Issue Date: November 23, 2008
"Eli Stone" actress Natasha Henstridge sees the ABC show as "all the things we love about legal dramas with a fantasy aspect to make it unique." Of course, Henstridge, 34, who plays a legal hotshot and the title character's ex-fiancée, may be a bit biased. We asked what roles Henstridge envisions ahead and were surprised -- she'd like to play Joni Mitchell in a biopic. "Unfortunately, I don't look like her." What else? "A really silly slapstick movie. The kind Ben Stiller or Jim Carrey would make. I'm an absolute nut in my real life."
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Why was "Women's Murder Club" canceled? I liked all the women, especially Angie Harmon.
Penny Burns, Lansing, Mich.
Harmon says she has an idea of why ABC canceled it but can't discuss it. "I had such a blast making it and got some of the best reviews I've ever received," she says. Now she's home with husband Jason Sehorn and their two daughters, 5 and 3; a third baby is due soon. Harmon, 36, has rules for raising her kids. "We don't cuss. And there are things we don't let them watch. They don't know what reality shows are. I have a hard time letting them listen to regular radio. In the car, I'll put on country music or Disney songs."
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Why does CBS insist on airing "The Amazing Race" at 8 p.m. Sundays, shoving my favorite, "Cold Case," to 9 p.m.? When is "Race" going to end for good?
Karen Lantry, Windsor, Pa.
We asked CBS' top scheduler, Kelly Kahl, who says "Amazing Race" isn't going away at 8 p.m. or at all. "We get a lot of mail from people who tell us they enjoy watching it with their families." Cold Case is up against ratings topper "Desperate Housewives" on ABC. CBS thought that a harder-edged show like "Cold Case" could compete, Kahl says: "The material tends toward a more adult nature. It feels a little better at 9."
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Dominic Cooper has been hailed in Britain as "the new Mr. Darcy" because of his penchant for playing dishy lovers in period films, most recently in "The Duchess." "I can't work it out," says Cooper, 30, when asked about the Darcy label. "If it's meant as a compliment, I appreciate it. If it's meant to compare me with Colin Firth [who played Darcy in a TV version of "Pride and Prejudice" in 1995], I appreciate it even more. I'd love to have a career like his. We even became friends making 'Mamma Mia!'"
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Jimmy Kimmel hosts his fifth American Music Awards Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Our questions:
Q. What lessons have you learned from the last four times you hosted?
The No. 1 lesson is don't assume the audience cares about seeing you. They want to see the stars. Also, don't wear a blue corduroy suit.
Q. Have you considered dressing a little edgier?
We have a debate every year about whether I should try to look cool. I'll wear what I wear every night -- a suit.
Q. Which five award-show hosts immediately come to mind when I ask who you think did it best?
Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, David Letterman -- I think [Letterman] did a great job on the Oscars; I challenge anyone to go back and look at that show -- Jon Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres.
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Will broadcaster Keith Jackson ever write a book?
Bill Davenport, Indianapolis
"If my golf game gets so bad that I can't stand it, I might hunker down to some kind of memory book," Jackson, 80, tells us via e-mail. But, he says, "I'm entering my [80s] and have little interest in letting my mouth or pen overload my rump." The voice of football on ABC for 40 years has opted for a humble retirement in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and tells us, "I have not been to any kind of ballgame since I hung up the ad-libs Jan. 1 of '06."
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BIRTHDAYS
November 23: Miley Cyrus 16
November 24: Katherine Heigl 30
November 25: Christina Applegate 37; Jill Hennessy 40
November 26: Tina Turner 69
November 27: Caroline Kennedy 51
November 28: Jon Stewart 46
November 29: Don Cheadle 44
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Nancy Mills, Jon Tollestrup
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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