Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Roma Downey returns to the tube this Saturday (7/16) with the Hallmark Channel Original Movie "Keeping Up With the Randalls" — which the former "Touched By an Angel" actress reports "has a little different dynamic for me, I have to say. It has a lot of energy, and it's fast-paced fun."

The romantic comedy is about a city girl designer (Kayla Ewell of "Vampire Diaries") who feels desperately out of place among her boyfriend's (Thad Luckinbill) athletic, ultra-competitive clan on a family weekend. It was shot in rugged hill country near Los Angeles. Roma reports that there was a camp-out feeling about the proceedings on and off camera as they swam, played ball — even gathered around a campfire making S'mores and telling stories between camera setups.

"You know, you put any group of actors together, and there's great storytelling," she says of the cast, which also includes 82-year-old Marion Ross. "There was a lovely camaraderie in this group. Even putting the work aside, I really enjoyed the experience. It was very heart-warming. Marion was a delight, and the two young leads were very appealing and attractive and also very nice and kind. Everybody was very kind to Marion, and I really appreciated that," Roma adds. "The younger wave of actors coming up, they really got her, and she was held in the esteem that she deserved."

Roma admits she's done her share of thinking about aging. "I think throughout most of my 40s, there was an awareness of getting older. Particularly for an actress, when so much of your identity is tied up with what you do and how you look, the idea that is changing can bring up a lot of fear. But I have felt that my spiritual practice has allowed me to embrace the changes. I think it's the resistance that makes the changes painful, and acceptance brings serenity. That and a good jar of face cream," she adds with a laugh.

The Derry-born actress has been galloping through new territory in life in recent years — with her four-year-old marriage to reality TV king Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice," "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" etc.), her and Mark's three children moving through their teens, her attainment of a master's degree in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica and more.

"I feel that at this time in my life, where I had been afraid of letting go, now I'm moving into a place of letting go of being afraid," she says.

"If I believe, and I do, that all emotions condense down to love or fear, and that where one is, the other cannot be, I know that when fear comes up, as it does, inevitably, in all of us, love is like the answer. Anything that moves your heart into a loving space — being with your children, your spouse, your dog, looking out on nature, giving thanks to God.

There's a simplicity to it, you know?" she goes on. "That's not to say it answers all the problems, but to take a breath and be grateful — it can help shift you."

ON THE ASCENDANT: TNT didn't waste any time committing to a Season 2 pickup of the Steven Spielberg/ DreamWorks Television "Falling Skies" sci-fi series last week. And no wonder. "We're thrilled it's as successful as it is — with an average of 6.4 million viewers a week," enthuses Sarah Sanguin Carter, who plays the tough, mysterious Margaret on the Noah Wyle starrer about humans contending with life after an alien invasion. She tells us they'll resume filming this coming October in Vancouver — which the rising young actress/singer says "is nice for me, because my Dad lives in Vancouver."

Carter makes it clear she's not one to pore over blogs and reviews about the show, but she is aware that response to her character has been positive. "It's such a treat to play a character as complicated as she is. She obviously wants to be with the community, and the protection and the safety that comes with that. But she has this deep wisdom that she's ultimately alone. Her nature is one of a survivor, one of a warrior, that kind of comes first. It's lovely to watch her progression through the season," says Carter, whose prep for the role included immersing herself in the Israeli self-defense techniques of Krav Maga.

MEANWHILE: As all-consuming as it might seem to be playing a hardened survivor of the earth's worst cataclysm on a hit series, Carter has other irons in the fire. The performer (previously seen on "Shark" and "Entourage" among other shows) is also managing to take on two movie roles and the making of her band's first album this year.

"I had one episode off, and during that time, I was able to squeeze in a great little role in 'The Vow' with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. Talk about switching gears!" she notes, referring to the forthcoming Screen Gems film. "I was so deep in Margaret's world, and then I had to clean up, brighten up and show up on this huge wonderful set and deliver romantic comedy."

Next month, she'll join James Van Der Beek to make the Lifetime movie "Salem Falls," which she describes as "a sweet romantic story and I play an Erin Brockovich-type character."

And right now, she and her Sanguindrake band mates are figuring out the title of their debut album, which she expects to have out later this summer. She describes it as "Abbey Road psychedelic folk rock — but it turned out to be a sound that I haven't heard before. I'm more excited about that than anything."

REAL WORLD: Online chatter about former "Desperate Housewives" star Nicollette Sheridan reprising her role as Lucky Santangelo of the Jackie Collins "Lucky Chances" miniseries is apparently a mere figment of the Internet. "I know Jackie keeps writing those books and the characters' worlds are continuing," says Sheridan, "but that's all I know." She makes it clear, "I've never been on Twitter or Facebook or any of those things. I know there are people who pose as me, but I've never been on any of those." So now you know.

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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