Television

As May draws to a close, fans of some of television's biggest shows -- American Idol, CSI, Desperate Housewives, among others -- are being treated to season-ending finales. At the same time, TV is testing the waters for its fall season.

David Shore and Dr. David Foster combine to be the driving force behind the new medical series House, on FOX TV. Shore is the executive producer; Foster is the medical consultant and writes for the series. On the show, medical maladies play the role of villain. The hero is an irreverent and controversial doctor who trusts no one.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is the creator and executive producer of Gilmore Girls, on the WB network. The show is about a single mother and her daughter who are best friends. Lauren Graham plays Lorelai Gilmore, the hip mom who does her best to keep teenage daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) from repeating her own mistakes. Lorelai was a teenager herself when she became pregnant with her daughter. The popular show is now in its fifth season. Warner Brothers has just released season three on DVD.

Evangelista, a bail bondsman, starred in the now-defunct reality TV series, Family Bonds, on HBO. Evangelista was formerly an insurance underwriter who had a mid-life crisis and decided to go for a more colorful job.

Gary Leffew is a former bull-riding champ, actor, stunt coordinator and consultant to HBO's Deadwood. He punches up scripts for David Milch's Deadwood, making sure the cowboys talk like real cowboys do. In 1970 he won the world championship bull riding competition. After that Leffew took up acting and appeared in many commercials. Now he teaches bull riding at his California Ranch.

Colbert is the senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Colbert started his comic career with Second City in Chicago. He wrote and performed sketches on The Dana Carvey Show. He is also the voice of Ace for Saturday Night Lives's animated shorts Ace & Gary: The Ambiguously Gay Duo. This interview was originally broadcast on Jan. 24, 2005.

Ken Tucker's new book is Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy, a look at television. His new book touches on TV mainstays, from James Garner to Pamela Anderson and David Brinkley.

Comic and journalist Stephen Colbert is the fake senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. We talk with Colbert about his reports, from "Rathergate" to "This Week in God."

The complete 45-episode series of the TV show Pee-Wee's Playhouse is now out on DVD. Reubens originally created the Pee-Wee character at the Los Angeles improv group called The Groundlings. Pee-Wee's Playhouse went on the air in 1986. It ran on CBS for 5 years, garnering 22 Emmys.

Matt Stone is co-executive producer and co-creator (along with Trey Parker) of the popular satirical animated series South Park. Stone and Parker recently collaborated on Team America, an action film satire featuring a cast of puppets in which a rising Broadway star infiltrates a terrorist network.