It seemed like a good idea to Denis Leary at the time.

At Tuesday's Television Critics Assn. press sesh, the "Rescue Me" star and co-creator/executive producer was extolling the virtues of Michael J. Fox, who along with Maura Tierney ("ER") heads the guest cast list for the series' upcoming fifth season, starting in April. Fox will play the paraplegic new boyfriend of Janet (Andrea Roth), the ex-wife of Leary's Tommy Gavin.

But then Leary realized that the four-time Emmy-winning "Family Ties" and "Spin City" star is going to give him nightmares, offscreen as well as on.

"You know what's gonna happen," Leary said. "He's really great.  It's a dramatic role, with comedic elements. He brought extra stuff to it. His first day on the set was two very heavy, psychotically-driven scenes in a bar. (The character's) got a drinking problem.  So the crew, who had not worked with Michael for the most part, were kind of thrown off. They thought Michael was really like this – that's how good he was.

"And it dawned on me how great he was, in terms of being devoted to this character coming in ... and I was across from him, so I had three things going on. One was my concern for him as a friend, like 'I hope he feels all right.' Then, he was bringing so much to the plate, I was, "I've really got to step it up here.' And third was 'I know what's going to happen.'  I never won an Emmy - he's gonna win an Emmy. Five episodes, he comes in ... he's gonna walk away with the Emmy. That son of a bitch."

– Jon Weisman

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

One thing's for sure: In the finale of FX's "The Shield," you won't see Vic Mackey eating onion rings as the screen goes dark. There will be no "What happened?" moment.

At the TCA panel for the seminal cop show that begins its final season on Sept. 2, showrunner Shawn Ryan said he knows expectations will be high when the series end its run.

"I've paid a lot of attention to finales of the shows that I've admired," he said. "There are shows that I thought were fantastic that had what I thought were weak finales and shows that had really great finales. We want to fall into the latter category."

CCH Pounder, who plays Claudette Wyms, had no doubt how this one would be perceived.

"I think it's the greatest finale ever, hands down," she stated, boldly. "It blew my socks off. This finale is what Vic Mackey deserves."

There are several ways to interpret that, of course, and nobody was willing to give any examples.

Added David Marciano: "I can't concur with my co-star. You know, with 'The Sopranos,' there were mixed reviews about the finale. But I will tell you with this finale, there will be no mixed reviews. You will get your money's worth. Money back guarantee."

Michael Chiklis, who appeared via satellite from Boston, was quick to let the viewers decide for themselves.

"It's in the eye of the beholder," he warned. "You guys haven't seen it yet and I don't want to blow it. Shawn did a tremendous job writing the finale. Whether or not you guys see it that way, that's entirely in your hands. ... What thrills me about the finale is you will not see this coming. You will not know what we do. Then when you look back, you'll go, 'Holy cow, that's exactly right.'"

The episode was directed by Clark Johnson, who also directed the pilot. Johnson has had a terrific year, as co-starred in David Simon's "The Wire" and also directed the finale of that series as well.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

"Deadwood" will never die. Well, at least as long as there are critics to talk about it.

Three years from now at press tour, if there is a press tour, there will be a question about the "Deadwood" telepics that never happened.

It occurred last week at the HBO panel and Tuesday at the "Damages" session as well, where Timothy Olyphant will have a recurring role on the FX drama. The Old West is long gone, but "Deadwood," it seems, is still very much a hot topic.

Said Olyphant, who played Sheriff Seth Bullock, on the chances that the movies were ever going to take place following the demise of the series: "I thought there was a really strong chance it would never happen. It was never clear, but nothing is very clear on that."

Before a scene on "Deadwood," David Milch, who is currently working on the HBO series "Last of the Ninth," about New York cops in the 1970s, would often talk to his actors in great detail about the psychological mindset of their characters, where they were coming from and why they might be speaking a specific line of dialogue.

The conversations were often very Milch-ian: Dense, brilliant and baffling … all at once.

To that effect, when asked the difference between working on "Damages" and "Deadwood," Olyphant said, "When those guys talk ("Damages" exec producers Glenn A. Kessler, Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman), I understand what they're saying."

Olyphant went on to say after the panel that he considers his time on "Deadwood" "quite a blessing" and he's not quite sure how the Western changed his career. Since the show wrapped, he's had parts in indies like "Bill" and big studio pics, such as "Hitman" and "Live Free or Die Hard."

When mentioned about the playful banter on the first-season DVD of "Deadwood," Olyphant added that he and Ian McShane, who played Al Swearengen, remain close friends and speak regularly. He also indicated that if Milch called him up for another project, he'd "absolutely work with him again."

Nothing says TCA like stars in awkward situations. (See pic at left of "House" star Hugh Laurie in a bumper car at Fox's TCA party on the Santa Monica pier last summer.)

Yep, the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour is upon us, starting Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton hotel. The January TCA gathering was scuttled by the writers strike, so undoubtedly there will be pent-up excitement (agitation? irritation? ultra-obnoxious lines of questioning?) than usual among the scribes, execs and stars who make TCA go 'round.

As we did last year, On the Air will offer team coverage of this fortnight of frothing about shows to come and the strike-interrupted season that just was, and any other issues that crop up between Tuesday and July 22. Variety's Stuart Levine plans to park himself at the BevHilton for the duration, while our TV leader, Michael Schneider, reporter Daniel Frankel and myself will also be availing ourselves of the hotel's free Wi-Fi to cover the events...and drink. I'm guessing it's a safe bet that the tradition of TCA bingo (in which attendees track the over-use of buzz words by panelists) will include the phrase "writers strike" this year.

It all starts Tuesday with a heavy rotation of cable presentations, including Hallmark Channel, HD Net, BBC America and E! nets.

Wednesday's lineup includes: AMC and WE; MTV Networks; A&E Networks

Thursday: Discovery Networks; ESPN; Sundance Channel; HBO

Friday: Turner Broadcasting; Fox Reality Channel; Starz; Lifetime

Saturday-Sunday: PBS -- whose talent roster includes none other than Sir George Martin, plugging his series "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives."

Hot off the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nomination vote-tallying machine, here are the top 10 finalists for Emmy noms in the comedy and drama series heats. The final noms will be announced on Thursday, July 17.

(My 2 cents on the list follows after the jump)

COMEDY

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

DRAMA

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Last night's Paley Festival panel for "Damages" wasn't a raucous affair, ala a night with Judd Apatow, but it offered a nice introspection on what makes FX's legal drama so compelling.

Truly, there have been few lawyers on TV like Patty Hewes, so adeptly and connivingly played by five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close. Glenn was quicky to defend Hewes, who tried to have her own associated killed at the end of last season, saying she isn't a horrible person, just one who does whatever it takes to get the job done for her clients.

Glenn made her mark with such stellar turns in "Fatal Attraction" and "The World According to Garp" in the 80s, but for me, she's really all about TV now, having been such a force in "The Shield" a few years back. Obviously, the experience of "The Shield" convinced her that TV is a place get those creative juices flowing... that, and the fact that the pace of TV is much quicker than movies, which involves a lot of sitting around doing nothing.

The pace is so intense, as exec producers Daniel Kelman, Todd Kessler and Glenn A. Kessler explained last night, that they were editing last season's final episode up until the night before it aired.

Ted Danson said "Damages" has been a treat for him, as he's felt he's done the three-camera sitcom to death -- his last foray in that genre, "Help Me Help You," lasted 10 episodes in 2006 -- and a quality drama offered him a change that any actor would gravitate toward. As for whether he'll be back in season two after his character was shot, Danson said he's clueless and that his agent isn't even sure at this point.

Kelman and the Kessler brothers will start writing season two in a few weeks, determining where the story goes from here. As discussed Monday, they're unsure as to whether the next upcoming 13 episodes will be one long case -- the comparisons between "Damages" and ABC's stellar Steven Bochco series "Murder One" were talked about -- and which characters will come and go.

After the show sat on the fence for a while, FX president John Landgraf showed a bunch of faith in his cast and creators by renewing "Damages" not only for a second season but a third one as well, giving the writers a lot of latitude when coming up with story threads and character development.

Based on the Close's Golden Globe win, nominations for Danson, Rose Byrne and the show itself, it seems like a wise investment.

(Photos by Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media)

We should've seen this coming. There's nothing Golden Globes voters like better than big stars in new clothes, and that's what FX served up this year in "Damages."

Legal murder-mystery thriller led the TV noms tally with four Globes chits, one for drama series, for star Glenn Close (pictured left) and costars Ted Danson (pictured right) and Rose Byrne.

It was a given that AMC's "Mad Men" would get some traction this year -- Globes voters rarely snub the buzz -- snaring a bid for best drama series and a richly deserved nod for its handsome star Jon Hamm. Same goes for ABC's "Pushing Daisies," a contender for comedy series and for stars Lee Pace and Anna Friel.

Back to the stars we-know-and-love derby, no surprise that Showtime's "Californication" made a good stand with a bid for best comedy and for star David Duchovny. Donald Sutherland of ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" made the cut in the supporting drama actor; so did Christina Applegate as lead comedy actress for ABC's "Samantha Who."

And in the spirit of the giving season, there was even a little something in the Globes stocking for 90-year-old Ernest Borgnine (pictured left), a telepic lead actor contender for Hallmark Channel's sweet-'n-sentimental "A Grandpa for Christmas." The last time Borgnine was nommed for a Golden Globe, he won -- for lead actor in 1955's "Marty," in which he played a less-than-handsome guy who's convinced he'll never meet Mrs. Right. (With all due respect to Borgnine, and I do mean all due, he was good in the bigscreen rendition of Paddy Chayefsky's telepic, but it's Rod Steiger in the original TV version of "Marty" who reaches down your throat, rips your heart out, pounds it into mush and then puts it back in just in time for him to find happiness with a young Nancy Marchand.)

Yes, the season finale of this underrated dramatic gem is Tuesday night. The bigger question now is will this episode in which all answers are revealed also mark the series finale?

It's tough to say. Ratings have been disappointing, no question. Yet, that's no fault of the writers, cast or FX, which marketed the show extremely well before the July 24 launch, splattering L.A. with numerous billboards of star Glenn Close. And there were also plenty of print ads in everything from a full page in the L.A. Times to consumer-friendly Entertainment Weekly.

The numbers have gotten better in recent weeks. Series got its highest 18-49 demo last week in over a month and it's currently beating "The Shield" and "Dirt" in total household viewers. The 18-49 numbers over the full season, however — the ones that really count — is not what the network had hoped for.

FX topper John Landgraf said Monday morning he was "modestly hopeful" for a renewal. Not a ringing endorsement by any means, but there's little doubt that, if he can align the stars and make it financially viable for both his network and producer Sony, Landgraf wants to make it happen.

With reviews for the most part being fairly strong, it's difficult to pinpoint why this one hasn't been a breakout hit. And it's not just "Damages" that has failed to excite the masses. AMC's masterful "Mad Men," which just ended last week, was far from a ratings smash. The basic cabler announced a few weeks back that the series will return. Despite the small viewer turnout, a cancellation would've been wrong on so many levels it's not even worth discussing.

One reason "Damages" has made for compelling TV has been the work of Ted Danson, who seems a million miles away from his days as Beantown barkeep Sam Malone. Danson got to sink his teeth into being a baddie — one of the few times his characters have been on the wrong side of the law.

"I have to say it's been liberating to play this part because it's so well written," Danson said. "He's so human, so complicated. He loves his family but is so narcissistic. He did something wrong and has been scrambling ever since, hoping not to get devoured by Glenn Close.

"He's fully human, just making the wrong choices. He's totally understandable to me."

While there was reason to believe Danson's Arthur Frobisher was being unfairly bullied by Close and her firm early on in the series, Frobisher showed his true colors as the series progressed. While he hasn't directly put the hit out on antagonists, his complicity in allowing heinous crimes to be committed is a solid indicator of his moral compass.

The New York ambience is also integral. Close, who lives on the East Coast, signed on with the contigency that the show be shot in Gotham, and it's tough to say if the series would've worked as well being set anywhere else.

Danson believes the New York backdrop makes a difference not only for the storytelling but the actors as well.

"There's an emotional rush of being back in New York. I studied and lived there for six or seven years. I'm not knocking L.A., but when your show is supposed to be set in N.Y. and you're not, you know it. It's a great city to shoot in. It's not Toronto and it's not downtown L.A.," he said.

Credit must also be paid to brothers Todd and Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, who co-created the series and oversaw production all the way through. Todd worked under the tutelage of David Chase on "The Sopranos" in 2000-01 and certainly the trio will attach itself to another project in the near future if "Damages" is done.

All the praise is not to say the show is perfect. There were times when the story seemed to drag a bit and while a more than professional Rose Byrne filled the bill as lawyer Ellen Parsons, I never felt all that sympathetic to her ordeal,  sometimes not caring all that much if her career and marriage were falling apart.

On the other hand, Zeljko Ivanek — dating back to his days on "Homicide" — might be one of the most underrated actors working today and Close was everything advertised, though even she seemed a bit too stifled at times. It would've been nice to see her leave the office a bit more.

That being said, it would be a shame to bid adieu, a goodbye that would seem premature. FX has already given renewals to "Dirt," which doesn't have a fraction of the smarts of "Damages" and "The Riches" is a fine show but one that doesn't feel as relevant.

And with ratings hit "Nip/Tuck" about to come back for season five, one in which the network will certainly again make a nice profit, one would hope an arrangement could be made to make sure "Damages" could find a place in next season's FX lineup.

Sure, money and ratings matters most, but it can't always be the deciding factor — especially for a network known for taking risks.

— Stuart Levine

Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton do such a convincing job of portraying a trio of degenerate, sex-crazed narcissists that it's hard to believe "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is set to begin its third season on FX Thursday.

How could these hedonistic slackers pull themselves together long enough to produce 15 half-hour segs of a single-camera show on which they all serve as genuine multihyphenates -- stars, writers, producers and, in the case of McElhenney, an occasional helmer.

Perhaps it was all that real-life unemployment that the three endured just a few years ago when they were struggling actors yearning to eat regularly. Since its 2005 debut on FX, "Sunny" has become the poster child for the groundswell in the biz of actors taking matters into their own hands and writing their own material, on the theory that it can't be any worse than the crap they're being turned down for anyway.

"I jumped from waiting tables in West Hollywood one night to directing a pilot and showrunning," McElhenney still marvels, even with 34 episodes (and counting) under his belt. "It's such a great complement when people say (the threesome) come off as a comedy troupe that has been working together for years. Because we haven't. We were friends before, but we never worked together."

Click here for clips of the new "Sunny" segs on the FX website, or check out the promo vids posted below.

(Pictured above, from left: Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day)

WARNING: VID POSTED BELOW IS NOT EXACTLY FAMILY-FRIENDLY

You've gotta give Danny DeVito credit for lending his considerable charm to FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." At this stage in his career, a sitcom supporting role is hardly something he needs, but by all accounts DeVito loves the show and the creative forces behind it, namely creator/stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton.

However, the truth is now emerging about another reason (let's just say it involves Vaseline) why he's been so willing to toil in basic-cable land. There's a certain third-season stipulation in DeVito's contract, as documented in this clever bit of viral marketing posted on Will Ferrell's FunnyorDie.com site. Even Rhea Perlman gets into the act. The humor on "Sunny" generally goes pretty far, but I think this one's a little randy even for them, which makes it perfect for the a bit of viral marketing to tubthump for the show's Sept. 13 preem.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Vic Mackey would get along very well with Patty Hewes.

Hewes, as played by veteran actress Glenn Close, is FX's latest anti-hero. In "Damages," which preems July 24, Close plays a calculating and manipulative attorney who feels no remorse breaking the law to win a case. The series will have a 13-episode run.

Close has had an astonishing film careeer and only dabbled in television. She's been nominated for five Oscars but her one-season appearance on "The Shield" made such an impression that when given the chance to come back to TV, she jumped at the chance. That, and the fact there are very few movie scripts that interest her.

"I turn down more scripts that I accept," Close said at the show's TCA panel Thursday at the Beverly Hilton. And the fact that "Damages" was filmed back east, and she could be with her family, was instrumental in her decision as well. "It was very important that it was shot in New York."

The through line of "Damages" details on Close trying to convict a corporate powerbroker (Ted Danson) who has allegedly defrauded his employers.

FX is throwing plenty of marketing muscle behind the show, hoping it connects in the way that the network's other signature shows -- "Nip/Tuck" and "The Shield" -- have. The pilot, which hints at how  Hewes' personal and professional relationships have shaped her career, asks viewers to go along for the season-long ride. Writers use as storytelling device that looks ahead, and where we see a Hewes employee (Rose Byrne) running nearly naked and bloodied through the streets of Manhattan sometime in the not-to-distant future.

Questions will be answered. Maybe not in episode two but certainly by No. 13, and then, promises writers Daniel Zelman, Todd Kessler and Glenn Kessler, new mysteries will be added if the show sees a season two.

For Danson, "Damages" represents a nice dramatic change. The actor who became an icon in "Cheers"  has struggled the last few years in sitcoms and began to, professionally, go through the motions.

"I feel excited about acting again, rather than going into another comedy," Danson said.

"Damages" seems to be a perfect fit for FX, which has worked hard at establishing and earning its hard-edged brand. The network has been extremely successful launching dramas of late. Both "Dirt" and "The Riches" are coming back for a second season.

Early positive reaction to "Damages" would indicate Close might be making a long-term transition to TV, with the series possibly going a few seasons long if viewers find themselves agreeing with the buzz at TCA.

With examples such as Holly Hunter, who's starring in TNT's upcoming  "Saving Grace," there's little argument that thesps looking for quality projects often wind up on the small screen.

"I have always been seduced by good writing," she said. "Early in my career I decided to go where the writing is."

Call it destination fulfilled.

-- Stuart Levine

POSTED BY STEVEN ZEITCHIK:

The FX plastic-surgery drama "Nip/Tuck" has always felt like it was set in Beverly Hills, but it took five seasons to actually get it there.

The series about doctors in their own operating room and other people's beds is relocating this season from South Florida to Hollywood. In one episode, Julian McMahon's bad-boy doctor Christian Troy questions "Where's the glamor I used to read about?" And rest assured, Troy hasn't lost any of his swagger in the cross-country move: "This town needs me," he declares.

Why the move? Creator Ryan Murphy (pictured)told a panel at TCA Thursday morning at the Beverly Hilton that he set the show in Bev Hills when he first pitched it but then changed the venue because he wanted the series to go a little darker. Once the docs got successful, however, he wanted them swimming in a bigger pond.

Murphy (who also said he "would love to" bring the show back for a sixth season but is still negotiating with the net) says despite the move, audiences shouldn't expect the predictable L.A. plot turns. "We don't have a lot of the starlets coming in for surgeries. We still have a lot of the cases that are more exotic and odd," Murphy said.

Actually, the strongest Hollywood touch may involve the biz. When the new season debuts, the two docs will make a career move of sorts: They'll consult on a "Nip/Tuck"-like show-within-a-show starring Bradley Cooper. Said Murphy: "It's kind of the worst medical show ever made." -- Steven Zeitchik