I’m a sucker for shows about the paranormal. Ghost Whisperer? Check. Medium? Check. Blood Ties? Check. The fact that these shows star very sexy women is purely coincidental.

But I have mixed feelings about Eli Stone — not that the show has a shortage of gorgeous females. If you wondered what happened to Natasha Henstridge after Commander in Chief was canceled, wonder no more. Henstridge plays Taylor Wethersby, Eli’s ex-fiancée and fellow attorney. Such a pretty, um, face.

The unsettling thing about Eli Stone is that Eli’s prophetic visions are attributed to a brain aneurysm. When I stop to think that an aneurysm might allow someone to see into the future, I get all caught up in the concept of time and simultaneous dimensions and before long, I begin to believe that I have an aneurysm myself. So, rather than ponder whether Eli has an illness or a gift, let’s look ahead to two acclaimed guest stars for Eli Stone, Season 2.

First up: Katie Holmes will play an attorney on the Oct. 21 episode, marking her return to television. Rumor has it that she will be in one of the show’s trademark song-and-dance numbers.

Holmes is a friend of the show's producer Greg Berlanti, who also produced Dawson’s Creek. Sure, the role is stunt casting, but I’ll be happy to see Katie on television again. I still miss Joey Potter. … continue reading

Yesterday was my third day at TCA, but it felt like I'd been here for five years already. Small example: I don't drink coffee in the mornings; I drink tea. Well, this morning, I started drinking coffee. But never mind that; you want the news, right? Here's the short version: ABC is so gay and multicultural I feel like I walked into a parallel universe after the first two days of Fox.

Wednesday started off with a press conference with ABC's President of Entertainment, Steven McPherson. He was soon asked why they chose to renew some shows and not others, and he said, "There were certain shows that, you know, we didn't bring back that performed OK. It really, to us, is based on creative upside. Did we believe in the show runners? Did we believe in the shows? What was the performance? How did we think the audience was responding?"

Of course this got me thinking: Is he talking about Cashmere Mafia?

After the press conference I asked him that very question, and here's what he had to say — it's quite revealing:

Steven McPherson: Cashmere Mafia honestly was a decision that creatively we were disappointed in the execution. It did OK ratings-wise, but it never really to me fully realized its opportunity. I think there was never quite the insight about those kind of women and their lives and what it would be. It felt like it was kind of an outsider looking in at what that might be like, and I felt like Sex and the City was really such a very real, honest look at that, in an insightful way, and I just felt like we never got there with Cashmere Mafia.

So it sounds like ABC's head honchos just didn't wind up liking Cashmere Mafia. I'm not sure where along the lines the creative decisions got made, but I do recall that the original pilot was much more interesting than the one that aired, and whoever made the decision to change it made the wrong choice. RIP, Caitlin and her pregnant first girlfriend.

Next up was the panel for Eli Stone, a series about a lawyer who discovers that he's a prophet. Oh, and it's created by openly gay executive producer Greg Berlanti, who's also behind Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money. Last season Eli Stone included one episode that aired in February 2008 about a lesbian custody battle; unfortunately I didn't see it so I don't know what happened (perhaps if you saw it you could enlighten me in the comments). … continue reading