Teen steam doused: Fox bids adios to 'The O.C.'
Nearly a year after Mischa Bartons shocking death on The O.C., the rest of the cast is following her out the door. Fox has canceled the fourth-year teen drama after a dramatic dip in ratings this year. The finale will air Feb. 22. O.C. has averaged a 1.8 in adults 18-49 this year, down a third from last seasons 2.7 average. Speculation began almost immediately after its debut over whether it would last a full season. During an interview late last year, Fox scheduling guru Preston Beckman told Media Life the network wanted to give the show a few months to find its footing before making a decision, despite the disappointing ratings. Even though it did not come back to the levels we wanted it to, do we want to see lower ratings if we put something else on? Theres no guarantee theyd improve, he said. Fox has not yet announced what will take the shows place in the Thursday 9 p.m. timeslot, where it faces brutal competition from ABCs Greys Anatomy and CBSs CSI.

Programming notes: Early axe for Megan Mullally
Is there a Will & Grace curse developing? A month after co-star Eric McCormacks first post-Grace project, the Lifetime comedy Lovespring International, was canceled, co-star Megan Mullallys new talk show has been axed by NBC Universal. The show got off to an underwhelming start, averaging just a 0.8 household rating since its debut in September. Though production on The Megan Mullally Show has been halted, new and repeat episodes will continue to air until the end of the month, at which point NBC Universal has pledged to help local stations find replacement programming. Meanwhile, in other programming, Bravo has renewed Top Chef for a third season after a strong start to season three. Court TV has ordered a show called Most Dangerous, about cops who have survived dangerous criminal situations. And Fox has ordered a new reality series starring Hells Kitchens dirty-mouthed chef, Gordon Ramsay, who lends his expertise to struggling restaurants across the country. No air date has been announced.

News-Express boots columnist for Wiki-plagiarism
The first journalism ethics conundrum of the new year belongs to Texas. The San Antonio Express-News said earlier this week that columnist Jacqueline Gonzalez has resigned after plagiarizing information from Wikipedia in a "Watchdog" column she wrote on Christmas Day. The unattributed information related to the origin of the Dec. 25 date for the birth of Jesus Christ. The transgression was discovered by one of Gonzalez' co-workers last week after the column was printed. After Gonzalez admitted to pilfering the information, an investigation of the 24 other columns she wrote under the Watchdog tag turned up two more instances of plagiarism. Gonzalez had worked at the paper for three years, moving up from her initial position as editorial assistant. She was also administrative assistant to the paper's editor, Robert Rivard.

The Donald renews Rosie feud as Babs makes nice
It seemed like Rosie ODonnells public spat with Donald Trump would quiet with her on vacation. But Trump, whose Apprentice premieres this Sunday, was anything but quiet yesterday. Thats when The View executive producer Barbara Walters read a short statement mandated by ABC explaining that Trump has never filed personal bankruptcy but some of his casinos have, clarifying a rant levied by ODonnell on Dec. 21. But that didnt appease Trump, who had threatened to sue over the remarks. He insisted again yesterday that Walters had told him she didnt want ODonnell on the show, though Walters herself disputed Trumps remarks on the show yesterday. Trump said he understood why Walters would backpedal in public, then launched another attack on ODonnell. The feud began last month, after the opinionated comedienne said Trump shouldnt be the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America, after he allowed Miss USA Tara Conner to keep her crown after it was revealed shed been drinking underage.

Britain's Men and Motors revs for reality strip show
The latest reincarnation of the reality TV format requires a poll, a G-string and presumably a lax standards and practices division. Men and Motors, a channel from Britains commercial broadcaster ITV, is kicking off a new series that will pit amateur strippers against one another in front of a panel of judges. The action will take place in Las Vegas Spearmint Rhino club, according to Britains MediaGuardian.co.uk, and will pit hopefuls from across the U.S. It wont all be about stripping there will also be video diaries from those involved in the competition. The show will begin airing on Men and Motors, which covers babes and cars in an effort to attract British lads, in late February.