Well, I have my own casting ideas.  For the role of Liz Stoddard, it must go to an actress of world renown whose very name will guarantee the project receiving publicity.  My choice is (drumroll please)- JANE FONDA!!!

She is a mature actress of world renown, a two-time Oscar winner and she has a DS connection: she was a classmate of Lara Parker's at Vassar!

For Professor Stokes- a casting choice that will also make headlines- JAMES EARL JONES!!!!

It's about time the world of DS got integrated in a big way, and who better than ol' Darth Vader himself?  Think of it- for the 1790s, instead of Ben Stokes being a white indentured servant, why not go all the way and have him be a black runaway slave who is helped by Barnabas and Jeremiah in his pursuit of freedom?  It would be a sharp difference from the sophisticated descendant with a taste for both knowledge and the finer things in life.

There's one thing that we don't know: will Josette be a dead ringer for Maggie like in the original series, or Vicki in the primetime version?

For Carolyn it's Lindsay Lohan in a slam dunk- I mean, she IS Carolyn in real life!

As Vicki: I'd like either Anne Hathaway or Natalie Portman.

For Maggie: Kirsten Dunst or Cameron Diaz, with Ryan Gosling as Joe Haskell/Nathan Forbes.

It would be soooo delicious to see Kelsey Grammer as Roger Collins- he's the only actor who could deliver those smarmy lines in the style of Louis Edmonds!  Just imagine seeing Jane Fonda putting him in his place!

How about Shirley MacLaine as Mrs. Johnson/Abigail?

Since Tim Burton is directing, it's clear that Helena Bonham-Carter will probably play Julia, but I'm OK with it.  If she won't do it, get JODIE FOSTER!!

And how about Mark Wahlberg as Willie- imagine the way he'll say "Come on Maggie, you know you like it!"  Dirk Diggler in Collinsport!

Well, I saw Kathryn today at the show, and she looks great!  She's writing another novel, a sequel to Murder in Prime Time. 

In another matter, I met Malcolm McDowell there, and he signed photos for me.  BTW, he will be back on Heroes this fall as the evil Linderman (and not as a twin- I asked!)  So there's a big Heroes scoop!

Wow! Grayson looks just like Deborah Kerr in that classical getup!  Imagine if she and Jonathan had done something like "Medea" together.

Certainly- I'm now back at work, and my physical therapy continues.  The hard part will be going on a diet to lose pounds as not to aggravate my back any further. Other than some residual aches & pains, I'm doing much better now.

It's interesting that in retrospect so many of those cancelled shows from that time period have such strong followings today- even StarTrek falls in that category as it had a huge teen following, but like DS the network wanted adult viewers for ad revenues.  I know that there are a lot of people who'd rather buy DVDs of Green Acres over All In The Family anyday!

WHO?

Tonight, Entertainment Tonight did a piece on the new version of Password being hosted by Regis Philbin, and they showed clips from the classic 1960s CBS version.  It was then I remembered two things.  First, this was the program that replaced DS on the ABC schedule, and second (this is the delicious part), only a few tapes from the ABC years were saved as opposed to DS itself!  The reuns on GSN are mostly from the CBS years or the later 1980s incarnations of Password.  So in a way DS has managed to survive past the 1971-75 version of Passowrd!  Maybe the fans in 1971 who picketed ABC put a hex on the game show.....

One more irony- guess who was on the last ABC Password?  None other than Kate Jackson!!!

We should be thankful for Mr. George for taking over the role of Burke after Mitch Ryan's drinking got the better of him. (The good news is that Mr. Ryan licked his alcoholism in the 70s, and has had a stellar career since)  True, his characterization of Burke may not have been as intense as Ryan's but he did a credible job and created the role of Jeremiah Collins on his own.  I don't care who he slept with, I only cared that he gave a good performance!