Simpson giving ‘SNL’ another go
It’s synch or swim for Ashlee Simpson tonight on her second go-round on “Saturday Night Live.”
She will return as the musical guest almost a year after the “SNL” audience heard her voice – singing the wrong song – while she held a microphone at her waist.
Even though lip-synching has been around for years, the incident resulted in Simpson being lampooned as an example of today’s style-over-substance culture.
Simpson’s manager-father, Joe Simpson, said she used “extra help” because acid reflux disease had made her voice hoarse.
Sunday night live
NBC will air a live episode of “The West Wing” featuring a debate between presidential candidates Matt Santos and Arnold Vinick on Nov. 6.
Airing scripted TV shows live is a rarity these days, although NBC also tried the attention-getting device last week with the “Will & Grace” season premiere.
“The West Wing,” which has lagged in the ratings with its move to Sunday nights this season, is in the midst of the campaign to replace Martin Sheen’s character, President Josiah Bartlet. Jimmy Smits plays Democratic candidate Santos and Alan Alda the Republican Vinick.
The cast will run through two separate live versions, one for the East Coast and one for the West.
Koppel to say goodnight
Ted Koppel will anchor his last edition of “Nightline” on Nov. 22, with the first post-Koppel edition of the ABC newscast airing Nov. 28, the network announced.
Koppel, 65, has anchored the show since its launch in March 1980. It grew out of a series of special reports about the Iranian hostage crisis that began the previous November.
How the late-night news show will evolve following Koppel’s departure remains a mystery. ABC has experimented with a multitopic format on nights he’s been off, and several reports have suggested Koppel will be replaced by multiple anchors.
Martha not out of her gourd
It looks like Martha Stewart is going to get her chance to ride a giant pumpkin on a Canadian lake after all.
A disappointed Stewart had announced on her daytime show, “Martha,” on Wednesday that Canadian immigration authorities had barred her from traveling to a Nova Scotia town to film a segment on its pumpkin festival because of her felony conviction.
But a Stewart spokeswoman and Canadian officials said Thursday that a permit had been granted for her visit.
Stewart planned the trip to Windsor to participate in its annual pumpkin regatta, part of Canada’s Thanksgiving Day celebration on Monday, in which participants decorate giant pumpkins for a parade and then paddle them across Lake Pesaquid.
‘Soprano’ to sing on VH1
A former “Soprano” will show off his vocal chops in an “American Idol”-style competition on VH1.
Actor Joe Pantoliano (“The Sopranos,” “The Matrix”) will join eight other contestants in “But Can They Sing?,” which debuts Oct. 30.
The other competitors include actresses Morgan Fairchild (“Falcon Crest”) and Bai Ling (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”); soap star Antonio Sabato Jr. (“The Bold and the Beautiful”); actor Michael Copon (“Power Rangers Time Force,” “One Tree Hill”); former heavyweight boxing champ Larry Holmes; model Kim Alexis; Univision host Myrka Dellanos; and “Growing Up Gotti” kid Carmine Gotti.