"Beverly Hills 90210" fans discovered in last night's episode of the "90210" sequel that Kelly Taylor's troubled mother, Jackie, hasn't changed much.
The same can't be said for Ann Gillespie, who plays Jackie: She's gone from actress to Episcopal priest.
Between sermons, weddings and funerals at Christ Church in Alexandria, Va., the Rev. Gillespie squeezed in an appearance on "90210," The CW's follow-up to the hit Fox series that aired from 1990-2000.
In reprising her role as mom to Jennie Garth's Kelly, Gillespie was sorry to find out that Jackie still is battling alcoholism.
"She actually seems to be worse off than at the end of the last series," Gillespie said. "My own desire was to have the character become healthier because, of course, that's what I'm devoting my life to."
Gillespie, 51, married to actor Jeff Allin and mother of two teenagers, began re-evaluating her professional life several years ago. Roles for older women are conspicuously scarce in Hollywood, she said, but more important was her changing perspective.
"I felt my values crystallize in me as I was raising my children, and I wasn't crazy that I was giving myself to a business that wasn't putting out the best values," particularly when it came to film and TV images of young girls as "thin and oversexualized," Gillespie said.
Her decision to turn to the priesthood reflected a family tradition: Her father, the Rev. David Gillespie, 81, is a retired Episcopal priest.
Ann Gillespie earned a master's degree in divinity in 2007 after three years of study at a Virginia seminary and became the priest at Alexandria's historic Christ Church, where George Washington worshipped.
Although she's turned her skills from acting to preaching -- "It's not as gigantic a leap as people might think" -- Gillespie welcomed the chance to revisit her "90210" past.
"When I went to do the episode, it was like riding a bicycle. The character of Jackie Taylor was right there and waiting," she said.
She had an "absolutely delightful reunion" with Garth during filming, Gillespie said.
Many of Gillespie's parishioners are "excited about the buzz that their priest is on a television show," she said. And the new series has brought her in contact with "Beverly Hills 90210" loyalists.
"I got an e-mail from a fan who said she was coming to church to meet me. I thought, 'Whatever it takes to get them in the door,' " Gillespie said. (Lynn Elber, AP)
Should this world ever cease to exist, Stephen Colbert will live on.
The comedian's DNA will be digitized and sent to the International Space Station, Comedy Central announced Monday. In October, video game designer Richard Garriott will travel to the station and deposit Colbert's genes for an "Immortality Drive."
"I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my lifelong dream of being the baby at the end of 2001," Colbert said in a statement, referring to the 1968 landmark science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Garriott, one of few private citizens to travel into space, is collecting material for a time capsule of human DNA, a history of humanity's greatest achievements and personal messages.
The host of "The Colbert Report" will essentially be preserved so that aliens can clone him.
"In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert's DNA," Garriott said in a statement. "Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level responsibility?" (Jake Coyle, AP)
In case you missed "Here Come the Newlyweds" the first time around, ABC has a remedy for you.
The network has renewed the show, which scored decent ratings in the strike-depressed TV environment earlier this year, for a second season. It's also upped the show's episode order from six to eight, with comedian Pat Bullard returning as host.
The second season will pit nine recently married couples in a series of competitions to win a nest egg worth several hundred thousand dollars. The couples themselves determine who goes home at the end of each episode.
ABC's announcement of the renewal refers to the show as "the hit one-hour romantic comedy alternative series," which aside from being a mouthful may stretch the definition of "hit" just a little bit.
True, the show won its 10 p.m. Sunday timeslot during its six-week run in March and April, averaging 8.1 million viewers and a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49. Those numbers came during a fallow time of the season, however, when the writers' strike that put "Newlyweds' " up against "Law & Order: SVU" reruns on NBC and repurposed "Dexter" episodes on CBS. The 8.1 million average ranks about 75th among all programs for the entire season. (Zap2it.com)
First Published: September 10, 2008, 8:00 a.m.
