TVSquad

This originally was going to be yet another post on how George Clooney might come back to ER one last time in the final season of the show (executive producer John Wells says he hasn't asked him yet). But we've been back and forth on that so many times that we really don't know what's going to happen. However, TV critic Terry Morrow did ask Wells if any characters on the show would be killed off in the show's last season, and Wells says that yes, at least one person on ER will die before the show ends. He didn't, however, say whether it's a current cast member or if it's someone new that will be introduced this season.

So assuming that it's a character we already know, who do you think it should be? After the jump, a poll. Should a helicopter fall on Morris? How about Neela getting shot by a patient? Maybe an explosion in the emergency room can kill everyone except Frank? Are they bringing Noah Wyle back just to kill him with a Sno-Cone machine?

Remember what a jerk Eriq LaSalle was as Dr. Peter Benton on ER? You know, a real hard-ass. Well, it turns out his dynamic performance as that character may be because he wasn't acting. At the Hallmark Channel press tour, LaSalle got ticked off when asked about ER.

He was meeting the press to answer questions about his TV movie, Relative Stranger, which will air next January. When LaSalle noticed that there were a plethora of questions about ER -- for him and co-stars Michael Michele and Michael Beach, both of whom had also been on NBC's long-running medical drama -- Eriq flared.

"Okay, I mean look, it was a defining moment, you know, for a lot of us as artists. You know, it was a show that was a little bit ahead of its time. We had a great time doing it. I don't know what else to say. I talked about the show so much. I prefer to talk about Relative Stranger."

Reports of Katherine Heigl's exit from Grey's Anatomy have been greatly exaggerated, and that comes straight from the actress's mouth. Heigl's staying on Grey's Anatomy for the foreseeable future.

In recent weeks, since choosing not to submit her name for Emmy consideration because she was critical of the material she had this past season, speculation has been that the star wants out of the show. Fueling the fire is the fact that in the past year, thanks to Knocked Up (and a lot less to 27 Dresses), Ms. Heigl's getting many, many offers to jump to the big screen full time.

Life & Style caught up with her last week at L.A.'s Hotel Cafe, where she was watching her husband Josh Kelly, performing. When asked if she would be on Grey's this season, she said, "Of course, absolutely. Those people are like my family." She described the set as a happy, joyful place where there's lots of laughter despite the serious storylines they're playing.

To some people, George Clooney's affable good nature and sincerity comes off as smug over-confidence. I fall into the former rather than the latter category.

I think George is ambitious and grateful to be working in the business. I think he remembers the years of struggling to become a star -- those years on The Facts of Life and Riptide and E/R (the Elliott Gould sitcom, not the Emmy award-winning NBC medical drama).

Failures like Leatherheads have to keep him humble. Anyway, his efforts to expand as an actor and director and producer strike me as someone who is wisely not resting on his laurels. That said, today it was reported that Clooney's production company, Smoke House, is behind a new pilot for Showtime called The Fall of Bob.

OK, so one of the scenarios below is actually true. Can you guess which one?

a.) Superbad star Jonah Hill is going to write and star in a big screen adaptation of 21 Jump Street.
b.) Nicolas Cage is going to star in a big screen version of the action series Riptide.
c.) George Clooney will star in and direct a movie version of Magnum, P.I.
d.) Ian Ziering will star in a big screen version of The Greatest American Hero.

After the jump, the answer.

Among many announcements from TNT at upfront week was the stated goal to dramatically increase original content. The network aims to eventually reach 80% original content, with plans for three original nights a week by 2010. How are they going to reach those goals? With cops. Lots and lots of cops.

We've already heard about the new Donnie Wahlberg DEA series, Morse Code. Three other cop shows are in development at the network, including Delta Blues, from executive producer George Clooney, which follows the story of a Memphis cop who does a little Elvis impersonating on the side. 24 co-creator Joel Surnow is also joining the TNT family with an as yet untitled series built around an ATF agent. Finishing off the law enforcement party is Angel City. Written by L.A. cop Will Beall and Barry Schindel, Angel City is being compared to Adam-12. Read on past the jump for the less cuff-heavy goings on over at TNT.

Time's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World is out, and for the third year in the row I just missed making the list (last year I was 103, this year I'm at 102, so I'm getting better!). The list is broken down into five different categories: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Heroes & Pioneers, Scientists & Thinkers, Artists & Entertainers, and Builders & Titans. This year, Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana herself, is #59. And the weird thing is, it's under the Scientists & Thinkers category.

OK, that's not true (she's under Artists & Entertainers), but it got me thinking that there must really be a shortage of influential people in the world today.

"George Walker Bush: Still President": President Bush recently paid a visit to Eastern Europe to try and recruit some new buddies for NATO... and his fight in Afghanistan. Brian Williams' endorsement of the "'Chess' Kiddin'!" set made up for the cheesiness of that mini-commercial. Senior Political Analyst John Oliver stopped by to share how annoyed top NATO brass feel about certain countries refusing to send troops to Iraq. Of course, the best part was Vice Marshal Jock Stirrup's name and the ridiculous list of Britain's fallen soldiers that followed. I cannot remember the last time I cracked up so badly over a Daily Show segment.

OK, we can put all of those "George Clooney is going to make a cameo appearance on ER next season!" rumors. You know, the rumors I helped fuel last week.

Clooney himself tells Extra that he is not going to make an appearance on the show. He says that not only would they not ask him to appear on the show, there would be no reason to do it.

Paul Attanasio, House executive producer, has conjured up a legal drama for Fox. The network greenlighted a one-hour pilot, Court K, which is set in Milwaukee and involves a judge, a prosecutor and a public defender. Just because it's set in Milwaukee, don't expect to see Laverne and Shirley.

Like House is not your typical medical drama, Court K will not be a typical lawyer show, not that Boston Legal is typical, but you know what I mean. Court K is reportedly a lot grittier, with sardonic, dark comic elements. We'll have to see if any of the principals are hooked on Vicodan. I wonder if it'll remind me of the movie ...And Justice For All, which was also a dark comic look at a Baltimore courthouse. But then, wasn't that Night Court, too?

It's not something that is definitely going to happen, but ER producers are trying to get as many former cast members to make appearances on the show next season, which looks like a go now and will probably be the NBC show's final season.

So...how exactly do you make a dead (really dead, not soap opera/body never found dead) character like Mark Greene come back to life? Executive producer David Zabel says that they've kicked around the idea of airing a so-called "lost episode" from 1996 featuring Edwards and Noah Wyle, who has agreed to come back to the show for several episodes next season. I guess the other choices are flashbacks, Greene's twin brother, or appearing as a ghost.

Have you seen all those feel-good commercials on CBS showing the actors returning to work after the WGA strike, the message promising us that good times -- and fresh new episodes -- would soon be on the air? Well, here comes the cold shower. The big story this morning out of L.A. is that Hollywood is shaking with fear that the actors will strike this summer if a new contract isn't hammered out before June 30.

Big names like George Clooney and Tom Hanks have been quietly urging Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg to commence negotiations now in hopes of averting another contentious battle. Even AFTRA (SAG's sister organization, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) reportedly wants to start formal talks.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Bill O'Reilly goes on Jay Leno and talks about David Letterman.
• A Q & A with David Simon, creator of The Wire.
• Do you remember Supertrain?
• The standup of Daily Show correspondent John Oliver.
• Women's Murder Club is returning.
• A George Clooney episode of The Facts of Life, in 5 minutes.
• TV writer Earl Pomerantz (Becker, Cheers, Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore, etc) now has a blog.
• Watching The Oscars on ABC tonight? Here's a complete guide.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Will the writers strike boost DVD sales?
• Could Winona Ryder be Spock's mom in the new Star Trek movie?
• George Clooney got into a heated argument with ... Fabio?!
• NBC's "Green Week" reminds someone of something CBS did years ago with Elizabeth Taylor's perfume. [via TV Guidance]
• Ex-New York Daily News critic David Bianculli has launched a new TV blog.
• Mark Cuban thinks Bill O'Reilly is a moron.
• Meanwhile, NBC chief Ben Silverman thinks ABC chief Steve McPherson is a moron.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb:

• Campbell Brown's new CNN show is going to premiere in February, not November.
• Former TV Newser editor Brian Stelter has a new TV blog at the NY Times site, TV Decoder.
• George Clooney had to go to the ER the other day.
• Jaime Weinman has some interesting trivia about Phyllis (and video from the show too).
• Cracked picks the 10 most deranged sidekicks, including Smithers from The Simpsons and Tattoo from Fantasy Island.
• Will Maya Rudolph return to Saturday Night Live when the new season starts next weekend?
• Buddy TV has an interview with Chicken from Survivor: China.