Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Alec Baldwin left audiences wondering about his fate on "30 Rock" when he visited "The View" last April and said he'd offered to quit the series in the wake of his highly publicized tongue-lashing of his 11-year-old daughter — and would be happy to quit acting entirely to focus on matters of "parental alienation." But how different the picture looks now. The series is in production for its second season, and cast mate Jane Krakowski says Baldwin is more focused on work than ever.

"He's great. He's back at the show. He seems in great spirits," notes Krakowski. "He was nominated for an Emmy, and I think we're all rooting for him to win what I like to call the trifecta. He won the Golden Globe, the SAG, and if he wins the Emmy, he'll win all three (major awards for series acting) you can win. I think he so deserves it because he's brilliant on the program."

As for the discord with young Ireland, Krakowski jokingly responds, "I don't even know what you're talking about."

The Tony-winning former "Ally McBeal" costar is among the "30 Rock" team working hard to get more viewers interested in the comedy, which scored 10 Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Comedy Series — and which will have a nice boost with Jerry Seinfeld appearing in the premiere episode in October.

"People are still trying to find '30 Rock,'" she observes. "Hopefully now that we're on Thursday nights on the NBC comedy block more people will watch. The DVD will also be great so people can see what they missed last year," she says of the DVD hitting stores Sept. 4.

THE INSIDE TRACK: Grammy-winning Train lead singer Pat Monahan says that his group mates "responded really positively" to his venture into solo stardom with his Sept. 18 release "Last of Seven" Columbia album. "Several of them were like, 'Hey, what are you seeing in the future?'" he admits. "I see no reason why we shouldn't make more records together."

Monahan teamed up with producer Patrick Leonard (Madonna, Elton John, Roger Waters) for the "Last of Seven" recording that he says came together in a serendipitous way that felt just right. "I kept having these amazing experiences of getting songs that were really dear to me, that sounded great with great words," says the songwriter who has written tunes without outside collaborators until now.

And working with Leonard "seemed meant to be. The first song we wrote was this ridiculously great song — and then it got better from there. We had super chemistry, and we're similar in a lot of life respects. He has children, they don't live in the same state, has been married before, married again," says the Monahan, who married for the second time in July. He goes on, "I asked him to make this record for me, and he made a great record, really. It's a rebirth for both of us in a lot of ways." The vibrant, eclectic album features guest artists Brandi Carlile, Graham Nash and Richie Sambora.

Monahan, whose "Her Eyes" single was released last month, sets out on a 33-city concert trek Oct. 4 in Phoenix.

WORKING OVERTIME: "Drake & Josh" regular Miranda Cosgrove says she's not fazed a'tall by the whopping 40 episodes ordered of her new Nickelodeon show, "iCarly (CQ)," premiering Sept 8. She notes that the cast and crew do three weeks on, one week off of production, which sounds like pretty humane duty. However, Cosgrove's character also hosts her own homegrown Web show in the series — and the show-within-a-show will use video submissions from real kids. And that entails Cosgrove and cast mates blogging and interacting with their Web audience. "On our weeks off we do the online stuff," explains Cosgrove. "It's kind of like a reality show our characters are putting on the website so kids can upload their own videos. It's the coolest idea and the first of its kind."

Cosgrove says it's been a blast becoming the ringleader on her own show after playing the scamming little sister on "Drake & Josh," which returns this fall as well. "The cool thing about Carly is she always has an idea and she's self-confident and loves to express herself." She's also usually the voice of reason on the show, something Cosgrove says she most definitely is not. "In real life I'm kind of more the crazy one, so it's fun to get to play a character not so much like me."

ALTARED STATE: George Foreman, who preaches regularly at his The Church of Lord Jesus Christ in Houston, may soon be taking his messages to a wider audience. "A book company has asked me to put a collection of my sermons into a book," says the ex-Heavyweight Boxing Champion-cum-entrepreneur-cum-TV personality-cum-best-selling author. He's considering it. Mainly, he says, "I just want to be the best person I can."

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.