Britney's character of Abby, a receptionist obsessed with an uninterested Ted, has rebounded into the arms of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) Here is a scene:

This seems like a win-win situation for Britney and for the show which now seems certain of a fourth season. Ratings have been way up since her first appearance and she has shown that despite the very public troubles she has had in recent years, she clearly seems to be on the road back.

The show's co-creator Craig Thomas told The Reporter that Monday's episode was written to leave the door open for the pop singer to make a return appearance next season: "She was better than the first time and I think the fans will enjoy it because her return answers a larger mystery set up earlier in the series. So there's a good plot reason why she's there. And when people watch Britney's second appearance on the show they'll see that the door is still open for her to come back."

I gotta wonder if the writers of the show decided to make Rebecca not blood-related to the Walker clan after noticing the obvious on-screen chemistry between the two enormously attractive co-stars. They met in the middle of the show's first season when Rebecca was revealed to be the love child of the late family partriarch.

"We were both certainly aware that there was (chemistry)," Emily told me recently. "Because we were two people who had just met as well, just like these characters. It's not far-fetched that this might happen."

The two temporary siblngs had bonded from the start and you have to wonder if the writers changed the direction of Rebecca's storyline to allow for a romance.

"It's not incestious, we do find out she wasn't a Walker," Dave said, a bit defensively. "But just because she's not doesn't mean they're going to be romantically involved. Our show revolves around the family dealing with these bigger issues and obviously this is a big issue. Whichever way it goes, I think it's gonna be a lot of drama to be had."

I suggest to Emily that one way for Rebecca to become a Walker again is to marry Justin. She's already thought of that: "I know, I hope so! I want to be a Walker again so they better marry us, I'm telling you."

Dave's character could use a happy ending. He has been through drug problems, being seruously wounded in the Iraq War then getting hooked on prescription drugs while recovering from his leg injury. But in the season's later episodes, Justin is surfing again and showing far more flashes of his trademark humor.

"I was given some well-written stuff and I did the best I could and I hope that in the future there's more good stuff," Dave said. "But yeah, it's sort of nice to (have Justin) having some fun and hanging out and get a crush on your half sister."

The actor's character still lives at home with his mom, Nora (Sally Field): "Eventually I'd like Justin to get a job and move out of Nora's house but you know what, I get to work with Sally Field more so you can't really complain about that. It kinda of rocks, I gotta be honest. It's kind of amazing as an actor to look across at Sally every day. I wouldn't change anything, it's fantastic."

While "Enchanted" made Patrick a movie star again, just for kicks you should rent "Loverboy" and see how adorable and funny he was as a young star in the late-80s. Kate Jackson of "Charlie's Angels" played his mother! Here's the trailer:

Here is our very strange chat:

Q.Good to see you, I;'ve seen you a few times now.
A. Yes.
Q. I've seen some photos of the commitment ceremony between Scotty and Kevin. People are really touched that that's gonna happen. Since we're at the GLAAD Awards here, what are your thoughts about it?
A. Well, yes. How can we not be moved by it? It's time.
Q. And what about your character...
A. What about my character?
Q. What's happening with him?
A. Well, I think he comes out.
Q. Is he gonna come out?
A. Yes, I think he does.
Q. This is a man of a different generation. How do you feel it's been portrayed?
A. "I think it's wonderful that on network television, we have a man of a certain age who's conflicted about his sexuality, who comes from a generation that hid things like that. And we're able to watch television at 10 o'clock on Sunday night in our houses and see this guy struggle with this and hopefully come out on the right end."
Q. How is it for you as an actor? Are you enjoying it creatively?
A. I'm thrilled to be here.
Q. And how about being at the GLAAD Awards?
A. How great is that? Yeah, we're thrilled to be here.

Gee, coulda fooled me.

But there was so much more that went on that had me feeling all kinds of emotions.

In the first alone scene between Scotty (Luke Macfarlane) and Kevin's mom Nora (Sally Field), he thanks her for helping with the ceremony and she said: "I should be thanking you for making Kevin so happy - and, I get another son."

Contrasting Nora are Scotty's parents who decline to attend. He tells Kevin (Matthew Rhys): "I'm tired of banging my head against that particular wall - there's nothing I can do about it." Kevin and his brothers road trip it to Arizona in a last ditch effort to get the parents to reconsider. The mom says she loves Scotty but "don't expect us to sit there and rub our noses in this present wedding."

Scotty's dad won't dare go against his wife but as Kevin leaves, he does something that showed exactly where his heart is: he handed Kevin a box with a pair of cuff links inside. He wore them when he got married and promised Scotty he could wear them on his wedding day. It's a beautiful moment when Kevin hands Scotty the box which we learn he had made for his dad in 7th grade shop class.

Kevin had wanted a no-frills ceremony but Nora went ahead and gussied things up anyway and there were flowers EVERYWHERE. When Kevin protests, his mother tells him: "You and Scotty deserve this night to be as romantic and memorable as anyone else's." Kevin softens and hugs his mom.

Here are some scenes from the show. The ceremony is in the second clip...

The early days (Scotty was far more flamboyant then, and just as cute!)

Making up and making out in the kitchen...

Post lobster dinner kiss...

Making up...and making out in the car...

and finally...the proposal...

After his win, he cknowledged he is a contender to become No. 1: "I hope so. But I don't want to think about No. 1 yet. I know a lot of people will start talking now about me being one of the best players. Let's see. I'm taking it as it comes."

The movie is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe classic short story, The Fall of the House of Usher. Here's a synopsis: Victor Reynolds (Michael Cardelle) receives a desperate letter from his childhood friend and first love, Roderick Usher (Frank Mentier). Roderick, a notorious recluse, has not left the grounds of his hilltop mansion in many years. He is in bad health and he needs Victor's love and care to survive. However, after a series of bizarre and spooky events, Victor realizes that both his friend and the house have a dark past that no one has lived to uncover.

And if that doesn't get your attention, the photo below will!

New York Times: Ms. O'Donnell, of whom you may have heard, scores a personal triumph as the Smiths' grumpy, bossy maid. With only minimal changes in vocal and facial expressions, she projects more comic authority than anyone around her (and more, I might add, than she ever has before in her various outings on Broadway).

Newsday:: ...Most fun involves Rosie O'Donnell, as the second-banana wisecracking maid, doing a few minutes of sweetly capable tap at the end,

TheaterMania.com: Then there's O'Donnell, who has the script's drollest lines and knows precisely how to land them. For much of the time she's pushing a recalcitrant Hoover around, and it becomes a metaphor for her ability to hoover up the yuks. Plus, she taps like a demon. (Eat your heart, Barbara Walters!)

Washington Post: And then there is Rosie O'Donnell as a wisecracking maid. O'Donnell may not be much of a singer, but she's a game tapper and wins most of her laughs playing off a recalcitrant vacuum cleaner, not the easiest of tasks.

Variety: And while she could stand to loosen up a little more, Rosie O'Donnell deadpans enjoyably as the Smiths' put-upon maid Pauline, even muscling in on the dance action with a brief but capable tap solo.

But she has never hosted the Tony Awards. Until now.

Whoopi will emcee the 2008 telecast of Broadway's big night, after two years in which the award ceremony had no single host. In 2005 Hugh Jackman served as host for the third year in a row. A large group of presenters and performers served as collective hosts in 2006 and 2007. Other multiple-year hosts have included Rosie O'Donnell who did three years in a row in the 90s and Angela Lansbury.

CBS will broadcast the Tonys live from Radio City Music Hall on June 15. Nominations will be announced Tuesday.

Her role as Regina, Christina Applegate's mom on ABC's "Samantha Who?" is a riot and light years away from her most famous role as the sweet Charlene on "Women."

"When I read the pilot, I thought it was so, so funny," Jean said a few days ago. "Here's a woman who videotapes her daughter coming out of coma so she can go on 'Extreme Makeover.'"

The series has its season finale Monday night and will return in the fall for its second season. It revolves around Samantha (Applegate) who suffers from amnesia after an accident and doesn't remember that she and her mother are estranged.

"She's been given this second chance with her daughter, any parent's dream," Jean said of Regina. "She's not handling it very well. She's a little clumsy when it comes to mothering. She thinks she's doing the right thing but often, she's not at all. She refuses to do any self analysis. If anything's wrong, it's someone else's fault. It's funny to play someone who's not introspective when she's up against a daughter who is constantly picking apart every moment."

Jean is such a hoot on "Samantha" but her television resume is filled with many indelible characters. I asked about some of my favorites:

Charlene Frasier ("Designing Women") "I love that character, she took everything and everyone at face value. She saw the good in everyone. It was a great time and it was a special time in my life. I met my husband on the show and had my son on the show. And I worked with these great women."

Lana Gardner ("Frasier"), a recurring role that won Jean two Emmy Awards: "It was such a funny character. At the time, I had my nose in the air about guest spots. My agent said, 'I think you should read this. I read it and it was hilarious. It appealed to my sense of humor and I thought the show was brilliant and everyone on it was amazing. The first table read, we are all laughing so hard we could barely get through it. She was this perfectly lovely woman with an anger management problem. The audience knew Kelsey (Grammer) so well, that every time she did something crass - like putting a cigarette out in a glass of wine - they knew how Frasier was going to react."

First Lady Martha Logan ("24"): "She had the best written introduction. ... It was this woman in an expensive beaded silk suit and jewelry who dunks her head in the sink. It said everything: no impulse control. You never knew what to expect. She was volatile and had an odd sense of humor."

Martha was married to U.S. Pres. Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin) and Jean earned two Emmy nods for the role: "I never expected to go on past that fifth (season) but the characters turned out to be so popular that they felt they had to bring us back long enough for me to stab him in the neck with a fruit knife and kill him."

Elinore 'Ellie' Walker ("High Society") "I think CBS, at the time, found it a bit much. A few years later, they kind of thought, 'Oh gee, that might have worked really well. They said we are not doing (the British comedy 'Absolutely Fabulous') which I had never seen. But of course we were doing AbFab! It was great fun. I got to wear fabulous clothes, I got to lust after Mary (McDonnell's) teenaged son and be a pill popping, drunken romance novelist. I felt that if it wasn't over the top, it would be tasteless and not as funny."
Here are some funny scenes from that short-lived but fabulous show:

Can you stand the wait? I can't! Kevin and Scotty are getting hitched on Sunday night's episode of "Brothers & Sisters." I'm got my box of tissue ready and am gonna throw rice at the TV or something silly like that.

Here is a video of some moments from their romance leading up to the big day...

I've got a terrific mom who I love dearly but I have to admit, there have been some other mothers in my life - on television anyway!

So it was a great thrill last week to meet and chat with TV moms Marion Ross ("Happy Days"), Bonnie Franklin ("One Day at a Time"), Marjorie Lord ("Make Room for Daddy") and Meredith Baxter ("Family Ties") who were among those who gathered at the Television Academy in North Hollywood for a night of reminiscing and reunions with their on-screen kids.

I reminded Marion of the time I met her 3-4 years back at Jerry's Deli when I was there having breakfast with Melissa Gilbert. I thought it was so cute that Marion brought her own flowers to dress up her table.

"We bring our own syrup too," she said, laughing. "Sometimes I bring my own tablecloth."
So what is it like to go through life where everyone knows you as Mrs. Cunningham: "It's only been wonderful for me to be Mrs. C. because everyone's so good to me, they're so nice to me."

Is the cast still in touch?

"I talk to the Fonz (Henry Winkler) a lot and Ron (Howard), we were all in New York for "The Today Show," she said. "And Erin (Moran), and Donny (Most) and Anson (Williams), and my Tom (Bosley), we love to see each other."

So what about Chuck, her older son on the show who disappeared without explanation after the first season?

"You know, we had three of those Chucks, three different Chucks (laughs). It's one of the most asked questions we ever get. People say, 'How could you lose a son like that? What a careless family.'"

Meredith, who played Elyse Keaton on "Ties," couldn't lose her TV son since he was played by Michael J. Fox. She expressed surprise at being included in a night with such other legendary TV moms.

"I'm thrilled to be part of it but I keep thinking someone's gonna find out that I'm here and ask me to leave," she said. "I think (Elyse) loved her kids desperately. I think she didn't know what to do with the Alex (Fox) character. He just flouted all their (liberal) beliefs."
Marjorie was not only joined by her TV daughter, Angela Cartwright, at the event, but also by her real-life daughter, Academy Award-nominated actress Anne Archer.

"She was always an actress so I was used to seeing her perform but more on the stage," Anne said. "So it was fun when I saw her on the television series. But it was kind of normal life for me, for mom to be acting. That's what I thought most people did."
Marjorie was happy to participate in the reunion: "It brings back a lot of memories and happy times."

Bonnie was joined at the event by both her famous TV daughters: Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips. She talked about what it was like being the first divorced sitcom mom on TV and how she fought for the show to reflect that.

"It was a really good period of time in my life and an important time in my life," she said. "It allowed me to do what I want to do the rest of my life."

Barbara Billingsly, who played June Cleaver on "Leave it to Beaver," was too ill to attend the event but I spoke with her two on-screen sons Jerry Mathers (Beaver) and Tony Dow (Wally).

"She was very much like she was on the show," Jerry said. "She's just a lovely, beautiful, wonderful woman and very positive and very professional. I'm prejudiced but I think she's America's number one TV mom."