Since his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease cut short his acting career, Michael J. Fox has every reason to be a pessimist.

Instead, he's doing a special for ABC in May about the nature of optimism. Fox explores science and his own personal experiences -- he says the past decade since his diagnosis has been among his happiest. Fox starred in the sitcoms "Family Ties" and "Spin City," as well as the "Back to the Future" movie series.

For his special, Fox visits the Himalayan nation of Bhutan, which he says is unusually committed to the well-being of its citizens. "Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" airs on May 7. (Associated Press)

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is moving to Melrose Place.

The 24-year-old singer will join the cast of the CW's "Melrose Place," playing a small-town girl with a "shrewd sex kitten" within, Entertainment Weekly first reported on www.ew.com Monday.

"I'm thrilled to be joining the cast of 'Melrose Place' and I look forward to being a part of its new generation of residents," she said in a statement in People magazine.

The show is expected in the fall. (AP)

A spokesman for Mariska Hargitay says the ailing "Law & Order: SVU" star should be back at work soon.

The Emmy-winning actress was hospitalized last week after feeling discomfort from a partially collapsed lung that had been diagnosed in January.

Spokesman Gary Mantoosh says Hargitay is recovering well and is expected to return to the long-running NBC drama in the next couple of weeks. He declined to say whether she remains hospitalized.

Hargitay will miss only one episode, he says. (AP)

Thanks to "American Idol," Fox is still beating up on rivals, at least among the young viewers that advertisers crave. But the punch isn't what it once was. And that means network TV is likely on the cusp of some major programming shifts as it mulls development for next season.

Through March 1, Fox is leading the race for adults aged 18-49 with a 3.4 rating/9 share, according to data published March 3 by Nielsen Media Research. But it's hardly a comfortable edge: CBS lands in second with a 3.2/8. And CBS is a clear No. 1 among total viewers, with an average of 11.8 million vs. 9.3 million for second-place Fox.

This time last year, Fox was chewing up the competition, with a 4.4 rating vs. a 3.1 for runners-up NBC and ABC. Fox's young-adult ratings have tumbled 23 percent over the past year.

So what happened?

Several factors have been pushing down Fox this season. First, "Idol" has shed viewers, even though its overall performance remains formidable. The Feb. 24 edition was the week's most-watched show, averaging 24.5 million viewers. Fox's year-ago comparisons also suffer because last season it aired the Super Bowl, which scored a record audience. This year, NBC had the game. And although Fox found at least one new show that met expectations ("Fringe"), other premieres haven't ("Dollhouse").

It's tempting to see the aftermath of the writers' strike that ended a little more than a year ago as having an effect, too. After all, Fox clearly stood to benefit from being able in early 2008 to air original episodes of "Idol," America's No. 1 show, while rivals were forced to sideline their signature scripted shows because of the work stoppage.

If the strike did yield such an advantage, Fox has clearly lost it. Even so, however, its rivals have little to cheer about. With the exception of CBS, all the networks have posted viewing declines this season, as they have for years. Ratings-wise, the strike could be seen not so much a turning point as an accelerant to a systemwide decline.

Still, network TV gathers big audiences that cable can't; witness the 15.2 million (the vast majority of them over 50) for CBS's "Jesse Stone" Sunday movie with Tom Selleck, or about 21/2 times what "The Closer" did on TNT. And although it hasn't been widely noticed, long-suffering NBC has had success hanging onto adults aged 18-34, a hard-to-reach demographic whose attention bodes well for a network's future.

So now is the time when rivals should be trying to take advantage of Fox's erosion. Specifically, they need to develop shows that can attack "Idol," which has almost completely dominated midweek programming since 2003, sparking envy and fear among competitors, but which now seems to be in the early stages of its journey toward obsolescence.

Unless, of course, "Idol" defies conventions yet again and wages a massive ratings comeback. In which case the other networks will have to steel themselves to be bullied all over again. (Scott Collins, Los Angeles Times)

First Published: March 11, 2009, 4:00 a.m.