Television

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The writers strike ended last February, but its effects linger on. On Wednesday, ABC's first day at the Television Critics Association press tour, the network spotlighted the only two new shows it has to offer viewers this fall – Life on Mars, a remake of a British series, and Opportunity Knocks, a reality game show.

That's not exactly a jampacked schedule for what is, after all, supposed to be the new TV season. But Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, tried to put the best spin on the situation during his Q&A session:

"The strike changed everything in terms of the way development went. ...We're in the middle of pilot season now. January and March are the new launch zones for shows this year."

So spring is the new fall in TV land. What does that make fall? For ABC, it has become the season of making old shows new again. The name of the game this September and October won't be launching shows, it'll be relaunching, whether a relative newcomer such as Dirty Sexy Money coming back with a new star (Lucy Liu) or an old-timer such as Desperate Housewives returning with some fired-up plot points (that must not be revealed).

"We are prioritizing returning shows this fall, that's where we're at," Mr. McPherson said.

Eli Stone: Katie Holmes will appear in an episode of Eli Stone airing Oct. 21, after executive producer Greg Berlanti, who worked with Mrs. Tom Cruise on Dawson's Creek, "begged her." He said she will, in the spirit of the show's surreal approach to storytelling, both sing and dance, though he did not mention whether viewers can expect a little seltzer down her pants.

In another minor flurry of super-celeb name-dropping, Eli Stone star Jonny Lee Miller was asked if he would consider phoning his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, and inviting her on the show. "You'll have to call her," he responded. "I'm afraid."

Life on Mars: Michael Imperioli, with his shaggy hair and week's worth of stubble, looked more like Serpico than Christopher, the Sopranos character that made him famous. But that's all part of joining the cast of Life on Mars, a show about a present-day cop who finds himself whisked back to the world of 1973 New York.

It's not too much of a stretch for the former Sopranos mobster. "Most of the stuff I've been doing is as a cop or robber. If that's what pays the bills, so be it."

Mr. Imperioli also offered the funniest line of the day. When asked what memories he had of 1973, he said: "I was 7. Yeah, I remember it all. The sex was easy."

Variety shows: While talking about the possible renaissance of the old variety-show format, Mr. McPherson mentioned that ABC was all set to do a Christmas variety show hosted by Will Ferrell.

"But then he [Mr. Ferrell] realized how much more money he could make doing feature films, so he did that instead," Mr. McPherson lamented. Oh, what might have been.