Boycotts and protests against China might have marred the Olympic torch journey, but legendary Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton believes the true spirit of the Games will prevail when the Beijing Olympics kick off next month.

"Ultimately the performances, events and athletes are what we focus in on and remember at every Olympics," says the gold medalist and four-time World Figure Skating champion. "You look back at people who tried to use the Olympics for their own personal agenda ... Adolf Hitler wanted to use the Berlin Olympics as a propaganda tool (for Aryan supremacy), but it didn't work out too well for him." Referring to the iconic, quadruple gold medal-winning African-American track star of the 1936 Games, he goes on, "When you think of Jesse Owens, and how the impact he made totally went to what they call 'The Great Olympic Moment,' and the athlete and the sport — it was extraordinary."

Hamilton, who's heading over to Beijing with his wife, says, "I think we'll find the same thing now. Whatever you think of the host country and its politics, it just comes down to the athletes of the world and their stories. The one thing I love about the Olympics is that it really allows people to set aside everything for those three weeks and focus on their representatives, the sports, the camaraderie … It speaks to everyone regardless of politics or culture or religion."

Hamilton — who plays himself as a live action and animated character in Nickelodeon's prime time special "The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Oddlympics" premiering Aug. 1 — believes with the world in such turmoil, "We really need the Olympics right now. We need this example to be presented to all of us. We're just one small planet, and we're here to celebrate life and excellence. That's what the Olympics are all about."

NO FAB FOUR REUNION: The cult hit "Strangers With Candy" helped launch the careers of its creators Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Mitch Rouse and Paul Dinello, but Rouse tells us it's unlikely they'll revisit those characters any time soon. "With Colbert doing what he's doing and Amy doing what she's doing, it's hard to say. We've all shot out in different directions for a little while," notes Rouse. "If we trip up on something, we'll get back together and do something else, as long as it's fun. I just don't want to get together just for the sake of doing it."

Though the newfound success doesn't allow much time for group projects, Rouse says he couldn't be happier for everyone's success, especially Colbert, who has become one of comedy's greats. "On the Colbert show, that's exactly who he is. It's not a persona," says Rouse. "The stuff he's doing on that show is stuff he's been doing his whole career, and he stuck with it. He really does deserve every ounce of attention he's been getting."

In the meantime, Rouse is busy with his own TV series, "Factory," which recently premiered on Spike TV. "I hope we get to do some more because it's really been fun. It was like going to camp for six weeks, and at the end we had a TV show," he says of the improvised comedy, about four disinterested small town factory workers, on which he serves as producer, director and star. "I had a teacher in high school pull me in front of the class and say, 'Mr. Rouse, there's never going to be a job where you can goof off and get paid.' Thank God I proved her wrong."

HERE 'N' THERE: Dolly Parton's just wrapped up the smash European leg of her ambitious "Backwoods Barbie" tour, which — following her hugely successful 2007 Euro trek — proved again just how much they love the American music icon on the Continent. Dolly, you may recall, had to postpone U.S. dates earlier this year due to bronchitis and back pain that she attributed to her more-than-ample front. She'll hit the North American concert trail Aug. 1 at Humphrey's By the Bay in San Diego, before proceeding to L.A.'s Greek Theatre. And come Sept. 20 is the opening of "9 to 5: The Musical" at Los Angeles's Ahmanson Theater.

Simon Baker's just returned from vacationing in Greece with his family — in time to begin shooting his new series, CBS's September-debuting "The Mentalist."

And John Schneider's been busy working where other folks go to play — shooting the pilot for his prospective "26 Miles" series on Catalina Island, 26 miles off the L.A. shore. Whether the former "Dukes of Hazzard" and "Smallville" star will live on the island during production should the show get picked up, or commute to the mainland, is up in the air.

TAKING A RISK: Frances Fisher, who'll debut as the new head of the top secret research facility Global Dynamics on "Eureka" when the Sci Fi Channel series' new season launches July 29, tells us she decided to jump in based on the script and her character's description. "But I had not seen the show before because I don't really watch television," she admits. Once she was up in Canada for production of the series, about a town inhabited by genius scientists, "I watched some episodes when I had some time off and got a sense of the flavor, the tenor of the show. It's kind of quirky, with serious moments and odd moments." Luckily, she liked it.

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 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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