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Just the News:
-> After a five-week vacation, ''Ally McBeal'' returns on Monday, April 15, (Fox, 8-10 p.m.) with a little help from a Friend. In the two-hour episode, Matthew Perry guest-stars as a hotshot lawyer applying for a job at Ally's firm. ''He brings out the competitiveness in Ally, and he also forces her to question her relationship with Victor [Jon Bon Jovi],'' says executive producer Bill D'Elia. ''While Victor's not her usual type, Matthew's character reminds her of the guys she's dated in the past.'' with a sixth season at stake, ''McBeal'' producers are pulling out the all-star stops to boost ratings leading into May sweeps. In addition to Perry, ''Sleepy Hollow'' star Christina Ricci begins a multiple-episode arc as a rival lawyer; and next week, Heather Locklear and ''The Practice'' star Lara Flynn Boyle will make cameos. On April 29, ''Soul Food'''s Vanessa Williams guests.More stunt casting at Fox's ailing Ally McBeal: ABC actresses Heather Locklear (Spin City) and Lara Flynn Boyle (The Practice) will guest star on the April 22 episode.
-> The on-again, off-again Baywatch reunion movie is on again. Fox has given producer-star David Hasselhoff the green light for a two-hour telepic slated for November sweeps. It remains unclear which Baywatch castmembers will be returning for the flick.
-> When David E. Kelly hired Robert Downey Jr. for a part on
Ally McBeal, Downey was thrilled and grateful. After Downey
was canned because of his continuous drug use, the ratings
on the show went down. Kelley recently offered Downey another
chance and saw an opportunity to boost the sagging ratings
with Downey's return. What was Downey's response to the offer? ONLY if the money is enough.
-> Fox has confirmed that David Duchovny -- one of the original
stars of the long-running, Emmy-winning sci-fi series "The
X-Files" -- will appear in the series' final episode, a two-
hour special scheduled for May 19. Duchovny played alien-
chasing FBI Agent Fox Mulder for eight seasons, before phas-
ing out his participation last season. This season has largely focused on the ongoing investigation by Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and her new partner, Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick), into Mulder's disappearance. Fox said the series' final five episodes will "begin to provide highly
anticipated answers to many of the show's most-asked questions." Duchovny will direct one of the episodes, scheduled to air April 28.
Renewed for Next Season:
New Shows in the Works:
-> Meat Loaf has been cast in the Fox drama pilot John Doe..
-> Ex-Murphy Brown regular Grant Shaud will play an unlucky dad in the Fox sitcom Oliver Beene.
In Case You Haven't Heard - These Shows Have Been Axed!
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