celebrity pipeline

BY JAY BOBBIN

Q: Has “The Resident” been canceled? – Don Sherman, via email

A: It has. It took a while for Fox to make that decision after the medical drama’s sixth (and, ultimately, final) season ended last January, but it seemed clear that the Matt Czuchry-starring show’s makers had prepared what became the last episode to be either a season finale or an ending for the entire series ... not an easy thing to do, we might add. Though some networks have done more than one medical series at the same time, given the fewer programming hours Fox has, the writing seemed to be on the wall when the network announced the forthcoming drama “Doc” – an adaptation of an Italian drama about a medic struggling to overcome several years of memory loss. A few days later, the cancellation of “The Resident” was made known.

Q: Are all former “Saturday Night Live” cast members required to bring back their old characters if they return to host the show? – Todd Seeland, Buffalo, N.Y.

A: We wouldn’t call it a requirement, but it makes sense in a number of ways for that to happen. Since “SNL” generally is the vehicle that made the given personalities into stars in the first place, it’s logical that in going back to the show. they’d step back into roles that were popular during their original tenures (as Molly Shannon did in her “SNL” return in April). Also, there can be fun for the performers (and, they hope, viewers) in updating their alter egos to match current times. In some cases, the related sketches originally were done 10 to 20 years ago, so present-day subjects can be tackled in a new way by the ever-topical “SNL” when seen through the prism of classic and familiar characters.