NEWS OF THE TOOB

A consortium of high-profile European producers involved in the CBS miniseries 'Jesus' five years ago put out feelers to the network regarding a pope project (The Robins Report, April 18). The project has been well-received at CBS and is a likely go.

Insiders caution that nothing has been signed yet, but there’s already talk about casting. (The European producers have already reached out to Liam Neeson and Paul Newman, but nobody has been signed yet to play the pontiff.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The producer of "Sahara" is turning 'The Equalizer', which starred Edward Woodward on CBS in the mid-80s, into a big screen adventure. The big fear online is that they will cast somebody too young for the role.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" director George Lucas drops in on "The O.C." May 12th, a week before the movie opens.

Lucas will guest star as himself on the episode, in which Summer makes Zach and Seth decide which one of them gets to take her to Harbor High's prom. But when Lucas expresses interest in Seth's graphic novel, Seth is forced to choose between taking Summer to the prom and dinner with Lucas.

In a way, this will put George Lucas in the same class as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Arthur Conan Doyle - existing as a character in Toobworld alongside the characters he created, since the world of "Star Wars" is already a part of the TV Universe.

And it will become even more ingrained into the fabric of that universe as Lucas plans two TV series in the coming years. One will be animated and in 3D, probably continuing the Clone Wars theme. And the other will be live action, similar in concept to 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'.
~~~~~~~
Tamzin Outhwaite is set to take a sexy leading role in a new BBC drama. The former 'EastEnders' star will play the manager of the five-star London hotel called 'Hotel Babylon'. It will be an eight part series due out next year. That will add another prime piece of real estate to TV Land!
~~~~~~~~~
Crossover alert!According to "Ask Ausiello" in TV Guide's online site, "ADA Novak ('Special Victims Unit') gets assaulted in the line of duty on May 3. The drama will then spill over onto 'Trial By Jury' on May 6.
~~~~~~~~
The planned follow-up to Inspector Morse may not go ahead, according to The Mirror.

Kevin Whately, who played Morse's sidekick Lewis, has revealed that the series has been discussed over the past year, but he remains undecided about whether to appear.

"There is no commitment on my part yet, but if this drama happened, it would have to be very different from Morse," Whately told the newspaper.

"My problem is that it would have to be good enough to succeed in its own right. If the script isn't good enough - and in this case different enough from what has gone before then forget it, don't do it."

He added, "It wouldn't be called After Morse - definitely not."

If it's about life after Inspector Morse's death, we can consider it a sequel and belonging on Earth Prime Time. If they recast Morse, then it will be shunted off to Earth Prime Time-Delay.
~~~~~~~~~
More sequel news.....BBC comedy 'Blackadder' will return for its fifth series next year.

Seventeen years after 'Blackadder Goes Forth', Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson will reprise their roles as Blackadder and Baldrick. Writer Richard Curtis told the Daily Express of the show's return: "We'd always said we'd do it, and yes we definitely still want to."

I've always wanted to see a modern-day descendant of Edward Blackadder show up in some American sitcom, just as a guest star. Maybe some day.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally......Will Ferrell will be making another TV-based theatrical film, this time derived from the Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning adventure show 'The Land Of The Lost'. He'll play the ranger role, but in this "Cineversal" version, there'll be no kids.

(To me, that's a big mistake. They could increase their audience if they gave kids somebody to identify with.)

At any rate, it won't have any effect on 'The Land Of The Lost' in Toobworld (where we believe the Sleestaks are related to the Gorn of 'Star Trek').

BCnU!
Tele-Toby