TVSquad

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily: embarrassing TV star (and TV viewer) moments.

• Brooke Shields was temporarily trapped in her trailer on the set of Lipstick Jungle.
  
• Rob Morrow, Chad Lowe, and Fisher Stevens had to be rescued by ski patrol from a mountain at Aspen.
  
• Simon Cowell claims he'll quit American Idol if Sanjaya Malakar wins... and some viewers believe he actually might.
  

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The Lowe brothers have taken on presidential politics . . . at least on primetime TV. Which one has the juicier role?

Rob Lowe gets to bed Calista Flockhart's Kitty Walker on Brothers & Sisters, as he portrays a smooth-talking, charismatic Republican senator seeking the presidency.

Meanwhile, Chad Lowe tries to assassinate a president and frame a terrorist for the deed on 24, as he portrays the deputy chief of staff who's trying to save the country from the commander in chief's perceived weak response to a string of terror attacks.

Rob's turn as an earnest Democratic speechwriter on The West Wing notwithstanding, who gets bragging rights in the Lowe family for the best political character?

(*Warning: Spoilers from this week's episode ahead*)

Will President Palmer II survive the assassination attempt? Are former President Logan's intentions noble or sinister?

As we ponder those questions, here are four more observations from 24's 11th hour to consider:

Quote of note: "He reminds me of you. You can see it in his eyes," Jack Bauer told his sister-in-law Marilyn of her son Josh, his (*ahem*) "nephew." Jack made these remarks while gingerly stroking the new widow's cheek.

Chad Lowe dished with TV Guide's Margy Rochlin about his slimy political operative character on 24, Reed Pollock, the one who last week ominously pressured President Palmer II's chief of staff to provide him with the president's itinerary so Palmer could be "removed," maybe as early as tonight.

Three things I learned from the interview:

1) Lowe doesn't know for whom Pollock is working.

2) Lowe thinks Pollock, who's widely believed to be concocting a presidential assassination plot, is "well intended, if maybe misdirected."

3) Lowe used to be on the same ice hockey team as Kiefer Sutherland.

(S06E06)*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

At times, I felt as though I'd accidentally clicked over to an old episode of The Sopranos, what with all the references to stick by "the family" and the importance of family loyalty . . . all references made mere minutes after one family member had tried to suffocate another, after members of the same family drew weapons on one another and one member demanded the execution of both his brother and father.

There was even some good, old fashioned, familial taunting. Insults were hurled like calling one brother "simple minded" and later harassing him for his failure to adequately protect his wife from a terrorist.

When you think of the FOX network what's the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps the fact that its been on the air for over 20 years now, or maybe that it's the home to The Simpsons. Yes, those things are certainly true. Yet, when I ponder about FOX the first thing that comes to mind is . . . Good Lord, they certainly know how to pimp their most popular shows!

Case in point is that small action-adventure program named 24. We already got two full nights of double episodes last week to kick off the season. Yet, the network isn't done shoving it down our throats giving fans more Jack. So, they have scheduled another two-hour event for Monday, February 12th. This, of course, is conveniently placed smack-dab in the middle of sweeps. The event will cover the hours between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and co-stars Chad Lowe and Powers Boothe.

By the way, just because the network pimps its most popular shows to death doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing. The two-day, four-hour launch of 24 that premiered last week exceeded the fifth season premiere by 14 percent for all viewers.

Look, I know that his years on NYPD Blue redeemed him from a crash course with the child star curse of reality shows and cultural irrelevance, but he'll always be Ricky Schroeder to me. Ricky Schroeder - Silver Spoons star, friend to "Tap Dance Kid" Alfonso Riberio and owner of the racing car bed. Fortunately for Ricky, he overcame the 80s with the aforementioned three seasons on NYPD Blue, a comedic turn as Nurse Paul Flowers on Scrubs and his latest outing as Dr. Dylan West on Lifetime's Strong Medicine.

Ricky has made another great career move - further distancing himself from that plucky young lad in The Champ. He'll be joining the cast of 24 as CTU operative Mike Doyle. Expect to see Schroder team up with Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer in executing "key field ops." 24 is really pulling out all the stops with its latest casting decisions. Schroder is just one of a list of fancy new cast members including Chad Lowe, Regina King, Powers Boothe, Peter MacNicol, James Cromwell, Kal Penn and David Hunt. That's right - Deadwood's Cy Tolliver meets Babe's Father Hoggett meets The Boondocks' Huey Freeman meets Kumar. Who doesn't want to see that?

Chad Lowe is the latest newcomer to sign on to season six of mega-hit 24. He'll play "savvy politico" Reed Pollock... and that's all FOX is saying about his character. It's great to see Lowe back on television. That really is the medium where he shines. Not only was his role as 'Jesse' on Life Goes On a classic, he also played one of the freakiest criminals ever on Law & Order: SVU.

Other notable actors joining the cast this season include Peter MacNicol, Regina King, and James Cromwell. Steamy Eric Balfour will also return this season. FOX is going to post a first look at season six online later this month, we'll let you know when that happens.

Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank spoke in very general terms during an interview with Vanity Fair magazine about her soon-to-be ex-husband, Chad Lowe. She actually dropped a bombshell: saying he struggles with addiction. She doesn't mention what he's addicted to (drugs? alcohol? sex? video games?), but says that his "substance addiction" played a minor role in their break-up. She says, "When I found out, it was such a shock because I never thought he'd keep something from me. And yet, on another level, it was a confirmation of something I was feeling that was keeping us from being completely solid." Sad. Lowe, who works primarily in television, did not give any comment.

Back in January, the lovely and talented Anna Johns reported that Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank and husband Chad Lowe had agreed to separate, but were willing to get through the tough time and come out a stronger couple. Apparently this didn't happen exactly as planned.

According to a spokeswoman for Swank, she and Lowe have decided to initiate divorce proceedings after eight years of wedded bliss. A lawyer for the couple said Swank and Lowe have made a joint decision to divorce and that they still remain friends and have the utmost respect for each other.

Ms. Swank, who has won Oscars for performances in the movies Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby was a regular on Beverly Hills, 90210 back in the late 1990's. Mr. Lowe, brother of actor Rob Lowe, played the AIDS-infected Jesse McKenna on ABC's Life Goes On back in the mid 1980's and has had appeared in many other TV series since, including ER, Without a Trace and Law & Order: SVU.

Another Hollywood split-up. This time it's Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe. The two have been married for eight years, but it's not final. While they're splitting up, they aren't getting divorced. The official statement says, "Hilary and Chad have decided to separate, but they are hopeful they'll be able to get through this tough time." The two reportedly split sometime last year.

While we all know Hilary from her Oscar wins for Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby, Chad has been an actor in tv land for a long time. Who can forget him as Jesse on Life Goes On? And, more recently, his turn as John Denver in the made-for-tv movie in 2000. Let's hope these kids work things out.