There weren’t many journalists like Tom Snyder. Brash, opinionated and utterly fun to watch, he made staying up late a must when his “Tomorrow” show was on the air. Because he hadn’t been on television in recent years, his death this week may not have fazed the iPod generation, but it certainly affected mine. I remember watching him the first time we saw the cast of “Saturday Night Live” (and Dan Aykroyd’s spot-on impersonation), the first time we got to hear from a litany of rock stars, the first time we heard him order up the “colortinis.”
Interestingly, I even got to interview him during his heyday and he was just as colorful. Always smoking (why do I remember that?), Tom was extremely kind but unwilling to let a good laugh slip by. He was like an old college professor who knew he had the room’s attention, but he wasn’t going to squander it.
Because late night hosts try too hard today to get a laugh, it’s likely we won’t see his kind again. But I’m glad we made the acquaintance.
Tom was a true original.

So you wanna know what’s trendy, huh?
Think GREEN. That’s right. Recycling is really big in Hollywood. I got a cardboard pen (no kidding) from a television network and used it to write on recycled paper. There’s also something called “Trashion” — it’s making fashion out of trash. I didn’t investigate further.
The other hot stuff:
ICE BARS — They’re bars (the kind you belly up to) made of ice. Certain drinks (like martinis) are actually poured through holes in the ice. Cool. But wet.
SPANX — Those suck ‘em in girdles Oprah has been pushing. Lots of actresses are wearing them.
HIGH, HIGH HEELS — The higher, the better. Most are open-toed. Most look impossible to wear.
CONVERSE TENNIS SHOES — This is for the men. Howie Mandel was among the first to sport them. Now, everyone’s got them. The trick? They can’t have laces. John Varvatos makes a pair that actually has elastic in them, so they’re sorta like Vans but they look like you’re too cool for laces.
DIALOGUING — That’s L.A. speak for “talking.” “We dialogued last night.”
DUTCH SHOTS — Nope, it’s not something you drink. It’s a canted camera angle.
ASPIRATIONAL — It’s another way of saying “hopeful.” “It’s an aspirational show.”
HAIRCUTS — For women, it’s a ’60s bob — like Barbra Streisand wore when she won the Oscar. For men, it’s still stick-em-up hair.
MUST HAVE ACCESSORY — Anything Gucci although Cartier watches hold their own.
THE CAR — A Prius, of course. See “Green.” They’re all becoming Ed Begley Jr.

Today, we’ve got a real potpourri of stuff, largely because we went to FIVE sets yesterday. The biggie: “Heroes.” Members of the cast led tours through the sets, then showed how many of the special effects are done. When Masi Oka looks like he’s in the middle of Times Square, he’s really just standing on a stage in Hollywood. Through a green-screen process, the effects experts are able to put the cast members just about anywhere. What they do is film a lot of shots on location, bring them back to Hollywood and combine the two. It’s pretty amazing, particularly since the backgrounds can go in and out of focus to accommodate the action. Masi said the process takes a little getting used to but once you’ve mastered it, it’s quite fun — and easy. No travel. No crowds.

Hayden Panettiere, the show’s “cheerleader,” said life has become so hectic since the show launched that she does have a problem with photographers. “They’ll hang outside your house just waiting for you to come out. They’re like sharks.” Worried about becoming another Lindsay/Brittney/Paris? “No, I don’t put little white powder up my nose,” she said.

We’ll fill you in more about the set visit in an upcoming edition of The Journal.

Today, the hot news is that Harold Perrineau is returning to “Lost.” The scoop was supposed to come tomorrow at Comic Con, the big comic book convention, but ABC officials decided to share it today. Enjoy the tidbit..if you’re a “Lost” fan. I’m not among them, largely because it requires constant attention. The series has 48 episodes to wrap things up. Not a moment too soon in my book.

I went to a movie screening Tuesday night in Los Angeles and was surprised to see how folks there are treated. First, they had to check any cellphones with photo capabilities. Then, they had to undergo a “wanding” to see if they had any video cameras on them.
Apparently the bootleg market is so big moviegoers have even HELD THEIR CELLPHONES UP and shot whole films.
The real kicker? Trying to figure out which phone is yours. One kid told the usher, “Can you make sure I get an iPhone when I come out?”

Those iPhones, by the way, are pretty cool. I got to play with one earlier in the week and wouldn’t mind having one for real. The price, though, is a good reason why I don’t.

We told you Drew Carey was a leading contender to replace Bob Barker on “The Price is Right.” Now, apparently, the job is his. That gives Drew two game show gigs (the other is prime time’s “Power of 10″) and a real shot at that Emmy that has eluded him.

Today we got a little sneak peak into “House” — those three people who were dropped last year aren’t really leaving the series. They’ll return later in the season “in a different capacity” in the hospital. Meanwhile, House (so beautifully played by Hugh Laurie) has a whole bunch of newcomers to contend with. His solution? Give them all numbers so he doesn’t have to remember their names.

If you’re a “Gilmore Girls” fan you’ve probably wondered how Amy Sherman-Palladino would have ended the series. Since she wasn’t with it during its last year, she didn’t write the finale.
Her answer: “The last line would be ‘You’re adopted.’” Then, she laughed and said she didn’t want to say how she would have ended the series, just in case there’s another opportunity to revisit the characters — perhaps in a film. Star Lauren Graham, she said, is a close friend so it just might happen.

Why did Julianna Margulies leave “ER”? “Actors need to be replenished. We’re not machines,” she told TV critics today.
Yeah, so they can do stuff like “Ghost Ship” and “Snakes on a Plane.”
She’s in a midseason law series called “Canterbury’s Law.”

One more? James Woods and Rob Lowe will appear in a live-action segment in the 100th episode of “Family Guy.” The episode, “Stewie Kills Lois,” was performed today at a luncheon for critics. A number of the jokes won’t make the broadcast (they’re either too profane or too cruel) but they will find a place on the ultimate DVD release, according to Seth MacFarlane, the show’s creator. One I hope makes it: A spoof of that dreadful Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bullock film “The Lake House.” It’s very dirty but very, very funny.

That’s the scoop for today.

Saturday night the Television Critics Association (of which I’m a member) handed out its annual awards.
The winners:
Best Program: “Heroes”
Best Drama: “The Sopranos”
Best Comedy: “The Office”
Best New Program: “Friday Night Lights”
Best News Show AND Best Special: “Planet Earth”
Best Children’s Show: “Kyle XY”
Heritage Award: “The Sopranos”
Career Award: Mary Tyler Moore
Individual in Drama: Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Individual in Comedy: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”

Most of the winners (except for MTM and James Gandolfini — hmmm) attended. Adrian Pasdar from “Heroes” boasted a pretty hefty beard which, he says, will figure into the first episode of that show. He also talked about life on a hit versus life on a critical hit (”Profit”). The former was better, he told me, but the latter was one of the best jobs of his career. “I didn’t have to act. I just showed up, put on the suit and they shot me. It was great.”
Alec Baldwin didn’t mingle much with the crowd, but he did spend a pretty good chunk of time talking to Edie Falco. What the subject was, who knows? Baldwin, however, isn’t leaving his series — even though such rumors floated earlier this year. Heck, he was upset he never got to make a guest appearance on “The Sopranos.”
And to think he took a lesser job with that newcomer Martin Scorsese.
Go figure.

At an event to spotlight trends (remember, now, I’m in Hollywood and that’s all you see is trends), I got to play on a Microsoft Surface. Introduced earlier this year, it’s sorta like a coffee table that does just about everything. Bored? Play a game with tiles. Stressed? Turn on the “zen” feature and you can pretend you’re playing in water. Want to look at pictures? Pull up the photo albums. Buy stuff? Find stuff? It’s all possible. As a sample, the Microsoft folks showed how it might work at a casino in Vegas. You sit at the table, order a drink (from a menu that pops up on the tabletop screen) and put your credit card in the corner. If you’re with a group, it’ll even split the bill and make sure you’re not paying for the drinks your deadbeat friends have when they say “we’ll divide the cost.” Then, if you want to see a map of somewhere to go, the tabletop will pull it up and give you a walking tour of sorts. You can order tickets for a show, buy T-shirts for the kids and, basically, do a lot of stuff that would take a lot of legwork. It has a fascinating paintbox, too, and it operates much like a new Mac, only on a table. Officials say they hope to have them in hotels and other businesses before the end of the year. Personally, I want one now. The Jetsons era has arrived.

You’ve gotta try this: Get a picture (a good, clear close-up) of yourself and go to www.simpsonizeme.com. Then you’ll be able to turn yourself into a Simpsons character. Several million people have done it already and it’s amazing. You also can buy merchandise with your Simpsonized face on it.

It’s from Burger King and it may be the most fun I’ve had online since eBay.

Folks at the CW announced today they were going to be airing a reality show called “The Farmer Takes a Wife.” In it, a farmer gets to pick a potential mate from among a number of “city” girls. It’s sorta “Green Acres” but the farmer won’t be the butt of the jokes, the potential wives will.
Now, here’s the kicker — the farmer is from the Midwest, which means he could be from Siouxland.
But, really, what Siouxland farmer would need to go to a television network to get help finding a wife?
The farmer won’t be identified until later in the year, so stay tuned. My hunch? He ain’t from Iowa, Nebraska or South Dakota.

Also, on the CW, a fun show called “Aliens in America” features Lindsey Shaw, a young actress from Lincoln, Neb. I got to talk to her for quite a while and she said making it in Hollywood was just a matter of putting her mind to it. That, and she had a determined and helpful mom. “I must have gone on 500 auditions before I even got something,” she says. Before this, she starred on Nickelodeon’s “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.” The complete interview will appear in the coming months in The Journal and, hopefully, we’ll have some online audio for you as well.

Gossip?
Last night at a big CBS party folks clamored around Shemar Moore. The reason? Some nude pictures surfaced and caused quite a stir. Then, too, his “Criminal Minds” co-star Mandy Patinkin left the show without explaining much to anyone.

Also talked about? Mark Harmon getting in a big fight with his “NCIS” boss. The boss left and now Harmon’s kinda sorta The Man.
I got some time with Jimmy Smits (who plays a big Miami mogul in “Cane”), “Big Brother’s” Julie Chen and Drew Carey who said he’s not going to do any job that seems like work or isn’t fun. Which means? He’s a leading contender to replace Bob Barker on “The Price is Right.” He says his “people” are in negotiations right now, so don’t be surprised if he’s wielding the skinny microphone and urging contestants to play Plinko. The job, apparently, is his to lose.

Here in Hollywood, that means folks are getting up at 5 or 6 a.m. just to hear if they’ve gotten nominated. If they’re nominated, they pretend like the didn’t realize today was the day. If they aren’t, they call the system “flawed.”
For reporters, it’s a chance to truck down to god-knows-where to hear two stars read a handful of categories before they’re given a packet filled with hundreds upon hundreds of nominees.
Among the finds:
Siouxland’s Christian Clemenson’s second shot at an Emmy. He won last year for his work as Jerry “Hands” Espenson on “Boston Legal.” He’s up for the same role this year.
Most of the cast of “Wings” was nominated: Tony Shalhoub for “Monk,” Tim Daly for “The Sopranos” and Thomas Haden Church for “Broken Trail.” What? No nod for Crystal Bernard?
Also out of the past: Sally Field (”Brothers and Sisters”); Tom Selleck (”Jesse Stone”); Ed Asner (”The Christmas Card”); John Goodman (”Studio 60″); and Laurie Metcalf and Dixie Carter (”Desperate Housewives”). What year is this?
The good surprises: Nominations for “Heroes,” “Ugly Betty” and “30 Rock.”
The bad ones: No series nods for “Friday Night Lights” or “My Name is Earl.”
The most nominations: “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” (with 17).
The I’m So Glad shocker: Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg got a “Best Song” nomination for “D— in a Box.” They’re up against a couple of lame “Scrubs” songs and something from “The Family Guy” and “MAD TV” so they’ve got a real chance. How do they announce that one, anyway?
Best drama: “Boston Legal,” “Grey’s Anatomy.” “Heroes,” “House” and “The Sopranos.” Last year’s winner, “24,” was shut out.
Best comedy: “Entourage,” “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Ugly Betty.” Last year, “The Office” took home the prize.
The conclusion? It’s business as usual for the Emmy-able. The regulars (like “The Sopranos”) are well-represented. The newcomers are barely edging in.