TV Gossiper!

It’s easy to miss out on all the good TV gossip when you’re getting engaged at a gas station in the rain. Here are the five most interesting bits you failed to notice last week while you were wishing more men were like Jim Halpert.

5. Fox Leaves “Do Not Disturb” Alone
The fall 2008 season has claimed its first victim. Critically lambasted comedy “Do Not Disturb” got the boot after three very poorly received episodes. Fans of lowbrow workplace high jinks may take this blow hard, but between the unfortunate casting of Jerry O’Connell and the bizarre “apologies” the producers sent out to TV critics last week, begging them to give the show a second chance, no one can really be that surprised. Reserve your skepticism for Fox’s decision to air reruns of “'Til Death” in its timeslot.

4. Dr. Ross to the ER… Dr. Ross?
The staff of County General can page him all they want, he won’t be answering their call. “ER” showrunner David Zabel had said that George Clooney might reprise his career-making role of Doug Ross in a cameo for the series’ billionth and final season, but he obviously didn’t run this by Clooney himself. The golden boy’s publicist confirms he’ll be too “busy making movies” to pay a visit to his alma mater. It’s also possible that he, like the rest of us, no longer has any idea of who is on the show or what the hell has happened since we all stopped watching in 2000. 

3. Next Top Model Won’t be a Dude
“America’s Next Top Model” got a much-needed boost in publicity this season when the reality competition cast its very first transgendered model as a contestant. Proving they’re not as progressive as they let on, or that we just aren’t ready for ambiguity on the runway, they promptly kicked her off. Isis isn’t discouraged though. In interviews this week, she divulged that she’s saving up to formally transition from a he to a she—at which point she may finally be bitchy enough to face Tyra.
 
2. On-Again, Auf-Again
The upcoming sixth season of “Project Runway” is having a hard time making it work. After a surprise jump from Bravo to Lifetime, the producers of the show are facing a lawsuit from Bravo parent company NBC-Universal. A judge granted a preliminary injunction against any episodes airing on Lifetime, so the show’s January premiere is scrapped until further proceedings can decide where the show actually belongs. Lifetime still has one thing going for it: the network just shelled out the big bucks for exclusive cable syndication of “How I Met Your Mother” reruns.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Will Save HBO
Things aren't fantastic over at HBO. All the Emmys in the world can’t comfort the crumbling empire when it sees its low ratings. But there’s hope! The newest of 11 pilots the network has in development, “The Wonderful Maladys,” has wooed actress and all around TV demigod Sarah Michelle Gellar to star. Screenwriter Charles Randolph wouldn’t divulge much about the series, other than that it focuses on three adult siblings, but says Gellar’s character has "a kind of zealous immaturity—like a drug addict with a to-do list." No word yet on if she will also have a stake and awesome pleather pants.