Bob Redford on the phone. Tell him I'm busy.

With Super Tuesday almost here I’m getting three calls an hour from my “close personal friends” Ed Begeley Jr. and Sally Field pimping some candidate or proposition. If I’m on the fence over whom to vote for do I study up on the issues or take the word of the Flying Nun?

And for that matter, do I want Martin Sheen knowing my home number?

I have half a mind to call Senator Barbara Boxer’s office, get her on the phone and say, “Yes, I'm returning your call.”

On the other hand, I got a recorded call from Larry Gelbart last night asking to keep picketing until the WGA strike is resolved. Even a recorded call from Larry Gelbart is very exciting to me.

But returning to politics, here’s a novel concept: how about thinking for ourselves? Or at the very least realizing that celebrities are there to merely amuse us and when we do need to seek the counsel of others we turn instead to people who actually are qualified to help – namely BLOGGERS.

Good news on the strike front! Hopefully.

There is cautious optimism that the WGA strike may soon be resolved. Supposedly, both sides have agreed in principle to the deal but now must convert everything to legal language so the studios have loopholes to get around everything they’ve agreed to. Some announcement could come any day now. And peace and harmony will be restored in the entertainment industry – all the way until June when the actors’ contract is up.

But as we bask in this possible-glow I still have a few questions.

Why did it take the AMPTP four months, billions of dollars lost, thousands of workers laid off, the TV season in shambles, next summer’s feature tent poles derailed, residual animosity that will reverberate for years, the loss of the Golden Globes, and the possibility the Oscars would suffer the same fate when they could have just as easily made the same deal in October?

When informal negotiations clearly cut through the bullshit (as it always does), why go through the whole formal negotiation dance, especially when you have union hater Nick Counter as your lead negotiator?

Why wouldn’t the DGA just sit back and let us slug it out since their deal wasn’t up until June? What was their big rush? Clearly they got a worse deal. The DGA can publicly spin this deal any way they want. The truth is they’re being perceived as gutless. And as a member of the DGA I’m somewhat embarrassed.

What percentage of the audience that the networks lost as a result of the strike will never return?

Will anyone read Nikki Finke once the strike is over?

Is NBC still going to air MY DAD IS BETTER THAN YOUR DAD on February 18th? Come on. Rerun JOEY.

How did Giants receiver David Tyree make that catch?

I (heart) Tim Drake

Reading mainstream comics often means making peace with characters who are written as types instead of actual people. The medium requires enough suspension of disbelief as it is, so is it asking too much to have a character or two who's relatable?

I've always had a soft spot for Robin, who has the unenviable job of working alongside Batman. Batman is a lot of things: hardcore, brilliant, sexy. But he's also zealous nutjob and a horrible boss. It's a wonder none of the three Robins ever cracked and cut one of his grappling cables out of sheer rage. I worry for this boy.

Dick Grayson was the first, and he's done nicely for himself as Nightwing. I like him. We all know Jason Todd was a whiny little snot, though he didn't deserve a crowbar beat-down from the Joker. But the current Robin, Tim Drake, is a kid I would have liked to hang out with in high school. Granted, I'm basing this almost solely on the way Geoff Johns has written him in "Teen Titans" (so don't send me your "what about?" screeds). Still, he is easily the most likable of D.C.'s teen superheroes.

He's not a sullen brat (see: Kent, Conner) and he doesn't seem generic and unworthy of his status (see: Sandmark, Cassie). He's scrappy. Yes, he got his ass handed to him by Deathstroke, but he wasn't afraid to fight him, either. Plus, he had that cute black girlfriend, Zoanne. Like any teenager, he has moments of insecurity and self-doubt — but he gets the job done. Personally, I think a well-executed film about Robin would be just as interesting as the best Batman films. And unlike the permanently stalled Wonder Woman project, I might actually get to see it before I die.

Play Right, or Play Alone

A few weeks ago, Babble.com ran a great commentary about how much it sucks to play with your kids. I mean, does anybody over the age of 3 enjoy Chutes and Ladders? But if you've got kids, you gotta play with 'em from time to time. My problem isn't the playing, per se, it's the fact that my kids insist on playing incorrectly.

Take Barbie. My daughter got a bunch of doll furniture and incredibly cool accessories for her Barbies, everything from salad bowls to bed linens. I would have killed for this stuff when I was twice her age. Push a button, and the washing machine and dryer actually churn. But instead of arranging the china properly and putting the fake flowers in the appropriate vases, she wants to "improvise." She wants to put the fake food on the sofa, the basket of apples on the end table, and cram as many serving dishes as possible on the breakfast table. So naturally I tried to show her how to arrange everything just so, so that Barbie and her friends wouldn't wake up to rotting fruit and milk in the living room the next day. Her response was typical: "Mommy, you need to get your own." And that is why her arrangement looks like crap.

My son just got these cool Transformers action figures, and we took them out in the backyard today for some old-fashioned combat. He was generous and let me be Optimus Prime for a few minutes while he did the villain thing with Megatron. But you know, there are only so many ways you can knock action figures around and send them flying through the air in slow motion, John Woo style. Plus, my son's dialogue was cliched and didn't really advance the plot. To make it interesting, I dug a pit in the dirt, see? And then I put twigs and leaves on top of the pit so that Megatron would walk on top of it and FALL INTO THE PIT. Paging Michael Bay! All I wanted to do was take a few pictures of this little action scene because it was cool, and my son was all, "Um, can you do that later?"

I'm not playing with them anymore.

The "Lost" CHEERS

This is my Superbowl tradition -- to present the "Lost scene of CHEERS".

My partner, David Isaacs and I wrote it, it was seen by EIGHTY MILLION people, (almost double the audience of the final episode of CHEERS)… then never shown again.. I’m not even sure if a copy of the film still exists. And after being buried for over twenty years, here’s the lost script of that scene.

Backstory: People forget but Cheers wasn’t always an enormous hit. The first season’s ratings (1982-83) were terrible…as in “dead last”. In today’s world both the CW and Univision would kick our ass. In an effort to get better exposure NBC asked if we’d do a special scene to be aired sometime during the Superbowl pre game show. Pete Axthelm (pictured), the distinguished sports columnist for Newsweek and gambling tout for the Peacock agreed to appear. David and I banged out the scene. NBC aired it…right before kick-off. Talk about a good time slot.

Enjoy, trivia buffs:

FADE IN:

INT. BAR – EARLY AFTERNOON

CARLA, CLIFF AND NORM ARE AT THE TABLE WATCHING TELEVISION. SAM IS AT THE BAR. DIANE ENTERS.

DIANE
Morning everyone.

EVERYONE AD LIBS HELLO’S.

DIANE
You boys are here early today.

NORM
Superbowl Sunday, Diane. The only reason for living…not found in a mug.

CLIFF
We’re early because we gotta catch all twelve hours of the Superbowl pre-game show.

CARLA
Started off this morning with the Superbowl Mass. Moved right into NFL ’82.

SAM
The next hour they’re going to trace the family tree of every player on both sides.

DIANE
Ah, the big game. An American tradition. These athletes will test themselves for all they’re worth. They’ll spit farther than they’ve ever spat before. They’ll scratch in places no man has ever dared to scratch. That is entertainment.

CLIFF
Yeah. Superbowl Seventeen. Or as the French would say it, (IN JOHN’S UNIQUE FRENCH ACCENT) “Superbowl Seventeen”.

PETE AXTHELM ENTERS AND APPROACHES THE BAR.

PETE
(TO SAM) Excuse me. Do you have a phone here? I’ve got the only bookmaker on the planet that I can’t get in touch with on Superbowl Sunday.

SAM
Yeah, it’s down the hall.

CARLA
Hey, you’re Pete Axthelm.

PETE
That depends on whether you want to thank me or hit me for my selections this year.

SAM
Welcome to Cheers.

EVERYONE EXCEPT DIANE ACKNOWLEDGES HIM.

CLIFF
Hey, how come you’re not out there in Pasadena?

PETE
I should be. It’s the last time I book a flight through Jimmy the Greek’s travel agency.

DIANE
Excuse me my ignorance, but I don’t know this gentleman. Will you introduce us?

SAM
This is Pete Axthelm. Pete’s the NBC house tout. Picks all the big games. He’s even right every now and then.

PETE
Actually I’m always right. It’s the players and referees that screw it up.

DIANE
Oh, I see. You predict football games.

PETE
That’s right.

DIANE
Oh what a worthy profession. I hope they pay you more than scientists and judges.

EVERYONE REACTS TO DIANE: “HEY, THAT ISN’T FAIR”, “LIGHTEN UP”, “COME ON, DIANE”, ETC.

DIANE
Pardon me, but it just seems ridiculous how you people place so much importance on the outcome of one silly little football game.

THEY CHIDE HER AGAIN: “AW, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND”, etc.

NORM
So Pete, forget about her, tell us who you like.

PETE
Well, I’m still feeding it all into my delicate computer – it’s a tough one, but I gotta start with that great Miami defense…

DIANE
Miami?! Are you crazy?! That Thiesman person will pick them apart. You call him a prophet?

EVERYONE STARTS TAKING SIDES. A GIANT ARGUMENT ENSUES ON WHO’S GOING TO WIN.

PETE
What’s going on?

NO REACTION.

PETE
Hey, what’s the name of this place?

EVERYONE
Cheers.

THEY ALL GO BACK TO THEIR ARGUMENT.

PETE
(INTO CAMERA) Lots of abuse. I love it. My kind of place. You only find true peace at racetracks and saloons.

FADE OUT.

Vote Yes or No

With Super Tuesday days away we in Los Angeles are getting bombarded by political commercials for various propositions. Several of them involve Native American gambling casino guidelines. Here's an ad that pretty much sums them all up.

Pepsi for those who think Superbowl

So that the Superbowl commercials don't have to all run back-to-back they have this football game to show in between them.

Here's a preview of a GREAT spot for Pepsi featuring Justin Timberlake.


Let's hope he has a better fate than a certain other Superbowl Pepsi spokesperson....(although this is a fantastic commercial).