SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Here’s a lesson for all tabloid-fodder stars: Make the first strike.

Heather Locklear stepped up on the stage in front of a roomful of critics gathered for the winter press tour in Pasadena knowing that no one really cared about her starring role in a Lifetime film based on a Nora Roberts’ bestseller.

“Give women what they want, we’ll all be happy,’’ she quipped with a grin. “On Lifetime.’’
Locklear knows that no one who has been in a grocery store line or hanging around an airport has missed the covers showing how her next-door neighbor and friend Denise Richards hooked up with Locklear’s husband Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi fame. The timing was shortly after the divorce – or perhaps a bit earlier.

Her first marriage to rocker Tommy Lee of Motley Crue also ended in divorce, but she says she still likes the bad boys of rock.

“Well, let me just tell you. I’m single. I still like rock stars and any man is good for me,’’ Locklear says in a pre-emptive strike. “Not married men.’’

When it was revealed that fellow panelist John Corbett was a country rock star, Locklear was asked if that was close enough.

“Let me tell you, Bon Jovi has crossed over to country, so at that time it was good,’’ Locklear says, obviously on a roll. “I did a Toby Keith video and that was good…just the video.’’
A reporter asked her about her memories of a movie she made in 1990, which was about midway through her marriage to Tommy Lee.

“That falls into when I cut my hair, when I was married to a rock star and I was mad at him, so I rebelled. I cut my hair and I did that movie,’’ Locklear says. “This is how I remember (that movie).’’

Fair enough.

Locklear was hustled out the back, and when she raced quickly past two reporters, she just said she was really cold and had to get to her car.

No excuses necessary.

Of course, that meant that no one could ask her about that rumor of her new romance with the rather unlikely David Spade.

The good news is that this is press tour and everyone walks through at some point. That point came a couple of hours later at the MTV Networks party.

“We’re just good friends,’’ Spade assures.

So there you have it boys. Locklear is available.

Ryan Seacrest fully expected that the “American Idol’’ tryouts this season would yield fewer delusional people.

Oh, Ry. Come on now.

“We saw William Hung. We’ve seen people who think they can sing and clearly can not, and this is the most-viewed show in America, but I have never seen so many people who actually thought they had talent try out this time,’’ Seacrest, the host of “Idol,’’ says. “There were times when I didn’t know what to say. I mean, not a word or a thought came to mind.’’

Secrest, who was at the winter press tour promoting his new reality series “Paradise City,’’ chatted with a few reporters after the session about this season of “American Idol.’’

“I just couldn’t tell these people that they had done a good job, or anything encouraging at all,’’ Secrest says. “They were just embarrassing.’’

So what did he say to them?

“I just stared and that pretty much said it all,’’ Seacrest says. “With these people, it was all best left unsaid.’’

So what’s the best part about former “A.I.’’ hopeful Jennifer Hudson’s new success in Dreamgirls?

“I love that Simon didn’t like her, and although the people voted her off, I think what the judges say has a big influence on the voting and he just didn’t like her,’’ Seacrest says. “I think I might mention how wrong he was about Jennifer a few times this season.’’
Seacrest says there’s no doubt that Hudson is a diva.

“She has attitude, the same attitude (her character in Dreamgirls) has. But that’s great attitude,’’ Seacrest says. “She’s a diva, but she’s a lovable diva.’’
And her chances for an Oscar?

“I believe she’ll have no problem getting a nomination,’’ Seacrest says. “And her (personal) story is so great, I think she’s going to walk away with the Oscar.’’

Poor Tori Spelling.

The daughter of the late Hollywood heavyweight producer Aaron Spelling had to have a yard sale to make a few bucks after mom Candy tried to rein in her pocketbook.

So with a mere $800,000 from the estate she and her new husband Dean McDermott, the two are purchasing an bed-and-breakfast in Temecula — sort of the Tracy/Lodi of Southern California and putting on a reality show about their experiences.

It’s so Jessica Simpson-Nick Lachey, and we all know how that turned out.

Anyway, the dollar amount came out of a press release that was handed out right before Tori hit the stage for a panel promoting her new spring reality series “Tori & Dean: Inn Love’’ on Oxygen. Tori says that number “isn’t even close’’ after you take out taxes and such, but it did make for a tidy down payment on the place, which apparently is still in escrow.

“My life is a reality show,’’ Tori told members of the press. “I’m out in the media every day.’’
And whose fault is that anyway, Tori? You’re having a public battle with your mom over money, playing the poor little former rich girl who had to hold a much-hyped garage sale to make a few bucks.

So how are things standing with mom at the moment?

“Well, you’d probably know as best as I do,” Tori says. “Unfortunately, I wish things were different, but they are pretty much what they are at the moment.”

We suspect she got most of her money in a trust fund and mom doesn’t want her to do something foolish — like open a bed-and-breakfast right before delivering her first child, a boy, in late March in front of a film crew.

But we might be wrong.

Who Cares About Girls?

Lisa Ling.

But what critics wanted to know was if she regretted leaving “The View’’ in 2002 to toil on documentaries like the obscure cable network Oxygen’s new series “Who Cares About Girls?”

“Not these days,’’ she quipped about her decision to leave before the Rosie O’Donnell days of sparring matches between Rosie and, well, a lot of people.

Instead, the Sacramento native has been kept busy with more serious pursuits. In the first two documentaries in this new series – which begins airing in March with a look at young girls whose mothers are behind bars and is followed by “Hidden Away: Slave Girls of India’’ in late spring.

So does it bother her that a session about such serious subjects elicits questions about “The View’’?

“I’m as much a pop culture junkie as anyone,’’ Ling says. “It’s unfortunate that a little more attention can’t be focused on these issues. I sometimes get a little annoyed when I want to talk about work I’m doing and (journalists) want to talk about `The View.’’’

First, we’ll tell you that the saucy, cheeky Fx comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’’ will be back for a third season with 15 new episodes airing this summer.

And now we’ll have a little chat about co-star Danny DeVito, who discovered the wonderful world of YouTube after he appeared on “The View’’ a few weeks ago. He joked about still being drunk after hanging out with George Clooney and imbibing a few lemoncellos.

The next thing he knew, his appearance was slapped on YouTube and he became the toast of the water cooler crowd.”

“You know, you could really see the reach of the Internet. I got congratulatory calls from all over the world,’’ DeVito says, explaining that he wasn’t drunk, just tired and jet lagged. “It’s a real great thing what we’re doing, putting our every breath out there for everyone to see.’’

Of course, that’s all yesterday’s news.

The latest “View’’ scandal is the spat between co-host Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump – with host Barbara Walters getting dragged along for the ride.

So, Danny. Rosie or Donald?

“I know both of them. They’re really very nice people actually. I think if I had to choose between Donald and Rosie, it would (depend) on what I was planning on doing with either of them in the future,’’ DeVito says. “I know there’s a lot of back-and-forth stuff going on between the two of them, so I guess it’s good publicity. But they should chill, work it out.’’

Which leads us to “Philadelphia’’ co-star and producer Charlie Day to voice what we all really want to say:

“I don’t care about either of those people, so let’s get past it.’’

Just how do you get the attention of your rock star dad Rod Stewart?

Sean Stewart, 25, has just finished filming the reality series “Sons of Hollywood’’ for A&E. The series, which airs in April, puts Sean in a house with best buddies David Weintraub and Randy Spelling, son of the late TV producer Aaron Spelling and brother of Tori.

Sean’s an aspiring musician who has had several brushes with the law, including serving a 90-day sentence about four years ago for assault. He’s also had problems with substance abuse.

He says his dad plays both sides of being a father.

“He’s your friend and when there was discipline, he gave me discipline,’’ Sean says.

So, he didn’t let you get away with everything?

“Just a little bit, maybe,’’ Sean says, adding casually, “I set the house on fire once and he said, `Don’t ever do that again.’

Um, you didn’t even get a time-out for setting the house on fire?

“Where am I going to have a time-out in? ‘’ he says matter-of-factly. “I don’t have a house.’’

Cute.

Anyway, his pal Randy got put on the spot about his relationship between his mom and sister, who have been having a very public tabloid battle after the death of Aaron Spelling.

“All I want to say about the riff is Tori makes an appearance on my show an couple of times and so does my mom,’’ Randy says. “In terms of all the family drama, I would rather not discuss it. Tori will be here tomorrow , so you can ask her.’’

Will do.

Despite hosting a CNN special titled “The Myths of Global Warming,’’ Glenn Beck of “Headline News’’ says he actually believes.

“I believe global warming is happening. I went to the Al Gore movie and my producers are like, oh dear god Glenn, if you come back from that Al Gore movie and you say he was right, you’re flushing your career on (Clear Channel) radio down the tubes,’’ Beck told critics at the winter press tour in Pasadena. “And I’m like, well, he might be right.’’

Lest you think Beck has gone soft, he still isn’t buying the idea that global warming is man-made.

“What kind of insane person doesn’t want to look at global warming and fix it?’’ Beck says. “If we can fix it, I’ll drive a Prius no matter how ugly they are. And boy are they ugly,’’ Beck says. “I’ll drive one if it really makes a difference.’’

Beck didn’t know that the next panel coming up included environmentalist Laurie David, one of the producers of Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.’’

She says she’d love to give Beck the proof he wants, and we’ll bet she can even get him a deal on that Prius hybrid car.

Country singer Trace Adkins may be hosting the “Cracker Barrel Songs of the Year’’ later this month on GAC, but he says he has no illusions about his hit song ever making that illustrious list.

Adkins, who looked as country cool as it gets in his black cowboy hat and tight-fittin’ jeans, popped up in Pasadena today to talk to critics about the special, but they were more interested in how the kicky tune “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk’’ was created.

Seems Adkins was hanging out at the famous Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville with his songwriter pals Randy Houser, Dallas Davidson and Jamey Johnson when they spied a woman with a bodacious booty on the dance floor.

“There was this girl on the dance floor with a big behind and she was knocking people around and they were laughing,” Adkins says.

One of the friends started talking about the woman’s “badonka.’’ Pretty soon, it was a badonkadonk.

“Once you added the Honky Tonk, you had a song,’’ Adkins says. “It was written very quickly.’’

“It’s never going to be a song of the year, but it was a lot of fun,’’ Adkins says.

Cue the crashing wave.

Fox just shot out a press release today saying that “The O.C.” has been canceled. The Feb. 22 season finale will be the series finale.

Which is too bad, because the series was spanking good this season. The series suffered from low ratings – what a shock after Fox put it up against powerhouse series “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI” and the NBC comedy block.

“This feels like the best time to close,” creator Josh Schwartz said in a press statement. “We have enjoyed our best season yet and what better time to go out?”

Josh e-mailed to say he’s doing “Gossip Girl” for the CW and a spy dramedy for NBC.

“Gossip Girl” is based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar about socialite teenagers engaging in sex, drugs and, of course, gossip, on New York’s Upper East Side.

“Gilmore Girls” creator and former executive producer is set to write the pilot and Lindsay Lohan is attached to the project, as they like to say in Hollywood.

As for Josh’s foray into “Alias” territory, just don’t go all Rambaldi on us, OK?

In yet another desperate attempt to get people to watch the critically acclaimed and ratings’ challenged “Friday Night Lights,” NBC’s cable sibling Bravo is offering up a marathon to get folks up to speed.

Bravo airs back-to-back episodes of the freshman drama, “Friday Night Lights” with a ten-hour marathon, Saturday, December 30, 9 AM-7 PM ET/PT.

I’ll admit that I loved the pilot and the first few episodes, yet it never quite became a must-see show during my off-hours. It’s a wonderful series, but it moves slower than a glacier on a non-warming globe.

Inspired by the book and the film “Friday Night Lights,” the series centers on the small rural town of Dillon, Texas, where the coveted state football championship rings are held in the highest regard. Dillon’s promising high school team, its star quarterback, and newly appointed head coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler, “King Kong,” “Grey’s Anatomy”) continually feel the mounting pressure of the town’s pride and honor riding on their shoulders as soon as the Panthers’ new football season kicks off.

The strong cast includes: Scott Porter (“The Bedford Diaries”) as the injured former star quarterback Jason Street; Gaius Charles (“Book of Daniel”) as feared running back Brian “Smash” Williams; Taylor Kitsch (“Kyle XY”) as running back Tim Riggins; Connie Britton (“The Brothers McMullen,” “24”) as Taylor’s supportive wife, Tami; Zach Gilford (“The Last Winter”) as new team captain and starting quarterback Matt Saracen, and Minka Kelly (“What I Like About You”) as Lyla Garrity, Panther cheerleader and Street’s girlfriend.

Also starring are: Aimee Teegarden (“Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide”) as Coach Taylor’s daughter, Julie; Adrianne Palicki (“South Beach”) as Tyra Collette, and Jesse Plemons (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Landry Clarke.

Check it out and let us know what you think of the series. Is it worth all the critical acclaim?