TCA press tour: Out of nowhere, it’s Aaron Sorkin!

ABC had the “Desperate Housewives,” all of them, in today, and the hotel went nuts. I’ve really never seen such a furor here. They actually had to set up the Hilton equivalent of police lines to keep people back. This was at 5 o’clock, and a lot of the gawkers hung out until ABC’s “star party” started at 7 o’clock. The guest list was actually a little thin, unless you watch a bunch of ABC Family Channel stuff. But ABC had invited a lot of hangers-on, and the room was hot and crowded with loud music. I thought about leaving but made one last circuit …

And who to my amazement should appear but Aaron Sorkin, my very favorite person in all TV land? He has no show on TV right now and was there only “as a date tonight,” with Kristin Chenoweth of “Pushing Daisies” and before that “The West Wing.” They’ve been on again, off again for years, and he said, “Go on, write it, we’re on again. I don’t want other guys sniffing around her.”  He looked great, healthy, very much his old “West Wing” self. The next time he has an idea for TV, he says, he’ll do TV again. Since I’m one of the few people who saw him, and I got two hugs, I feel very special.

Who else did I talk to? Mark Derwin of “Secret Life of the American Teenager,” which just got picked up for 13 more episodes; Barry Watson of “Samantha Who?” (very charming); Bill Lawrence, the creator of “Scrubs,” who was at a table with Neil Flynn, who plays the janitor, and Paul Adelstein of “Private Practice” (formerly of “Prison Break”); the little actress who plays Star on “One Life to Live”;  Doug Savant, Tom on “Desperate Housewives,” who’s incredibly nice; and Chris Harrison, host of “The Bachelor,” who says he thinks DeAnna made the right choice because she and Jesse are crazy about each other. Chris loves doing “The Bachelor” and says he has so much fun that he’ll keep hosting as long as the show continues.

Next up: CBS, with four new shows introduced, plus a news panel, plus a Showtime panel, and finally an off-site party at a club in Hollywood.