Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Cheryl Ladd is diplomatic when it comes to ABC's new "Charlie's Angels," which has been tagged with terms from "lackluster" to "dreary bore," "depressing" to "Fall's Most Mediocre New Drama." Says the actress once known as angel Kris Munroe, "I watched the first episode and it was very different — totally different from the original series. It's more like the movie, I think, in the feel of it. I thought the girls were terrific."

Ladd doesn't have much time for scrutinizing her successor angels, however. She just finished filming an "NCIS" episode in which, she says, "I play kind of a love interest for Ducky," referring to David McCallum's character.

Soon, she'll head up to Canada to make a Christmas-themed movie for television. And Saturday (Oct. 1) marks the premiere of her Hallmark Channel Original Movie, "Love's Everlasting Courage." She and Bruce Boxleitner play the parents of Wes Brown's character, Clark, who is central to the hugely popular "Love Comes Softly" series of movies based on Janette Oke's best-selling 1800s-period novels.

"When I read the script, it took me exactly 30 seconds to say yes," says Cheryl. "I loved the story, the characters. And then when they told me they were casting Bruce — I can't tell you how long we've known each other in the industry, but he and I have never had the opportunity to work together before." She also "loved the idea of playing the grandmother," she says.

Other actresses in Hollywood avoid the g-word assiduously, but Cheryl freely notes, "I am a grandmother now. My stepdaughter, Lindsay, has two children and one on the way." Cheryl liked playing the relationship between her character and child actress Morgan Lily's. "She wants to help and protect her granddaughter, but at the same time, she knows she needs to grow up fast."

Production on location outside L.A. was hot and dusty. "We filmed out on the ranch where they filmed 'Little House on the Prairie,'" Cheryl reports. "We were there five or six weeks. It was pretty rough, but not nearly as rough as a real farm family in the 1850s. It's hard to imagine, these people getting through their day — no aspirin or Motrin if they had aches and pains.

"This family and their determination to band together, come what may, made me think a lot about our ancestors. Times are tough right now, and this is a good message about family ties and pulling together to get through."

A LABOR OF LOVE: Stacy Keach has long been known as a man of many interests, but his latest non-acting endeavor, "Mary's Magic Microscope," still comes as a surprise.

The eponymous instrument takes the book's young characters into strange and fabulous molecular worlds — with sights like living rings of atoms in lime-green and hot orange and yellow, and honey bee eyes with huge, soft-looking lashes. The striking visuals are provided by Keach's collaborator in the work, artist and scientist Gary Greenberg, who shot them using his patented 3D light microscopes. The story is a lot of fun, too.

If Keach and Greenberg have their way, their "Mary's Magic Microscope" books — they have a series in the works — will open the way for a 3D film that, they hope, will help inspire lasting excitement about science in young learners. "We're both parents ourselves — Gary's a grandparent. And the thing is, we want to help," Keach says.

The esteemed actor got to know Greenberg years ago when he joined the advisory board of the Environmental Communications organization, he recalls. Both men are drawn to "the synthesis of art and science," as Keach puts it.

"If you look at my website, you can see how visual this stuff is," notes Greenberg. "That's why it's a perfect movie vehicle. The microworld is amazingly visual." They're hoping for a full-on feature release in 3D theaters, but Greenberg says, "We've also often discussed the possibility of an IMAX release, which would be a wonderful way to do it."

MEANWHILE: Keach is finding time for his scientific labor of love despite a full agenda of other activities. He has the critically hailed "Other Desert Cities" opening Nov. 3 at Broadway's Booth Theatre. He and Stockard Channing are reprising the roles they played earlier this year at Lincoln Center in the drama about a former GOP power player who has deep family secrets about to be exposed. Joining them are Judith Light and Rachel Griffiths.

And on a completely different note, Keach has Mel Brooks' comedy horror "Pizzaman" ahead. "I can't wait," Keach says. "I'm very excited about it. I've never worked with Mel before, but I've known him for a long time. His first cousin, Howard Kaminsky, and I want to school together at Berkeley — oh, a few years ago."

But as for what he'll play in the tale of a homicidal pizza delivery man, or any other, um, juicy details, Keach shakes his head. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say."

TEXAS NEXUS: With production on the 2012 reboot of "Dallas" set to get underway next month, Patrick Duffy says its been "a wonderful but strange experience" going back to his character of a decade ago, Bobby Ewing, along with Larry Hagman (J.R.) and Linda Gray (Sue Ellen).

"We all felt we were back in an instant," Duffy says. "That shows you that the characters never really left us." Duffy, who's lived for the past 11 years in Oregon, also notes, "We'll be very good for Dallas, bringing the city back into focus. There's not a lot of it that's as it used to be, but the people are the same — the warmest, most accommodating people."

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 2011 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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