Will she stay or will she go?
That's the ques-tion swirling around Sherry String-field and "ER" this week.There have been widespread reports that Stringfield, who plays Dr. Susan Lewis, is leaving the top-rated program - immediately. As in, tonight's episode (9 p.m., Ch. 5) will be her last.
And last week's episode did set up a way for Stringfield, and her character, to exit the series.
As fans of the show know, Susan's ne'er-do-well sister, Chloe, left her infant daughter with her. Just as Susan was about to adopt little Susie, Chloe - having cleaned up her act - reappeared and claimed her daughter.
Susan recently visited Chloe in Phoenix - and, last week, she announced plans to move there to be near Chloe and Susie.
All of which left Dr. Mark Green (Anthony Edwards) devastated - and worried that his unspoken love for Susan would remain just that.
NBC has been trying (seemingly unsuccessfully) to keep the lid on how all of this is going to work out. And the network has been teasing audiences this week by airing promos that include a clip with the announcement of a sudden wedding in the emergency room.
Just keep in mind, however, that there are characters other than Green and Lewis who might suddenly tie the knot. (And don't forget there are plenty of recurring characters on the show as well.)
Assuming that Stringfield really is leaving and taking her character with her, will it hurt the show?
That's doubtful. With an ensemble cast as strong as "ER's," losing one member wouldn't matter much. Not to mention losing sort of a secondary lead.
About the only character who would seem to be fairly irreplaceable is Edwards' Mark Green. Oh, it would rock the "ER" boat a bit if George Clooney or Eriq LaSalle left, but the ship would sail on.
Add to that the fact that "ER" has added a couple of female characters to its cast - Laura Innes is now a regular, and Glenne Headly has been a welcome addition on a recurring basis.
And the fact is that "ER" has maintained its high quality this season - it remains one of the best shows on television.
The will-she-or-won't-she-go question is sure to boost the ratings for "ER" tonight - and there isn't a show on television that needs less help in the ratings.
But isn't it nice to see that No. 1 is still trying harder?
NO SURPRISE HERE: While controversy continues to swirl around "Ellen" and the question of whether the lead character will declare her lesbianism before the season ends, all of this is pretty much par for the course over on "Roseanne."
Roseanne herself told the Los Angeles Times that in Tuesday's Thanksgiving episode, a member of the family "comes out of the closet."
The question is whether anyone will care. This show has become so stupid, so over-the-top and so unfunny this season - what with the Conners making like the Clampetts after winning the lottery - that it's almost irrelevant.
This is definitely a show that stuck around for one season too many.
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: The good news is that ABC has ordered additional episodes of the high-quality, low-rated "Relativity."
The bad news is that the network has only ordered four more.
Like most shows, "Relativity" had an original order of 13 episodes. The pattern normally is that the network either fails to pick the show up, or it orders a "back nine" - nine more episodes to bring a series up to a full-season's worth of 22 episodes.
Ordering four more episodes is sort of faint support at best.
And, alarmingly, it appears to follow the pattern set with the "Relativity" producers' last show - "My So-called Life." That show had an order of 13, then an additional order of four, then an order of a couple more - making it only to 19 before getting the ax.
"Relativity" deserves to be around a lot longer than that.
HIBBERD TAKES A HIKE: Laurie Hibberd, who was the co-host of "Fox After Breakfast," isn't anymore.
Fox announced last week that it would pair host Tom Bergeron with rotating co-hosts. Hibberd was offered the opportunity to be one of them, but she declined.
"Fox After Breakfast" is, of course, struggling badly in the ratings. It's averaging only a .9 rating and a 4 share.
PLESHETTE REPORT: Suzanne Pleshette, apparently desperate for work, has signed on to play Jonathan Silverman's mother in four episodes of "The Single Guy." The first airs Dec. 13.
Love Pleshette. Hate "The Single Guy."
BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Under the "you've got to be kidding" file - the estate of Martin Luther King Jr. has filed suit against CBS News because the folks at CBS used their own newsreel footage of King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
They claim copyright infringement. They claim CBS needs their permission to use CBS's own film.
To put it bluntly, are these people nuts? Are they aware of the First Amendment?