TV Tidbits 07 - Men in Trees, CSI, House, Project Runway

I actually don't watch any of these shows but hey, I'm all about you, people. (Except you, Christina - I will never post about American Idol!!) :o) So, here goes:

• Men in Trees - ABC has gone and canceled one of TV's most consistently heartwarming hours. The sad, depressing news was just confirmed to me by series creator Jenny Bicks, who says she was informed of the network's decision late last week. "I am really proud of the work we did on MIT," she tells me. "A huge thank you to our supportive fans."
  
  Bicks believes that two years of schizophrenic scheduling ultimately did the cherished dramedy in. "I wish the show had not been moved six times and put onto two long hiatuses," she sighs. "No show could survive that."
  
  Truer words have never been spoken. As soul-crushing as this is, I managed to find a silver lining in all this: Viewers will get their happy ending. Bicks and her team prepared for Trees' possible demise by shooting an alternate series-finale ending that will now be tacked onto the show's last episode, which is slated to air this summer. Trees kicks off its final run of episodes on Wednesday, May 28. [TVGuide.com]

• House - With the May 30 premiere of the Sex and the City movie looming, fans of that storied show might want to catch House to sample an appetizer course of Jason Lewis (aka Samantha's boy toy Smith Jerrod) as this week's whipping boy…er…patient.Lewis plays Evan Greer, the star of the crank's favorite daytime serial, Prescription Passions. But House's interest soon turns professional when something about the actor's appearance on TV triggers his medical Spidey-sense. He gets no help from Greer, who denies having a problem and refuses treatment. The doc doesn't give up on him though, administering a stealth injection while Greer jaws on a cell phone. So why is House so fixated on this guy and his soap? "It's almost a release for him to see a skewed view of his world," says executive producer David Shore. "This is somebody in a weird way House cares about. He cares about [the actor's TV] character surviving." [TVGuide.com]

• CSI - Gary Dourdan on Saturday acknowledged regret over his recent arrest in Palm Springs. In his statement to People the former CSI star says, "Obviously I am embarrassed to find myself in this situation, and I am profoundly grateful to everyone for their support."
  
  Earlier Saturday, AccessHollywood.com posted a personal e-mail Dourdan purportedly sent in which he lamented the situation, insisted on his innocence and apologized to fans. Dourdan had been at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival prior to his arrest. "The after party, it ran me ragged," he explains, "but I'm glad pulling over did prevent a DUI. I recommend not driving at all, but a little [nap] is always good."
  
  Dourdan continued, "I am blessed that the [sergeant] realized that the luggage carrying whatever [drugs] they found was not mine and that my tests have been coming back negative." The actor also apologized to fans, "especially the young ones, like Taylor Swift." (Dourdan was slated to present an award to the country-music starlet at last weekend's Young Hollywood Awards.) [TVGuide.com]
  

UPDATE: Oh great. This is just what the gradually-becoming-worse PR move from Bravo to Lifetime needs - the departure of Magical Elves!!! And they are magical... if you recall, the lack of Elves was blamed for Top Design's failure and now PR thinks they can make it on their own? In Golden Girls-land? Tsk, tsk, tsk Heidi. I think you and your are in for some trubba!!

Less than a month after Lifetime announced that it nabbed future seasons of Project Runway away from Bravo, NBC/Universal announced today that it has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves, the production team responsible for the Heidi Klum-hosted fashion show. According to NBC, Cutforth and Lipsitz will walk away from Project Runway after season 5 (which will air on Bravo) and begin developing exclusively for all NBC-owned platforms. Lifetime will begin airing originals of Project Runway in season 6, under a deal it forged with Miramax Television. Magical Elves has been responsible for the award-winning Project Runway since its inception on Bravo, as well as Last Comic Standing, Treasure Hunters, Top Chef, and Step It Up and Dance. Developing.... [EW.com}