Think of the publicity opportunities for “United States of Tara."

Showtime could run a poll: Name your favorite alter (the term used for Toni Collette’s multiple personalities). Would it be T, the 16-year-old girl who dresses trashy and wants to party all night long? How about Buck, the beer-swiging trucker who isn’t afraid to get into a bar fight? There’s also Alice, a ’50s homemaker out of a Douglas Sirk film that still thinks baking a cake is the remedy for everything that ails? Or just Tara, a wife and mom who’s constantly trying to get a handle on her life that’s constantly being affected by her Disassociative Identity Disorder.

“I can’t make a decision who I like most,” Collette said. “I would be like a bad parent choosing a favorite kid. Getting into costume, hair, makeup all helps, but it’s about empathy and what I read on the page that make the characters as real as possible.”

Creator-writer Diablo Cody discussed a question as to whether Tara is doing the viewing public a disservice by going off her medication, which would help control her DID.

“I don’t want to portray Tara as irresponsible," Cody said. "I want to make clear that she had not been receiving proper medical treatment. Her medication had made her feel completely numb and she wanted one chance to reconcile. She’s living with her disorder and not muting it.”

Series, which begins Sunday at 10 p.m. and co-stars John Corbett and Rosemarie DeWitt, could

easily be the next hit for Showtime. Early reviews and buzz have been excellent.

-- Stuart Levine

Fox is getting an early start on the tubthumping for season seven of "24."

Net has a countdown clock ticking off the minutes to the debut of the "Day 7" trailer at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 25. (Click here to watch the seconds fly by for yerself at 24trailer.com). Website also alerts "24's" die-hards that the trailer will bow at the same time on the big-big screen in Times Square, and that the first promo for the new season will air Oct. 25 during Game Two of the World Series.

Hard to believe Kiefer Sutherland's been on the job as Jack Bauer for seven years now. The upcoming frame promises to find Cherry Jones in the White House and president Allison Taylor; Bauer on trial in Washington D.C. for "his actions in the pursuit of justice" (not gonna go there with the cheap DUI jokes out of respect for Kiefer Sutherland's rep among the "24" staff as being the nicest guy in the world to work with); and the return of Carlos Bernard as Jack's erstwhile colleague Tony Almeida (wasn't he dead?).

Clock begins anew for "24" on Sunday, Jan. 13 with a two-hour opener, followed by another hour on Jan. 14 in its regular Monday 9 p.m. berth. I have to confess that I'm still catching up with segs from season six, and so far I can't stop thinking about how great the underrated Powers Boothe is as veep Noah Daniels (pictured right).

I was too beat to make the green-scene at Area on Monday night for the Fox Fall Eco-Casino Party, but a  splendid time was had by all, I'm told. A little too splendid, perhaps, for Kiefer Sutherland, who got arrested for investigation of drunken driving after leaving the event and making a U-turn where he shouldn't have, according to the AP. (Who among us hasn't been tempted to take those kind of shortcuts after a long night of work-related schmoozing?)

The Fox soiree was a eco-friendly, carbon-neutral fundraiser that brought in more than $25,000 for enviro-charities the Nature Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity and Earth Share, all in keeping with the net's tubthumping this season for a "Cool Change." Event drew about 500 people to the club, which was decorated entirely with recyclable and renewable materials. Partygoers left with a baby tree ready for planting, and swag bags made out of recycled Fox billboards.

(Yes Virginia, some good did finally come of all those "Happy Hour," "Standoff" and "Justice" marketing materials.)

The show of force among Fox execs included the dynamic duo of Peter Liguori and Kevin Reilly, exec veeps Marcy Ross, Preston Beckman and Joe Earley, and a talent roster that included Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, Fred Willard, Rashida Jones (pictured above with Reilly), Emily Deschenal, Omar Epps, Thomas Dekker (pictured right with Liguori), Joely Fisher, Spike Feresten, Jennifer Morrison, Lisa Edelstein, Seth MacFarlane, Kal Penn and John Cho.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Cherry Jones has beaten Hillary Clinton to the punch.

Jones (pictured) has been cast as the next U.S. president in Fox's long-running drama "24." She'll play Allison Taylor in the seventh season of the series.

A woman president is nothing new on primetime. Geena Davis took on the role as leader of the free world a few years back in ABC's "Commander in Chief," but the show only lasted one season.

In "24" tradition, it's impossible to say when Jones' character will be "with us or against us," as real-life President Bush might say. Past presidents in "24" have shown to be traitors against the United States.

Jones has previously co-starred in "Ocean's Twelve," "The Perfect Storm" and "The West Wing."

Kiefer Sutherland will be back in action, of course, when the series begins in mid-season, and although the format will be the same, expect other changes after the show fell out of favor last season with hardcore fans and journos.

After winning the Emmy for best drama last year, the show didn't even garner a nomination last week, and it also fell precipitously on the critics' poll.

"Discussions are being made to reinvent the franchise, although it's way too early to talk about specfiics," said Fox topper Peter Liguori on the dais Sunday morning at TCA with newly appointed entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly.

Ligouri was careful not to agree with questioners that the show needed an overhaul, rather saying the franchise is a "living beast" and that the time-clock format creates tension that can be good for the creative process of the show

"I wouldn't categorize my view of the show as disappointing," he said. "Part of the high-wire act is the process of putting it together."

-- Stuart Levine