Disappointing debut for 'Imagine That'
NBC has long had trouble with its Tuesday 8 p.m.
time slot and that trend looks to continue. The debut of the Hank Azaria comedy "Imagine That" tanked last night, coming in last with a 2.8 adult 18-49 rating, behind the ailing ABC's "Dharma & Greg," which limped along with a 3.1. Fox won the night with its regular lineup of "That '70s Show," "Undeclared" and "24," racking up a 4.5 adult 18-49 rating for the night, followed by NBC at 4.3, CBS at 3.9 and ABC at 3.8, based on preliminary Nielsen data. While its ratings have not exploded as the early buzz predicted, "24" came in a shade below ABC's "NYPD Blue," with a 4.4 to "Blue's" 4.5. The news isn't as good for "Undeclared," which dropped 25 percent from its lead-in of "That '70s Show." The household rating and share for Tuesday night were: CBS 10.1/16, NBC 7.0/11, ABC 6.5/10, and Fox 6.5/10. On Monday night, a new episode of NBC's "Fear Factor," now in a permanent spot on the schedule, came in second to CBS's combination of "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear." It surged in its second half-hour from a 4.7, adult 18-49 rating, to a 6.1, just a hair below "Yes, Dear's" 6.2. ABC won 18-49s with a 5.9, wholly attributable to the last night of "Monday Night Football," which gave the last playoff berth to the Baltimore Ravens. CBS had a 5.7, NBC a 4.9, and Fox a 4.7, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. Fox's "Ally McBeal," which featured a guest appearance by Mariah Carey, saw its numbers rise during its second half-hour after the night's champ, "Everybody Loves Raymond," went off the air. The household rating and share for Monday night were: ABC 10.9/16, CBS 10.1/15, NBC 7.8/12 and Fox 6.8/10.

Daly's late-night start held up by contract snafu
"Total Request Live" fans who stayed up way past their bedtime Monday night to watch their crush, Carson Daly, in his late-night debut were disappointed. Citing unspecified problems with Daly's contract, NBC pulled a last-minute schedule change, replacing the first edition of "Last Call" with a rerun of the old sketch comedy show "SCTV." The network, clearly expecting to have the contract issues resolved by air time, had even gone so far as to have Conan O'Brien tape a Monday night show just so he could tease the opener of the new talk show, which features singer Alicia Keyes as Daly's guest. (O'Brien's show usually airs reruns on Mondays.) Barring any more unforeseen obstacles, "Last Call" is expected to premiere tonight at 1:35 a.m. EST.

Inside.com refugees land at the NY Times
The New York Times is no trendy, over-financed startup, but the Gray Lady will have to do for former Inside.com-ers Lorne Manly and David Carr. Carr, who edited the Washington, D.C., alternative weekly City Paper before joining Inside, will step into the magazine beat job recently vacated by Alex Kuczynski, according to reports. Manly, who once wrote for Brill’s Content and the New York Observer, will be named deputy editor for media. Both men covered magazine publishing, and covered it well, for Inside. But then their employer became the story of the day when it was first bought and then effectively shut down by Steven Brill and Primedia. Carr found work with the Atlantic Monthly and New York magazine, while Manly stayed on with Primedia as editor of Folio.

Whoopi Goldberg returns as Oscars host
Comedian Whoopi Goldberg will once again run the show as MC at this year's Academy Awards. Goldberg, an Oscar winner herself for her supporting role in the movie "Ghost," has hosted three times before. Steve Martin got mixed reviews for his low-key turn as host last year, while the ever-popular Billy Crystal has officiated seven times. The Academy Awards will be broadcast on March 24 from the new Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Oscar nominations will be announced on Feb. 12.

Ex-Glamour editor lines up book and TV deals
Bonnie Fuller may have lost her job editing Glamour, but she's keeping plenty busy, thank you very much. In addition to a self-help book coming out early next year, Fuller, who got axed from Glamour last summer in favor of Cynthia Leive, also has a new magazine and a possible TV talk show on the drawing board, according to the New York Post's Keith Kelly. The book, which is being published by Simon & Schuster, has the rather unwieldy working title "From Geek to Oh My Goddess: How to Have the Big Career, the Big Love Life and the Big Family--Even If You Have a Big Loser Complex Inside." There's nothing firm yet on the TV front, but Fuller is working with Meredith on the launch of a new magazine, a women's title called Living Room, according to Kelly. Meredith published test issues of an offbeat shelter magazine awhile back; it's not clear how the new project will differ from that concept.

CNN's Zahn: Don't call me sexy
Think Paula Zahn is a hottie? Better keep it to yourself. Zahn, who jumped from Fox News Channel to CNN last fall, was reportedly fuming earlier this week after a CNN promo described her as "provocative" and "just a little sexy." CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson and Turner Broadcasting Chairman Jamie Kellner have also said that they're angry about the ad, which they say was drafted by the network's promotions department and never got approval from any higher-ups. In the ad, an announcer says, "Where can you find a morning news anchor who's provocative, super-smart, oh yeah, and just a little sexy?" Making matters worse, accompanying a shot of Zahn is an audio effect that sounds an awful lot like a zipper being unzipped. The commercial has been pulled from the air, but it was great fun while it lasted for those at Fox News, which fired Zahn after finding out she was in talks with CNN. Fox News boss Roger Ailes told The New York Times today that he suspects that Kellner, despite his denials, okayed the ad, saying, "This has got Kellner's fingerprints, palm prints and face prints on it."

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