TVSquad

Yes, your grandfather's network just got considerably cooler. Unfortunately, whether or not this is going to put Jackson on our small screens with any regularity remains to be seen. The deal isn't to join a specific series. Rather, Jackson has signed a first-look deal that will have him develop and produce projects for the studio over the next two years.

We'll have to wait to see what, if anything, comes of the new partnership, but there is an encouraging bit in the announcement. Jackson says he's open to the idea of limited appearances on something he produces, referencing Salma Hayek's run on Ugly Betty. I'm of the mind that the more Samuel L. Jackson on the TV the better, but I'll take what we can get. His only previous credit producing television is Spike's Afro Samurai, which is set to return this fall.

Salma Hayek, who produces ABC's Ugly Betty, says that fans shouldn't expect her to reprise her roles of Sofia and the nurse in the telenovela the Suarez family watch.

Hayek appeared in six episodes of the show's first season as Sofia Reyes and in one episode as the nurse, an uncredited role. Sofia was a newcomer to the Mode scene and was in charge of a new magazine. The character ended up being romantically tied to Daniel Meade but things didn't end happily for him after he learned some of Sofia's secrets.

For the third year in a row, FHM has named Lost's Evangeline Lilly one of its 100 Sexiest Women. Apparently, Lilly is much sexier than she was in 2006. The actress was #73 last year, and has moved up to #35. I'm sure that she's flattered to have cracked the Top 50. The magazine failed to recognize the sexiness of Lilly's co-stars Elizabeth Mitchell, Yunjin Kim, Emilie de Ravin, and Kiele Sanchez.

Other ABC stars to make the list include Kelly Ripa (Live With Regis and Kelly), Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Salma Hayek (executive producer/guest star, Ugly Betty), Katherine Heigl, and Kate Walsh (Grey's Anatomy). Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives took Evangeline Lilly's old spot, #73. She was #10 last year. I guess sexiness is fleeting. The highest-ranked TV star is Ghost Whisperer's Jennifer Love Hewitt at #14.

Lilly is set to star alongside John Malkovich in Afterwards; it will be her feature film debut. Afterwards begins filming this summer, and will be released in 2008.

(S01E20) Betty is back and in fine form. The writers have officially ditched all the weak links - Constance, Nico, the warm-hearted version of Wilhelmina. The bitches are out in full force, and the camp is in overdrive. And, oh my god, I think we have a new word in the pop culture vernacular - "faux-mo!" This week was great, but we're clearly just setting up for next week's Medieval meltdown. Who doesn't want to see a bunch of fashionistas plopped down at a RenFaire to dissect the tragedy? But, that's next week, let us focus our attention on Betty as Carrie, hairapy and little orphan tranny.

(S01E19) This episode we found Daniel Meade reverting back to his old womanizing, irresponsible ways, but did he really ever change? Last thing I remember, he was bedding [fill-in-the-blank-random-model]. Oh, but this time he bedded the wrong random model, didn't he? Eh, I guess that counts as personal change.

While Daniel worked on spreading his genes, Betty, as usual, worked on keeping Mode together and chasing down her boss. Is it just me or is Betty's true secret love really Daniel? She's constantly stalking him, keeping tabs on who he's sleeping with (or not), and treats him like he can't pee without her holding his goods.

(S01E17) Here's the formula for a great Ugly Betty episode - let Wilhelmina be bitchy, let Marc and Amanda be campy and send one of the Manhattanites to Queens to have a fish-out-of-water bonding experience with Betty. Throw in a little geek chemistry, and you've got yourself one shiny Betty episode.

(S01E15) This show wows me on so many levels - the humor, the subversion, the eye candy, the emotional pay-offs, but damn, the writing - on a structural level - is so freaking good. This may have been the best episode of Ugly Betty yet. They took what is a soap opera mainstay and typically written off as a joke - a man becoming a woman - and turned it into something real. Honestly, it was just plain artful how the writers thematically connected Justin's story of playground bullying and his father's concern about his sexuality to Alexis' story of her own father's disapproval and eventual sex change. In the Suarez home, being accepted for who you are and seeing beauty in the people around you wins the day. In the Meade home, your father would rather see you dead than happy. That wasn't the only structural parallel at work in this episode either - Betty and Daniel were, as always, playing out the same stories in different universes. Betty forced Daniel's hand in confronting Alexis, but Daniel didn't let Betty out of confronting Walter. "It's a lot harder avoiding people than facing them."

As part of February sweeps, last year's American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee is going to guest-star on Ugly Betty. McPhee will be playing herself, a celebrity guest at Mode's Fashion Week runway show, in an episode entitled "I'm Coming Out". No word yet on whether or not this hour will be Justin-centric... Oh, c'mon, don't tell me I was the only one that read the title and immediately thought of him.

McPhee's appearance will air February 1 (8:00 PM EST). Hmm... Sounds like ABC wants a little bit of FOX's American Idol glow. Also, McPhee is probably doing this to promote her self-titled debut album, which drops later this month.

(S01E12) And, so, Salma Hayek's arc comes to an end. We'll miss you, Salma. We'll miss you and your ripe, luscious... acting ability. Sofia broke Daniel's heart, and he's gone off the sadness end. Ted broke Wilhelmina's heart, and she's gone off the bitchy end. It's not going to be pretty at Mode, and will Betty even be back? She quit MYW, but doesn't Amanda have her old job at Mode? With Daniel gone, who is going to take Betty back? All this heartbreak, and I'm worried about Betty's paycheck. Just goes to show you where my sympathies lie.

Timed to coincide with the debut of the Be Ugly '07 marketing campaign, ABC Family is airing an all-day Ugly Betty marathon on New Year's Eve. Ironically, this announcement was made to the press by Betty's less-than-ugly producer Salma Hayek and her friends - Salma Hayek's left breast and Salma Hayek's right breast.

If you've been watching The Office on Thursday nights, this is the perfect opportunity to catch up on the adventures of the Suarez clan. The show, one of the few break-out hits of 2006, is a joyful concoction - part telenovela, part comedy. With its strong female performances and pop aesthetic, it's Almodovar for the boob tube. Between this and the Arrested Development, Reno 911, Christmas Story and Twilight Zone marathons, you may not have to talk to your own family once this holiday season.

It's official and, perhaps, a bit ironic. The show with the hottest cast on television is Ugly Betty. Gentlemen, there will be no need to despair when Salma Hayek's character arc has come and gone. Rebecca Romijn will be holding the va-va-va-voom quotient steady at the Mode offices.

Romijn has been cast to play the "mystery woman" that Wilhelmina has been conspiring with to take over the magazine. We have no reason to think that this "mystery woman" is anyone other than Mode's back-from-the-dead editor Fey, but it's a soap opera. If the show's own press releases insist on referring to her only as the "mystery woman," than we'll humor them. We've already seen the character Romijn will be playing on the show, but she's been covered in surgical gauze and shot in silhouette. A different actress has been providing the character's voice. My assumption has always been that Wilhelmina's conspirator was much older than Romijn, which just goes to show the wonders of reconstructive surgery.

Salma Hayek, apparently hoping to duplicate the success of Ugly Betty, which she produced with partner Jose Tamez, is developing another telenovela, an untitled medical drama based at an Ivy League university. Joe Sachs, a writer and producer on ER, is also executive producing the show along with Hayek and Tamez.

Given the television industries knack for jumping on any bandwagon once it's proved there's an audience for it, one wonders what will happen if this new drama becomes as successful as Ugly Betty. It could be we're not too far away from a slew of shows all adapted from telenovelas and other foreign series. I saw a show on Univision the other day where a man dressed as a pink gorilla was chased by another man dressed as a baby. I think that would translate well to an American audience.

Not every woman can look like Salma Hayek, but every woman can smell like her. Just in time for the holidays, InsideBayArea.com has released a list of the fragrances favored by television's leading ladies. Not everyone understands the appeal of expensive perfume, and nobody wants to be around someone doused in it. Perfume is an indulgence when you're penny pinching, but I've got to admit that it's one of my own weaknesses.

As you might expect, the perfumes on the list are ridiculously pricey, but at least, no one is wearing Britney's Curious for Women. I personally can't afford any of these scents - even in the 1 oz. bottle - but I can certainly "test" them at Sephora. Here are some list highlights: The Gilmore Girls' Lauren Graham wears Fracas by Robert Piguet; Men in Trees' Anne Heche wears Amaze by IsaDora; Ugly Betty's Salma Hayek wears Narciso Rodriguez's For Her; Big Day's Marla Sokoloff wears Trish McEvoy's #9; and Brothers & Sisters' Calista Flockhart wears be by becker.eshaya.

(S01E10) I don't have a whole lot of fancy observations to make here, folks. That was just some freaking good television. Those last couple of scenes were heartbreakers, and on a purely formal level, the writing was flawless.

Let's look at the penultimate scene at the Christmas party. I haven't seen a voice-over used that well since the Buffy "Passion" episode when evil Angel provided the soundtrack to Willow collapsing in grief at the news of Jenny Calendar's death. Entirely different circumstances here obviously, but could there have been a more perfect, tie-it-up-with-a-bow backdrop to Betty and Henry's wordless exchange than Daniel's phone call to Sofia? Then, boom, we see poor Betty's heart squashed right under that lingerie model's stiletto.

(S01E09) Tonight, we got a "very special episode" of Ugly Betty. Heavy on the holiday sentiment, the hour kicked off with Daniel's question to Betty, "What is a family?" One day in Queens later, and he just may have figured it out. Fortunately, Marc's last minute blackmailing of Wilhelmina and Ignacio's arrest kept things from getting too sticky sweet.

I know a few writers who think creating parallels between characters or storylines is a cheap, sorta lazy tactic, but I love it. Juxtaposing characters and letting them play out similar themes in separate storylines is always satisfying to me. The show has contrasted Wilhelmina and Betty effectively in the past, but the series' real core involves the parallel arcs of Daniel and Betty. They're both young, in new positions at Mode, have trying family situations and are romantically-challenged. They have the greatest potential to learn from one another - Daniel about family and Betty about her capacity as an independent, professional woman.