Patricia Arquette, whose grueling nonstop work schedule as the lead of NBC's "Medium" caused her to collapse and the show to be put on a week's production break last year, is back to work on the latest season of the drama — and her "really, really crazy schedule."

The wife of actor Thomas Jane and mother of two (4-year-old daughter Harlow and 18-year-old son Enzo) tells us that the effort to get her hours under control after her scare "definitely helped. Everybody's trying to keep an eye on that. I love everybody I work with. It's a dream job — being the lead of a series is a dream job. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do sometimes."

She adds, "If it stops, we're all unemployed and we'll have to try to figure out, 'What are we gonna do?' So many families in America, including ours, are close to spending what we make and being in trouble if we don't work."

Arquette's "Medium" portrayal of psychic Allison DuBois won her the 2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — and she's up for another Emmy in the same category this year, competing against Sally Field, Kyra Sedgwick, Edie Falco, Minnie Driver and Mariska Hargitay.

But she's paid a high price for the show. Arquette says, "I've spent the last three years pretty much sleeping all summer" — and catching up with her family.

"This year, we went to Yellowstone National Park, and my daughter got to see Old Faithful and a lot of bison. We had some real good times. There's nothing like a good road trip." With Harlow "in that stage of going from baby to little girl, I'm trying to get her to the set more often," Arquette adds.

What's helping now for the show, which is due back on the lineup in January (or as soon as a new fall show flunks out), is the fact "Angelica Huston is going to do six episodes. It's really cool. I'm so excited every time she shows up on the set."

A ROLE THAT CHOKED HER UP: "Desperate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher's role in the new Samuel L. Jackson/Josh Hartnett flick "Resurrecting the Champ" isn't large — but it ended up being one of her more challenging parts. No, Hartnett didn't give her a hard time on set, but her cigarette sure did. "I did a lot of smoking in seven hours," says Hatcher of playing a TV casting executive in the film about a struggling reporter who hopes to put fresh life in his career with the story of a boxing legend-turned-homeless man. "I don't smoke at all, and anybody who knows me knows that I can smell smoke from 20 feet away, and I can't stand it, so that was a very interesting task," she admits.

Her thoughts are now back to Wisteria Lane as her show is entering its fourth season. "There are going to be a lot of great reveals for all of the characters this season," she claims. Let's just hope for her sake that her reveal doesn't involve any smoke!

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: Hunky "Friday Night Lights" star Scott Porter admits he was a little jealous of "American Idol" runner-up Blake Lewis — a confession that certainly comes as a surprise to us. Porter, in fact, spent seven years as a professional beatboxer before landing the role of the quarterback-turned-quadriplegic Jason Street on the NBC football drama, the first season of which hits DVD tomorrow (8/28). "He had some strong points and some weak points. I liked watching him, though. He's pretty talented," says Porter of Lewis's beatboxing skills. "When I saw him perform with Doug E. Fresh, I have to tell you I was a little jealous, but anything that can bring some notoriety to beatboxing, I really enjoy."

Having returned to Austin, Texas, in 110-degree heat to resume work on season two of his show, Porter says the locals are great about letting him get on stage. "There's a group called Boombox out here in Austin, and whenever I get a chance to see them, they let me up on stage, and we jam a little bit. It's a great feeling to get to do what I used to do."

However, Porter's main focus is on his show, which he hopes will do better in the ratings this year without having to make drastic changes. "I think there is some fear among the cast members that because of the move to Friday nights at 9 that it will change the show a little bit, and of course the ratings would play into them maybe trying a new formula. But we have complete trust in our executive producers and directors to make the right calls."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Judith Light's delighted to have moved from recurring to regular cast member status in her role as Eric Mabius' wa-a-a-a-y larger than life, homicidal, vengeance-minded fugitive mom, Claire, on "Ugly Betty." Does the change mean she's all through with her "Law & Order: SVU" character of bureau chief-turned-judge Elizabeth Donnelly? "I'll probably do a couple more of those," Light tells us. "I'm hoping I can. We talked about that. It's another great cast."

(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

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