IN THE NEWS

There's a new show in development called 'Utopia'. It’s an hourlong drama about a 16-year-old boy named Jamie who lives in a small, isolated and contented Midwestern town called Utopia. But in Utopia, "Something is Not Right". And Something needs to be done about that.



The show lies tonally between 'Buffy' and 'The O.C.', with a trace of Margaret Atwood's "A Handmaid's Tale".

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TV Land and sardonic, cat-loving alien Gordon Shumway -- better known as Alf -- have struck a deal for six more episodes of 'Alf's Hit Talk Show', which debuted as a special in July. Ratings were good enough to warrant more episodes.



Long-time 'Tonight Show' sidekick Ed McMahon will serve as Alf's co-host for the half-hour show, which debuted at 11 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 5.



Merv Griffin and Joe Mantegna were Alf's first guests. Tom Green, Bryan Cranston, Doris Roberts, and musician Leon Redbone are set to appear in future episodes.

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Jimmy Smits returned to ABC's 'NYPD Blue' for one last appearance, targeted for the November sweeps period - even though Smits' Bobby Simone died early in the show's sixth season, in the episode titled "Hearts and Souls."



Smits appeared in the 'NYPD Blue' episode titled "The Vision Thing."



According to an ABC source, the show's team initially hoped that Smits' appearance could be a surprise. However, ABC decided to promote the mystery of the Smits return in an effort to goose the rating for the Emmy-winning drama, which has struggled in its final season against NBC's 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' and 'Judging Amy' on CBS.

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Bravo is moving forward on 'Queer Eye for the Straight Girl' which won't premiere until January 2005. The Fab Five will be replaced by the Gal Pals, a quartet of lifestyle healers in place to help uncertain women as they undergo transformations in anticipation of major life-affirming events. The Gal Pals are Robbie Laughlin, Danny Teeson, Damon Pease and Honey Labrador (the first female to provide a 'Queer Eye'), whose specialties are symbolically described as The Look, The Life, The Locale, and The Lady.

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Boycie and Marlene, two of the best-loved characters from BBC hit sitcom Only Fools and Horses, are to reunite for the spin-off Green, Green Grass. The BBC confirmed that a pilot episode about the dodgy car dealer and his long-suffering wife is being filmed. If the pilot, written by Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan, is a success it will become a series.



The actors, John Challis and Sue Holderness, are the only ones from the original series taking part. The stars of Only Fools and Horses, David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, will not be involved.



Green, Green Grass will see Boycie and Marlene moving out of Peckham for a more refined life in the country, along with their son Tyler.

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UPN is adding "Cuts" to its midseason schedule.



The network has picked up the comedy pilot, a spinoff of its sitcom "One on One," with a six-episode series order.

"Cuts" revolves around Flex's barber brother and a corporation heiress managing a barbershop together.



The characters were introduced in an episode of "One on One" last season, which served as a backdoor pilot for the project.

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And saving the best for last.....



Channel 4 of the UK is searching for volunteers to take part in a documentary which will show the decomposition of their bodies when they die. The documentary, the first of its kind in the UK, will be produced in conjunction with London's Science Museum and supervised by scientists.



The experiment will need the full consent of the donor and their family.



The controversial programme, Dust to Dust, was announced as part of Channel 4's forthcoming winter season.

Channel 4 says the documentary, which will take place in a "secure and secret location", will help forensic pathologists with their work.



"This is a scientific experiment," said Kevin Lygo, Channel 4 Director of Television.



"It's an absolutely valid subject to examine death and see what happens to the body."



He added: "The scientific community admits that they are woefully uninformed about what happens to the body when somebody dies."



"There will be nothing salacious about it."



But he added: "We don't mind controversy."



BCnU!

Tele-Toby