Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Times have so changed from that "very special episode" of "The Waltons," when Mama was acting a mite peculiar on account of the change of life. Production has just wrapped on Henry Jaglom's feature dramedy, "The M Word," and star Tanna Frederick says, "It will be like our first step on the moon of menopause stories. It deals with everything having to do with our ovaries, and then some. 'M' is for menopause, menses and men."

Frances Fisher plays her mother, who moves in with her after her mate (Gregory Harrison) is caught cheating. Two aunts (Mary Crosby and Eliza Fisher) move into Tanna's character's two-bedroom apartment as well.

"Henry is not commenting on menopause, he's taking you along for a ride," Tanna says of the director with whom she made "Hollywood Dreams" and other films. Jaglom is known for his improvisational work with actors. "He really let the three women playing my aunts fly and let them go into their own experiences with menopause. They took it to a fever pitch that's really funny. We got some powerful stuff that I think will spark some groundbreaking talks between women and men."

Well, at least it sounds as if Fisher's performance will spark talk.

"She is hilarious. At one point in a scene, she took the frozen turkey that she had for the family Thanksgiving and put it between her legs because she was having a hot flash," Tanna says. "I stepped back and said, 'I don't even know what to do with this.'"

Tanna's TV reporter character is fighting the closure of her station. Her smarmy, Sammy Glick-type boyfriend is played by Corey Feldman, and the corporate hatchet man who comes out to cut station staff is Michael Imperioli — who, of course, her character falls for.

"Always in the past, Henry has sort of tiptoed around around the socioeconomic status of his characters. In this, he dove right in. It's scary and sad what's going on out there with all the cutbacks in jobs," Tanna says. "My character is faced with this question: Do I fall in love, or do I fight for what's right?" She reports that at one point she has a scene "that's probably as close to a 'Norma Rae' moment as I'll ever have," leading a group of some 30 women in an office.

'EXTREME' UPSET: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" devotees have been all over the Internet expressing their heartbreak over the show's cancellation last week — after nine years and some 200 homes built for all kinds of inspiring families in need. You have to know it's rough on the behind-the-scenes team of the Emmy-winning show as well.

As host Ty Pennington told us a couple of years ago, "If I didn't do this job, there would be something taken away that is so important in my life. It has become sort of my life, doing it for so long. It's sort of like, if you took it away, I'd have to wean back on, like, methadone ... No, I'm kidding."

Ty reassured fans on his website that despite the cancellation, "We are not gone — we'll continue to do EMHE specials, and I will always look for ways I can help people improve their lives."

Indeed. He moves to daytime with the debut next month of ABC's daily show, "The Revolution," joining fashion guru Tim Gunn and fitness and nutrition expert Harley Pasternak. They're hoping to help viewers transform their lives in areas ranging from fitness to home design to personal finance. "The Revolution" will also include a weekly weight-loss transformation feature. Sounds like sort of a "Biggest Loser"/"What Not to Wear"/"Home Makeover" amalgamation.

"Exteme Makeover: Home Edition" will go out in style. Its finale episode has the design team and builders creating homes for seven families in Joplin, Mo., who lost their houses in the devastating tornado there last spring.

HO HO UH-OH: Christmas is just days away, but it's never too early to start thinking about movies for next Christmas! How about this one, from the weird pile: "Zombie Elves: The Movie." No, we're not kidding. It's a live-action feature, with casting now for actors less than 5 feet tall. The storyline, per casting sources: "All hell breaks loose in the North Pole when Santa's elves get transformed into flesh-eating zombies." So Hollywood.

On a much nicer note, there's "Merry In-Laws," set to shoot in Calgary, Alberta, Canada starting late January. It's about a "practical, no-nonsense astronomer and single mom" who becomes engaged to a guy named Peter Claus. She's in for a shock when it's time to meet his parents — guess who.

Maybe these writers have been dipping into the spiked eggnog a little early?

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.

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