we couldn't find a single piece of potential positive, ongoing forward traction that would have really suggested that there was a big hit potential in the show."

Thank you, Tommy Kirk.

Don Johnson & Melanie Griffith used to be married (rather famously), so it was a surprise to see that each has a new series on The WB this fall. When they had back-to-back press conferences today, a reporter found a way to ask (rather gently) how they felt about being in the same network harness.

"Melanie is working?" Johnson said.

"That was just a joke," he aded. "Just a joke, OK? Of course I know she's on the network, and I'm delighted for her. We all wish her well, and she'll be terrific. She's a wonderful talent."

Griffith later said of Johnson, "I'm really happy for him. I think it's great. I'm even happier for our daughter, because her trust fund is going to really be healthy."

Griffith also said her current husband, Antonio Banderas, will guest-star on her show, "Twins."

As you can see, both played nice with each other. And with reporters. Johnson has been prickly at times with the press, but today he for the most part tried to be pleasant.

That may be partly the result of his carrying a lighter load on his series, "Just Legal." He is only a star on this show, where he was star and executive producer of "Nash Bridges."

"On 'Nash Bridges' I made a decision every 15 seconds whether I wanted to or not," he said, "and most of it had nothing to do with the character. … So that was, like, a struggle for me and I missed the part of just being the actor."

By the way, when you're checking talk show listings in the months ahead, keep an eye out for Jonathan Shapiro, an executive producer of "Just Legal." He's one of those guys who makes you wish his show was as interesting as he is. Besides writing for television, Shapiro has been a federal prosecutor, a reporter on legal issues, a law professor and a political player in California. "I was also a contributing editor for The Ring magazine for several years," he said, "and I was also for a period of time one of the worst light heavyweights in history."

Also today:

– Lizzy Caplan of the series "Related" lists previous TV credits that include "Tru Calling" and "The Pitts," two shows that had short, unhappy runs on Fox. Asked why she would ever take another series after that, Caplan said, "It's a new network, so I'm hoping that maybe they'll be a little nicer over here. … I'm actually excited. It's very strange to get a show picked up for the fall and have the network behind you. That's never happened to me before."

– Jared Padalecki, known mainly as Dean on "Gilmore Girls," has a new series on The WB, "Supernatural." Since the show is meant to be scary, I asked co-stars Padalecki and Jensen Ackles at a press conference what scared them.

Padalecki looked out at the roomful of reporters and said, "These."

After posting that item about "Love, Inc." last night, I caught up on my writing for the print Beacon Journal. You'll find a column in Saturday's paper about T-Boz and Chilli, a couple of Sunday pieces on "Over There" and a Monday column elaborating on the "Love, Inc."/Shannen/Busy situation.

Squeezed in some sleep, too, before facing a day with The WB. This is not a delight, especially after days of CBS/UPN sessions that ran smoothly.

The WB consistently manages not to run on time, to mismanage sessions (notably by not knowing when to cut off ones that have run out of steam) and to fill empty seats with applauding sycophants. (At one point, I was in the same row as the wife of a WB series producer. She laughed — loudly — at his every utterance. He was funny, but not that funny.) The network also tends to see press conferences as a way to kiss up to the networks' stars, even if that delays the Q&A. I gave up for the day when a session about "7th Heaven" hadn't even started at the time it was supposed to be over.

(On the good side, The WB did not cover the walls of the meeting rooms with large pictures of its young stars, since I then waste a lot of time trying to tell them apart. And I liked the graphics for its sessions. which had slashing lettering and splashes of color that resembled the work of Ralph Steadman.)

Adding to the time delays were some very lame stunts, including an unfunny appearance by Richard from "Beauty & The Geek." Rebecca Romjin, who has a mid-season series on The WB, stopped by just long enough to plug it. As in: "I'm off to Vancover to shoot 'X-Men 3.' And as soon as I'm done with that, I can't wait to get back here and work on this (series) and I can't wait to come back here in January to discuss it with you guys."

Uh-huh.

But Romjin was trounced in the insincere-rhetoric sweepstakes by Marta Kauffman, the former "Friends" producer now working on "Related," an hour-long series for The WB.

Well, eventually working on it. Kauffman joined the press tour via satellite from vacation in Milan. (Well, you knew those "Friends" people got paid well, didn't you?)

She proceeded to deliver a stunningly dull monologue about the show, punctuated by her descriptions of its four female stars. As follows:

"The incredibly beautiful and amazingly talented Jennifer Esposito."

"The equally beautiful and stunningly talented Kiele Sanchez."

"The, yes, beautiful and yes, talented and edgy and wonderful Lizzy Caplan."

"The young and, of course, beautiful and talented newcomer Laura Breckenridge."

More entertaining was "Smallville's" Tom Welling, who brought a nice air of irreverence to his appearance talking about some changes on the show next season.

Among them: James Marsters — the beloved Spike from "Buffy/Angel" — will play Brainiac on the series for several episodes. And Tom Wopat will reunite with his old "Dukes of Hazzard" co-star John Schneider, who plays Jonathan Kent on '"Smallville"; Wopat will be play a state senator and old friend of Jonathan.

Also, apparently, Aquaman will appear on the show. This brought amusement from the "Entourage" fans in the audience (since that HBO show has an ongoing story about an "Aquaman" movie) — amusement that confused Welling.

Welling did say that "Smallville's" Aquaman will be dating Lois Lane (Erica Durance). And Durance, Welling said, "is terrified of the water. … She's playing a character who's in love with, well, a guy who can't live outside of the water. So that will be interesting on set."

But the biggest news of the day, which sent several critics off to file obits, was the demise of Michigan J. Frog, long the emblem of The WB.

"In my opinion, the frog is dead and buried," said WB Chairman Garth Ancier.

There was even a serious reason for doing it. The WB is trying to redefine itself more toward young adults and less toward teens and kids. "There have been so many successful (WB) shows set in high school that have been successful … that contributed to the feeling that we were really a teenage service," said WB Entertainment President David Janollari.The frog, he said, "perpetuated the young teen feel of the network, and that is not the image we want to put out to our audience."

This led, as expected to other jokes and questions, including whether Ancier — a former NBC executive — would have killed the NBC peacock, too. No, he said, since the peacock "is a true American icon."

I expect Marta Kauffman to apply that phrase to her stars any day now.

More laughs came courtesy of WB Communications Director Keith Marder, The Official Funnyman of The Press Tour. A former TV critic, Marder has become a tour tradition with remarks opening the press tour. Highlights from this year:

– "I always knew Tom Cruise would end up with someone from 'Dawson's Creek.' I just thought it would be James Van Der Beek."

'– 'Katie Holmes, though, she looks in love to me. If she was this good an actress on 'Dawson's Creek,' she would have won an Emmy."

– '"The Shannen Doherty update: It's gotten to the point that Shannen's no longer good enough to even keep a job on UPN. On top of that, I heard she was a victim of identity theft — and they returned it."

– Seems like the theme of tihs year's (show) development was scary stuff. We have 'Supernatural.' ABC has 'Nightstalker.' NBC had its upfront."

– "I think the best part of Kirstie Alley's show 'Fat Actress' was its tltle. You knew exactly what you were getting. .. In retrospect, we should have named 'The Starlet' 'Bad Actress.' Or we could have named it after Faye Dunaway: 'Desperate Actress.' … Or name it in honor of how many people watched it: '24.' "

Well, I went to the UPN stars' party tonight at the Paramount lot, and — when I wasn't talking to "Veronica Mars" people — spotted Busy Philipps, known to some as Audrey on "Dawson's Creek" and to me as Kim from "Freaks & Geeks." I didn't remember her being involved with any UPN show — and finally found out that she has been cast in "Love, Inc." She'll be taking over the Shannen Doherty role. (See below for more about that.)

She had been close to a deal for "Love Inc." but was tied to a contract for a pilot for ABC, and it took a little time to get her out of the ABC agreement. She said she found out that she was free about two hours before the UPN party.

I'll post more about Busy later, as well as some notes from conversations with Rob Thomas of 'Veronica Mars" and Veronica herself, Kristen Bell. Sounds like an interesting season coming up…

UPN today had a press conference for "Love, Inc.," a comedy premiering this fall, and the early questions focused on someone who isn't even in the show anymore.

Shannen Doherty was supposed to be in the cast of the show about a dating service. But, after UPN picked up the show, it decided things would be much better without the former "Charmed" star in it.

UPN President Dawn Ostroff said the network decided to go in a different direction with Doherty's character, but the people doing the show didn't seem to have any direction other than straight ahead. The concept's the same. The character is basically the same. The lines are even going to be the same. The only difference will be the new actress, who hasn't been cast yet.

So why no love for Shannen? I'd have to guess that her bad reputation has made her less likable to those focus-group audiences networks screen their pilots for.

After all, if you believe the people from "Love, Inc.," she was well-liked during her brief time on the show. Executive producer Warren Littlefield said "we had a great working relationship with Shannen. … The show (episode) that she was in got us picked up."

Holly Robinson Peete, who costars on "Love, Inc.," said she and Doherty became friends: "We had a terrific relationship. … We had so much fun." When Doherty was axed, Peete said, "I was really bummed."

But Peete has been through this on shows before, noting that Johnny Depp was a replacement for another actor on "21 Jump St." "Now we've got to move on," she said.

CBS will carry four prime-time reruns of "Veronica Mars" this summer, two on July 29 and one each on Aug. 5 and 12, as part of a wide-ranging effort to get more viewers for the critically acclaimed UPN series. The drama will begin its second season on UPN on Sept. 21.

"Veronica" came up quite a bit in a press conference with UPN President Dawn Ostroff, who tried (not entirely successfully) to allay fears that the network is forcing too much tinkering in the show, but who also talked it up in a big way. Its new time slot, 9 p.m. Wednesdays, is the network's best, Ostroff said, since it follows UPN hit "America's Next Top Model."

I'm hoping people will see "Veronica" on CBS and like it. I also won't be surprised if I start getting calls around Aug. 19 from viewers who will be wondering what became of it after the four-episode run ends. UPN is still not as well-known a network as CBS, after all, and there's a good chance that many CBS viewers have never watched — or even heard of — UPN. But I'll be happy to direct them there for "Veronica."

Unless, that is, the second season is bad.

More Ostroff on "Veronica":

– "I think the most exciting thing about 'Veronica Mars' is that every year it's a new mystery. … (Producer) Rob Thomas and his incredible team of writers are going to keep, hopefully, everybody on the edge of their seat again this year. And what's just as exciting is that the whole new mystery opens up a whole new direction for the show creatively. Different characters, different parts of the show, that we haven't seen."

– (on cross promotion with lead-in "Top Model") "Our winner from last season (of "Top Model"), Naima, is going to be in the first episode of 'Veronica Mars.' … We have something scheduled for a few episodes down the road for 'Top Model,' where the winner of that week's competition will wind up having dinner with all guys from 'Veronica Mars.' "

–  '"The tone will absolutely stay the same. … I have all the confidence that this season is going to be as great as last season. … I read the (first episode) script; it's fantastic."

– (About storylines, and the death of one character) "Veronica is going to be a senior this year. She's going to start off wanting to be a normal kid, not working in her dad's investigative firm. But, clearly, that probably won't last very long. … Wallace is going to have a girlfriend. Veronica's father will be encouraged to run for sheriff again. … The character that is dead is the Lisa Rinna character." (That's from last season, by the way.)

– (on reported conflicts with Rob Thomas) "I think you should talk to Rob tonight because we're thrilled with the first episode and I know he's very excited about it, and we've had a fantastic working relationship."

One of the annual highlights of the press tour is the news conference with Leslie Moonves, who has run CBS — and later UPN as well. Moonves is funny and quick and for the most part likes the give-and-take of a duel with reporters, even a room full of them.

He's one of those guys who can stonewall you completely and still make you feel as if you have had an interesting dialogue. But he's also someone who gives you a glimpse of how TV works — or at least how a major executive's mind works.

This year, Moonves did not take the stage because of another commitment in New York City as one of the top guys at Viacom, CBS's corporate parent — a situation he regretted.

After flying back for a CBS dinner for reporters and its executives, he said, "You don't think I was feeling bad, being in New York? It was the first (press conference) I've missed in 10 years."

But Moonves now oversees far more than CBS.

"Some of the hats (he wears) are more fun than others," he told a cluster of reporters who gathered around Moonves as soon as he arrived. "CBS is still the center of it all for me — and UPN. This is the most fun. Sitting with a bunch of Wall Street guys is not as much fun, believe it or not, as sitting with you guys."

But, he said, "I've got a lot of Wall Street stuff to do. Simon & Schuster is now reporting to me, so I have to read which I hate to do."

"I'm kidding," he added quickly. Moonves later said that reporters had missed the joking aspect of a notorious comment he made about "Joan of Arcadia" (see "More 'Joan,' " below) and that he was going to spell out his jokes from now on.

Back to the serious business: "I met with Simon & Schuster, so I'm learning the publishing business.I've got Showtime. I mean, there's a lot on my plate. The good news is I've got great teammates. But CBS is still where it's at for me."

So what did he have to say about things at CBS (and UPN)?

On the network's news: "They are working on a couple of pilot-type of things. The good news about having a show on the air is that you can try things on the air, on a daily basis, that you guys won't even notice. … It's gonna evolve. The good news is, (Bob) Schieffer has added stability. He's doing a great job. The ratings have stabilized. We're still in last place but no worse than before. And I think there's a real credibility to the news. I think we've gotten our credibility back. …

"I really don't know what (the news) is going to be like. … There is progress being made. … Brian (Williams, at NBC) is doing a terrific job, but this is certainly a year of transition in news. At all three places. God willing, Peter (Jennings, at ABC) gets better and he's back in the chair, but this has been a very, very unusual year."

On Dan Rather: "He's going to be doing pieces on '60 Minutes,' and other things. He's still a fulltime CBS employee."

On the chances for science-fiction shows, including one new alien-invasion show each on ABC ("Invasion"), CBS ("Threshold") and NBC ("Surface"): "You know the batting average. If you take any three new shows, if one out of three makes it, it's above the average batting average. I'll take 'Threshold' — although 'Invasion' is very good, too. I haven't seen the other one."

On networks getting similar ideas at the same time: "There comes a time when things are out there. They're in the ether, and nobody is copying anyone else. … Everybody expected 400 'Desperate Housewives' look-alikes (in the coming season). There aren't. There are none. We did one pilot, 'The Commuters,' which was sort of a soap opera. It didn't come together, so it didn't make it on the air. We really put on our best shows, no matter what it was."

On NBC executive Jeff Zucker, with whom Moonves has traded a lot of public salvos: "I like him, I respect him. I think he's a very good executive. He's very smart. I'm better at entertainment, he's better at news." He followed that last comment with, "THAT'S A JOKE! THAT'S A JOKE! THAT'S A JOKE!"

On the Emmys, which are not always kind to CBS: "The Emmy nominations, whether we get them or not, half of them are ridiculous. … There are nominations we got that we didn't deserve, and there's a lot that we should have gotten that we didn't get. … There are some jokes every year. You circle some people in categories and say 'They got it?' and 'They didn't?' I won't say where."

He said more, and bantered and teased along the way. It was a lot of business, and a lot of fun.

Wednesday was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, there was a session with the cast and executive producer of "Two and a Half Men," an often funny CBS sitcom. (One reporter at the session suggested that it lacked critical acclaim, to the puzzlement of the many people who have written kindly about it.) And, on that same hand, the session included the cast and Lorre singing "Oshikuru," a Lorre-penned little ditty from the show, which Lorre called "phenomenally inept and mundane." Which, of course, made it all the funnier.

There was also news in the session: "Men" co-star Charlie Sheen's father Martin will be guest-starring on the show this coming season.

Martin — best known for "The West Wing" — "is a huge fan of the show," Charlie said. "He would love to come and play with us. … To Chuck's credit, they didn't do (the guest role) just to do it." Instead, they waited for the right story — and for Sheen's schedule to ease up, which "The West Wing's" move toward the end of the Bartlet administration is doing.

"It's sad that he's coming because he has a little more free time this season," said Charlie. "But we're thrilled to have him, and I think it's going to be something really special."

On the other hand, there was a lack of energy in the room throughout the day, including long pauses while critics tried to think of more questions for the makers of, say, "Threshold."

Sometimes these things happen when the shows are bad and no one particularly cares to talk about them. Sometimes there's just nothing to talk about. Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the next prime-time Emmy telecast, got major honesty points for saying — at an Emmy-themed luncheon, no less — that it's too soon to talk about telecast plans in detail.

But on Wednesday. the low-key press conferences came one after another regardless of the quality of the production being discussed.

Could be fatigue, physical and emotional. Some of us have been here for 10 days, with a long ways yet to go. But I think we also fall prey to the tricky rhythms of a press tour. PBS starts the thing, and it's not easy to get energized during it. Then comes four days of cable, which are a grinding marathon of long days, numerous sessions, topical shifts and — if you're not careful, short sleep.

If you make it through cable feeling more or less intact, then everything else feels pretty easy. CBS, which we've had for the last couple of days, has been a cakewalk — smooth-running sessions with plenty of breaks. But after keeping your energy up for cable, downshifting for a network cuts down your energy. And those breaks, as welcome as they can be, are long enough to let your body admit it's tired — just before you have to go back into high gear for the next session. So you see people struggling to get in gear.

Thursday may be a little better, since it showcases UPN. One of the most buzzed-about shows of the coming season is UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris," a comedy based on the youth of Chris Rock, and Chris Rock is expected to attend. And a lot of us will be gathering string about "Veronica Mars," a terrific show going into its second season. So I'm hoping to be alert, aware — and able to collect some goodies for this blog.

"Joan of Arcadia" may have completed its run for CBS, but some of us can't let it go. Well, me anyway. And I wasn't all that happy with the show's second season.

"Joan" came up during a press conference for "Ghost Whisperer," the series taking the "Joan" time slot this fall. Making the change weirder: "Joan" was about a girl who talked to God, and "Ghost Whisperer" is about a woman who talks to the dead. With CBS ever more in the chase for the young-adult demographic, CBS boss Leslie Moonves reportedly — and now notoriously — said, "Talking to ghosts may skew younger than talking to God."

(At a CBS press event Wednesday night, Moonves insisted that the comment was tongue-in-cheek.)

"We want to say we all love ("Joan")," said "Ghost Whisperer" executive producer Kim Moses. "We have relationships with the producers and creators and have a high regard for it, and we don't look at ourselves as replacing that. We look at ourselves as getting a slot on the fall schedule, and we're in complete different worlds."

(By the way, I'll have a column in Thursday's Beacon Journal about "Ghost Whisperer's" ties to self-described ghost-buster Mary Ann Winkowski of North Royalton.)

Earlier, at a press conference with CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler,several questions came up about "Joan." (I told you we can't let it go.)

The cancellation "was a big disappointment for all of us, me personally," said Tassler. "We lost probably 24 percent of our audience the middle of the first year. We never got them back. We went through massive marketing campaigns, promotional campaigns. We just couldn't get them back."

This was something of a surprise. For many of us "Joan" watchers, it seemed that the show went into decline in its second season, when a grimness and pessimism set in. But, with her saying the change came earlier, I asked if she knew why viewers left.

"If you could tell me where that audience went, I would love to know," Tassler said. "I don't know."

Tassler — generally cautious to a fault in her press conference — avoided attempts to get her to respond directly to the Moonves quote. Pressed on whether ghosts skew younger than God, she finally said, "Right now the (new) show appeals to all demos."

CBS held its meet-and-greet with stars of new and returning shows on Tuesday night at Los Angeles's Hammer Museum. Scattered among the stars were plenty of Buckeyes.

Looking for future stories, I chatted with Canton's Brannon Braga, the writer-producer from the "Star Trek" family, about a new series he is producing, "Threshold." And with Carter Bays, a writer-producer from Shaker Heights, whose latest series is the comedy "How I Met Your Mother."

I didn't talk only to people from Northeast Ohio — also spending some time with, among others, '"CSI" creator Anthony Zuiker and "Numb3rs" star Rob Morrow.

Of course, one of my favorite actors from back home is Melina Kanakaredes of Akron, now co-starring on "CSI: NY." She is talkative, thoroughly quotable and funny, and I have written a column about her in Thursday's Beacon Journal. Even better, she never forgets the folks back home.

The CBS event had started about 7, and Melina was on the list of people expected to attend. I went there mainly to talk to her and Braga (who is also a pretty good guy, and seems happier now that he's doing a show that doesn't have "Star Trek" in the title). But after a couple of hours, there was still no sign of Melina.

Suddenly, she appeared, working her way through the crowd to say hello to me and to Mark Dawidziak, the former Beacon Journal TV writer now at the Plain Dealer. Turns out she had been shooting "CSI: NY" that day and had gotten finished late. But a commitment is a commitment, and she came to the event — even if that meant arriving well after some performers had come and gone.

Not long after we started talking, a publicist pulled her away for a photo. More than a little time passed wthout her returning. Then the publicist reappeared, bearing the message that Melina had gotten caught in conversations with other people and had not yet been able to get back.

Believe me when I tell you that plenty of other actors would not have worried for a second about leaving a couple of reporters behind. But with Melina, that was not the case. Figuring that she would not get back our way easily, Mark and I went to her, waited while she finished a conversation and then resumed our talk with Melina.

It was a relaxed, free-wheeling conversation (ranging from "CSI" to Melina's speaking only Greek at home — not least so her daughters will know the language). She answered every question with a smile and more than one laugh.

She's been that way as long as I have been talking to her, even after I have given some of her shows unkind reviews. When people complain about snooty or standoffish actors — and I have seen some of those, too — I try to remember that there are also people like Melina.

I'm still a little new at this blog system, and am not quite sure how to reply to comments. So I'm going to do it here.

On the Al Gore posting, about trying to get a question in at a Gore press conference, a reader asked: "So what were the questions (and answers)? "

My first question (suggested by a colleague) was, "How current will Current be? For instance, can you go live with reports or events?"

Current Programming President David Neuman took that one, saying ""We will imminently have the ability to do that when merited, and it will be a judgment call."

My other question was to Gore: "When mainstream cable networks look at what they think the audience wants, we get the runaway bride and Aruba. How are you going to be sure that you're giving the audience what they need, as well as what they want?"

Gore's reply was: "We're going about it in a completely new and different way. I know that you all have probably been saturated with so-called reality TV. In our experience … a lot of reality TV quickly becomes fantasy TV with people who, from real life, are assigned to play certain roles. We think of ourselves as authenticity TV, with the difference being that the people who are watching have the opportunity to actually help make the programming. And by interacting with us on a regular basis, it's not a question of conducting focus groups or polls or advertising surveys. It's a question of being in an intelligent ongoing dialogue with our audience and learning from them as we invite them to participate."

Which, as I said in the Beacon Journal, doesn't quite answer my question. You can find more of what Gore had to say in my story, posted on www.ohio.com.

The other reader comment, about "The Closer," said in part that "I'm also glad to again see Barry Shabaka Henley and the bald actor (can't remember his name)…both from the Tom Sizemore cop show that was cancelled."

The show was "Robbery Homicide Division," and Michael Paul Chan is the other actor on "The Closer" who was also on "Robbery Homicide." But he's not the only one in the "Closer" cast who is hair-challenged. J.K. Simmons is as well; you may remember him from "Oz" or a recurring role in "Law & Order."

We come to the TV critics' press tour to ask questions and get answers. Sometimes the latter doesn't happen. In fact, on Monday, it happened more than once.

While plugging her upcoming syndicated talk show, model Tyra Banks was asked about "America's Next Top Model," her hit show for UPN.  She had already answered a question about how she was going to do both the talk show and '"Top Model" (She's doing both simultaneously, she said, because "I'm a workaholic and a control freak."). But when it came to a specific "Top Model" question, she passed — insisting instead on focusing on her talk show.

She wasn't the only one trying to stay on message. At a press conference for his new network, Current, former vice president Al Gore was asked to comment on the Karl Rove controversy. "I'd rather not," he said. "I'd rather keep the focus on Current."

Others actually want to keep some messages to themselves. Steven Bochco, executive producer of the upcoming Iraq war drama "Over There," was asked his opinion of the war. "I'm not even going to answer the question," he said. "I don't want to politicize the show in any way. … I think the moment you take a political position, you're not doing what art is supposed to do, which is to ask provocative questions. You know, the moment you take a political position, you're providing answers. And inevitably, when you provide answers … half the people say, 'Well, gee, that's the wrong answer.' "

Another producer simply considered some questions beyond his ability to answer. That's David Milch, the driving force behind "Deadwood" (and, by the way, Bochco's longtime collaborator on "NYPD Blue.").

Asked about how Emmy nominators decide, say, that "Deadwood" was more deserving in its second season than its first, Milch said, "I'm the last person to answer about this. I don't think about it much, and to the extent I do, I'm always wrong."

As I said in the previous posting, today included visits to the set of "Deadwood" and "Over There," two very different settings for TV shows.

The set for "Over There" — a drama involving soldiers fighting in modern-day Iraq — was the one used for, well, Iraq.

It's in the hills outside Los Angeles, a spartan area made more forbidding this day by temperatures in the triple digits. It wasn't much of a set, either, consisting mainly of a few semi-permanent structures that could be remade into a variety of small buildings, an open field with military vehicles and dirt roads with after-battle debris strewn along (a flipped car, rusted truck, an olive-green headset, a single boot and so on).

But it is obviously enough to serve its purpose for the show, which is quite good. The cast and producers were also on hand to talk about what goes into the show. I'll be writing more about it for the print Beacon Journal as we get closer to its premiere on July 27.

If the "Over There" set offers broad strokes for its settings, "Deadwood" is detailed portraiture. Incredible detail stretched along winding streets and narrow alleyways that seem made for murder, intrigue and general brutality.

The "Deadwood" set is on the Melody Ranch, the site of many westerns, and once owned by Gene Autry. (You can learn more about it here: Melody Ranch. ) There's room not only for the existing structures, but for more. A schoolhouse is being built for the coming season — production starts up again on Aug. 8 — as well as a new house for Alma (Molly Parker) and Ellsworth (Jim Beaver).

As would be the case later at "Over There," "Deadwood" cast members were about, mingling before the set tour and a press conference. So vivid in the show's Old West setting, they seemed out of place in their modern form — sunglasses on Powers Boothe (who plays Cy Tolliver), a shoulder tattoo and flashes of an Irish accent from Paula Malcomson (Trixie), the baseball cap on Sean Bridgers (Johnny).

The set blended the necessities of filmmaking with the minutiae of its scenes. (Those of you who prefer their movie magic without explanation should stop reading here.)

With first assistant director Kenny Roth as our guide, a small group of us got to see where Bill Hickok was shot, where Bullock and Swearengen fought — and where more fluids have been spilled by more people than any series in memory.

Walk behind some sets and you see bare boards, or a sign saying "Smoker's Haven." The interior of the Gem saloon and the exterior are in different places: the inside on a soundstage, the exterior along one of the streets. A green screen is moved across the end of the main street to carry an artificial view of a Deadwood landscape, instead of the real images in the distance.

The town also looked cleaner overall than it does onscreen. (More often, TV show sets look grubbier in real life than on the air.)

The streets were rutted and uneven, but sun-baked to dryness. When the show is in production, they are hosed down to muddiness. At the interior of the Gem, a vat of mud is kept handy so extras can walk through it before entering the saloon, creating the impression they have come from outdoors.

Then there were the little things you aren't supposed to see. At the Deadwood newspaper office, what looks like a bound volume of back issues is in fact the Boston Sunday Globe from 1929. (On a local note, the office also includes a Frost Killer stove from the Eclipse Stove Co. of Mansfield, Ohio — which later became Tappan.) A ledger in the Star & Bullock store bears a hand-written entry beginning, "Yo, bro, what's up."

But some things were less significant. At one building entrance, broken glass was scattered. One reporter asked if it was part of the sow. No, said Roth. "That would just be (that) somebody broke some glass."

It has been a good day. Also a day when I yelled at a former vice president of the United States. Which wasn't that bad, either.

The good part of the day came early, with visits to the sets of "Deadwood," the lovely HBO western, and "Over There," an effective drama about the war in Iraq, due soon on FX. I expect to do some posts on those later.

The afternoon included a press conference with Tyra Banks, who will have a syndicated talk show this fall. Attendance was modest, though not the worst I've seen, and there was some information to be had.

Then Al Gore arrived. The former veep is now chairman of Current, a cable channel aimed at young adults, which launches Aug. 1. And, since he is actually known to people who have never dreamed of being empowered by Tyra Banks, he drew a much larger crowd than Banks had.

This is where the trouble began. Reporters showed up in force to toss questions at Gore. Gore showed up to promote his cable network. Interests collided.

Dressed in bulk-disguising black, Gore appeared only briefly during the first 20 minutes of the session while others from the network, including its young personalities, talked up various elements and showed tapes.

From anyone else, a 20-minute presentation would lead to teeth-grinding. (ESPN got grumbles with a similar filibuster earlier in this press tour.) With Gore in the wings, it was like sitting through jugglers and clowns before Elvis came onstage.

No, wait. Elvis was Gore's boss.

Anyway, the press conference finally started, and the questions rolled along, although Gore would occasionally pass them over to others in his under-40 posse, and the people distributing microphones in the room were a bit slow.

I sat for more minutes than I remember with my hand up, the blood rushing out of my arm, with no mike in sight. When one finally began to get near me, the mike handler suddenly stopped and made a cutting motion across her throat. The press conference was about to end, with Gore declaring that "I believe we have exhausted the time we have available."

I had not gotten in my question. Others were still waiting for answers, too. Because of that opening presentation, I figured Gore owed us 20 minutes.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gore," I yelled. (I still didn't have a microphone. Also, I was ticked.)"We sat through your presentation. Could we have some more time for questions?"

"Sure," Gore said. "Yeah."

That got me a microphone, too, although the melodrama was not quite over. After some more talk, someone said, "We have one last question … " It wasn't mine. "Wait a minute," I said.

And Gore came to the rescue. He agreed to take a question from another reporter, then one from "the person who specially asked to extend" the press conference.

In other words, me. I knew there was a reason I voted for this guy.

Finally my turn came. I asked my question — as well as a good one that a reporter sitting next to me had lobbied me to ask. The answers weren't all that great, but they were answers.

Of course, I was also sitting there thinking that I had yelled at a guy who used to be in the top ranks of government. Then I thought that, compared to some of the sharks covering his 2000 campaign, I was a minnow.

All right, a noisy minnow.